Category: Auctions
Sotheby's Paris Sale
June 3 2024
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's Paris have uploaded their upcoming Tableaux et Dessins 1400–1900 auction online. This sale will take place on 19th June 2024.
Amongst the highlights are a Mourning Virgin and Christ Crowned with Thorns by the Studio of Albrecht Bouts, a pair of Capricci by Panini, a Venetian scene by Marieschi (pictured), a classical scene by Sébastien Bourdon, and a very beautiful portrait of the sculptor Antoine-Denis Chaudet by Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Desmarais.
Sleeper Alert!
May 29 2024
Picture: Campo & Campo
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Social media has been awash with news that this painting, catalogued as 'Portrait of a Sultan' realised a staggering €3m over its €2,000 - €4,000 estimate yesterday at Campo & Campo in Belgium. The painting, which appears to be Dutch and quite possibly 17th century, is actually thought to depict an Indian ruler rather than a Turkish one.
Christie's Paris Sale
May 24 2024
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's Paris have uploaded their Maîtres Anciens : Peintures - Sculptures sale online. The auction will take place on 12th June 2024.
Among the top lots are Chardin's Le Melon entamé at €8m - €12m, a Watteau allegory of the alliance of music and comedy at €250k - €350k, an Abraham Mignon Still Life at €100k - €200k and a Head Study by Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson at €80k - €120k.
£4m - £6m Frans Hals coming up at Christie's
May 20 2024
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's website is finally back up and running after the very worrying aforementioned 'technology security issue'. Browsing the list of upcoming Old Masters auctions, the website shows that Christie's London will be offering this Frans Hals Portrait in July. The painting, believed to be a likeness of Joost de Wolf, will carry an estimate of £4m - £6m.
Christie's Reveal £7m - £10m Stubbs
May 14 2024
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's London have revealed that they will be offering a monumental canvas by George Stubbs in their upcoming July Old Masters Part I sale.
According to the press release:
Dated to circa 1769, this monumental canvas is the artist’s grandest statement on the theme of Mares and Foals, the series of paintings executed in the 1760s which arguably stand as Stubbs’ crowning achievement. The picture is believed to have been painted for the Prime Minister of Britain from 1768-1770, Augustus Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Grafton (1735-1811), who was part of the closely-connected nexus of ‘Whig’ statesmen that provided Stubbs with his most important patronage during this career-defining period. Having only appeared at auction once before, almost 50 years ago, it will be on public view in New York from 18 to 22 May, and in the pre-sale London exhibition which runs from 28 June to the morning of 2 July.
The painting will be offered with an estimate of £7m - £10m on 2nd July 2024.
Jan Lievens Self Portrait to lead Lempertz Sale
May 13 2024
Picture: Lempertz
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
One of the top lots in the upcoming Old Master Paintings auction at Lempertz in Cologne is the following Self Portrait in a Mirror by Jan Lievens. The catalogue note makes for an interesting read and discusses the varying scholarly opinions over the years which has been put to bed in part by an early dendrochronology result.
The painting will be offered on 16th May 2024 carrying an estimate of €120,000 - €150,000.
Sotheby's New York May Sale
May 9 2024
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Sotheby's New York upcoming May Master Paintings Sale has been published online. The auction will take place on 22nd May 2024.
Among the top lots are a Pieter Brueghel the Younger Wedding Dance, a set of four Sebastien Vrancx paintings depicting the Parable of the Prodigal Son, a View of the Doge's Place by Michele Marieschi, a View of the Colosseum by Panini, and a fine portrait by George Romney (pictured).
Sotheby's New York Modern Sale
April 29 2024
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's New York have published their upcoming Modern Evening Auction. The auction will take place on 15th May 2024.
Among the top lots are an 'estimate on request' Monet haystack, a Magritte sunset at $15m - $20m, a $12m - $18m Leonora Carrington, a $10m - $15m Rothko, a $7m - $10m Manet still life (pictured), and a $8m - $12m Picasso.
Christie's New York 20th Century Sale
April 29 2024
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Christie's New York upcoming 20th Century Evening Sale (which also includes Impressionist works) has been uploaded online today. The auction will take place on 16th May 2024.
Highlights include this exquisite Van Gogh garden at $28m - $35m, a David Hockney view of water sprinklers at $25m - $35m, a large Warhol picture of flowers at $20m - $30m, a very fine Venetian view by Monet at $12m - $18m, and a painting of a lady in a hat by Picasso at $20m - $30m.
Dorotheum Pictures
April 25 2024
Picture: Dorotheum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A few lots in yesterday's Old Master Paintings auction at the Dorotheum in Vienna did rather well against their estimates. The following corridor portrait of Sultan Süleyman I made €274,000 over its €8,000 - 12,000 estimate, Marco d’Oggiono's Head of Christ made €226,00 over its €50,000 - 75,000 estimate, a tondo given to an assistant of Botticelli made €663,875 over its €200,000 - 300,000 estimate, a portrait by Sofonisba Anguissola made €169,000 over its 60,000 - 80,000 estimate, a religious work by Barbara Longhi made €91,000 over its €8,000 - 12,000 estimate.
Klimt makes €30m
April 24 2024
Video: Europa Press
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Fraulein Lieser hammered down at €30m this afternoon at Kinsky in Vienna.
An article by the BBC has drawn attention to the unanswered questions about its wartime history. In contrast, a very fine painting by the artist made £85.3m last year. It is well worth reading the FAQs section regarding the sale of the painting on the auction house's website.
Update - A reader has been in touch with the following article from The New York Times, which delves a little deeper into questions regarding the painting and its provenance.
Christie's New York May Sale
April 23 2024
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's New York have published their upcoming May Old Master Paintings sale.
Top lots in the sale include a Workshop of Hans Memling Virgin and Child, an unpublished St Jerome by Van Dyck, a Guardi View of the Piazzetta in Venice, and a Moretto da Brescia of a Virgin and Child. There are also a good group of English pictures, including works by Sir Thomas Lawrence, George Stubbs, John Constable and Sir Peter Lely.
Alongside this sale is also a private collection of Old Master and European Paintings which are being offered without reserve (many bargains to be had I'm sure!).
Both sales will take place on 23rd May 2024.
Greuze and Michelangelo Soar at Christie's
April 18 2024
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
There were some encouraging results in yesterday's A Park Avenue Collection at Christie's New York.
Amongst the lots that soared was Greuze's A girl weeping over her dead bird (pictured), which realised $2,470,000 over its $600k - $800k estimate. It is worth having a good look at the painting on a big screen, and zooming into the beautifully preserved areas of impasto found throughout this picture - I'm sure it must have looked brilliant in the flesh!
Other works that soared included a charming Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun drawing of a Boy, which realised $176,400 over its $60k - $80k estimate, and a Veronese Adoration which made $352,800 over its $80k - $120k estimate.
Amongst the most surprising results was an enormous price made for a tiny scrap of paper featuring a rectangular block of marble drawn by Michelangelo. The object made $201,600 over its estimate of $6,000 - $8,000. I suppose for certain collectors this sort of thing might be like buying a clipped autograph on paper, of sorts.
More Upcoming July Sale Paintings
April 17 2024
Picture: artscouncil.org.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Watchers of the Art Council's 'Private Treaty Sales' page will have spotted several Old Master Paintings which will be included in the upcoming London sales in July. This includes the following portrait 'Attributed to Joos van Cleve', descending from the Alfred Morrison collection, coming up at Christie's. Three other paintings from the collection of the Earl of Harewood are also present, including a fine John Singer Sargent view of the interior of the Doge's Palace, an Alfred Munnings and an Italian Cassone panel.
Sleeper Alert?
April 15 2024
Picture: Bonhams
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Multiple accounts on 'X' (formerly known as Twitter) had drawn attention to this painting catalogued as 'After Rogier van der Weyden, late 17th Century - Portrait of Philip the Good' which achieved an impressive £203,600 over its low estimate of £4,000 last week at Bonhams London.
And a Chardin Melon for Paris!
April 5 2024
Picture: Christie's Paris
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
And published on the same day (as yesterday) is news that Christie's Paris will be offering this Chardin Still Life in their upcoming sale in June. The painting, which had been in both the Marcille and Rothschild collections, will be offered with an estimate of €8m - €12m.
Marquess of Bath to sell £25m Titian at Christie's
April 4 2024
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Exciting news from Christie's London that they will be offering the Marquess of Bath's Rest on the Flight into Eygpt by Titian in their July Old Master Paintings sale. The painting, which has been at Longleat for just shy of 150 years, will be offered carrying an estimate of £15,000,000 – 25,000,000.
On the painting:
Always regarded as a youthful masterpiece by Titian and generally dated circa 1510, there are however some inevitable variations on the precise dating. In his 2012 exhibition at the National Gallery in London: Titian, A fresh look at nature, Antonio Mazzotta, who dates the picture to circa 1508-9, observed that the monumental figure of the Virgin ‘prefigures other Titian heroines’ from the period, notably that of Judith as Justice in the detached fresco fragment from the Merceria entrance to the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, circa 1508 (Venice, Ca d’Oro), a key early commission, and that of the Magdalen in the artist’s slightly later Noli me Tangere, 1511-12 (London, National Gallery).
On it's illustrious provenance and history (which is worth reproducing in full):
The roll call of illustrious provenance for this painting begins with it being first documented in the collection of the Venetian merchant, Bartolomeo della Nave (1571/79-1632), described in 1629 as a ‘mercante da droghe’, whose activities focused on the spice trade. Della Nave's inventory reveals an astonishing collection that is unlikely to have been equalled in Venice during his day and included no fewer than fifteen works by Titian, notably including The Gypsy Madonna of circa 1511; his Violante of circa 1510-15; the Nymph and Shepherd of circa 1570 (all in Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum); and the artist’s mature masterpiece of 1565-76, The Death of Actaeon, now in the National Gallery, London. In 1636, the Longleat picture was valued at £200 in della Naves's inventory, twice the amount for the Death of Actaeon, suggesting Titian's early works were more highly prized than their later counterparts.
Through Bartolomeo’s brother, Andrea della Nave, and Basil Feilding, 2nd Earl of Denbigh, King Charles I’s ambassador to Venice, the majority of the collection was acquired en bloc by the latter’s brother-in-law, James, 1st Duke of Hamilton and sent to England. Following Hamilton’s execution by parliament in 1649, the collection was sold to Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1647-1656. The picture appears in Teniers’ copper panel depicting The Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his Picture Gallery in Brussels (Madrid, Museo del Prado), where it is shown hanging alongside other works by Titian acquired from della Nave’s collection, among which are the Nymph and Shepherd, Violante, and his Christ and the Woman taken in Adultery, circa 1511 (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum), an unfinished panel that the young Anthony van Dyck had made a sketch of during his visit to see the Venetian merchant’s collection in 1622.
The Longleat picture remained in the Imperial collection – passing by descent from Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (1685-1740), Vienna, to Maria Theresa (1717-1780), Holy Roman Empress, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, to Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (1741-1790) – and was transferred to the Belvedere Palace in Vienna by 1781, where it was looted by French troops in 1809 for the Musée Napoléon. It was subsequently owned by Hugh Andrew Johnstone Munro of Novar (1797-1864), a Scottish landowner, amateur artist and one of the most important patrons of Turner. Munro formed a celebrated collection that included Rembrandt’s Lucretia (Washington, National Gallery of Art), Veronese’s Vision of St. Helena (London, National Gallery), and at least ten pictures by Bonington, of which the finest was A fishmarket near Boulogne (New Haven, Yale Centre for British Art).
Early Titians of this calibre are rarely encountered on the market, it will be very exciting to see what it makes. I remember seeing the painting at Longleat several years ago. It was hanging in a very grand room full of Italian pictures in which visitors have to peer behind a rope to view, not ideal viewing conditions. It will be a wonderful opportunity to see it up-close in the galleries during the preview, a rare treat indeed!
Nelson-Atkins Museum to sell $18m Monet
April 2 2024
Picture: news.artnet.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City will be selling an $18m Monet from their collection at Christie's in May.
The ownership of the painting is slightly complicated, as the article linked above explains:
The museum, which only partially owns the work, will put its share of the proceeds towards establishing a new acquisition fund.
The Nelson-Atkins received this riverfront scene from Ethel B. Atha, wife of famed Folgers Coffee salesman Frank P. Atha, in 1986. The trailblazing Impressionist art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel first bought the work from Monet in 1891. It changed hands twice and ended up in the Athas’ possession some 50 years later. Ethel B. Atha donated the painting to the Nelson-Atkins as a partial gift, offering the institution two-thirds ownership while her family retained the final third. Following her death, that share fell to her daughter, Ethelyn Atha Chase, who passed away last September.
The museums Director's Julián Zugazagoitia has expressed that a new acquisitions fund could be useful as it “might identify the Monets of tomorrow.”
Dorotheum April Old Masters Sale
April 2 2024
Picture: Dorotheum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Dorotheum in Vienna have published their upcoming sale of Old Master Paintings online. As usual, there are lots of interesting lots to peruse, including this recently reattributed Louyse Moillon (which had appeared at Roseberys in an uncleaned state back in 2021). The sale will take place on 24th April 2024.
Bonhams April Sale
March 28 2024
Picture: Bonhams
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Bonhams London have published their upcoming April Old Master Paintings Sale. As usual, I won't spoil the fun by pointing out any lots in particular which may or may not look interesting. The sale will take place on 10th April 2024.
