Category: Auctions
Sleeper Alert!
October 1 2020
Picture: Coutau-Bégarie
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News on Twitter (via. @neiljeffares) that the above unidentified pastel made €115,000 at the auction house Coutau-Bégarie yesterday. Neil Jeffares pointed out that it is another version of the professor, mathematician and Catholic priest Le père François de Paule Jacquier by Guillame Voiriot (1712/9-1799). More information can be found via this link to Pastellists.com (page 2).
Christie's NY Online Sale
October 1 2020
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A quick note that the Christie's NY online auction, the equivalent to the usual 'day sale', has been uploaded online. Bidding runs from 1st - 20th October 2020.
There are too many interesting pictures to point out, so I'll leave this pleasure to readers to find their favourites. This painting of a Young woman resting on her hand, 'Attributed to Rubens', certainly has an intriguing catalogue note.
There is even a chance to own a painting which had once belonged to Emperor Napoleon III. The above painting of Isabel de Requesens, after Giulio Romano and housed in an extravagant Dutch frame, is estimated at $30k - $50k.
Sleeper Alert!
September 29 2020
Picture: Cabral Moncada Leilões
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News on Twitter (via. @auctionradar) that this painting of 'The Martyrdom of Saint Peter of Verona' catalogued as 'Spanish School, 17th cent' made €275,000 over its €1,500 estimate at the auction house Cabral Moncada Leilões yesterday. The frame bears an old attribution to Murillo.
$20m - $30m Rembrandt at Sotheby's
September 29 2020
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's have just announced that they will be offering Rembrandt's Abraham and the Angels in their January sale in New York. The work, which is signed and dated 1646, will carry an estimate of $20m - $30m. It seems the work will be sold in the same sale as the recently announced $80m Botticelli.
The auction house's press release claims:
This is almost certainly the last opportunity to acquire a painting of a biblical narrative from the Old Testament by Rembrandt, as the only other painting by the artist that depicts a biblical narrative remains in a private collection in the United Kingdom and is subject to British patrimony protection.
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With all of these top paintings coming out of the woodwork for auction, I wonder what will be next?
Update - Artmarketmonitor.com have published the following information regarding the work's provenance:
The work was last sold at auction in 1848 for just £64 at Christie’s, according to the work’s ownership record. Its first recorded owner in 1647 was Dutch entrepreneur Martin van den Broeck. It changed hands several times, and passed through the collections of Benjamin West and Sir Thomas Baring. For decades the work remained in the Heemstede-base von Pannwitz family collection through descent. It then went to the prominent Old Masters collector Alfred Bader in 2004, and from there it came into the hands of veteran dealer Otto Naumann, who is now Sotheby’s Senior vice President and Client Development Director. The present owner acquired it in 2006.
Sleeper Alert!
September 28 2020
Picture: Wannenes
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
This portrait catalogued as 'Circle of Rembrandt' made €60,000 (hammer price) over its €500 - €800 estimate last week at Wannenes Auctions in Italy. The vigorous brushwork and dark tones suggest to me that it more Italian than Dutch, but click on the link above to see for yourselves.
$80m Botticelli at Sotheby's
September 24 2020
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Mon Dieu! Sotheby's have announced that they will be offering an $80m work by Sandro Botticelli in their January auction in New York. The portrait of a young man holding a roundel is one of the last great works by the master in private hands, and will carry the largest estimate ever set for an old master at Sotheby's.
The painting's provenance sounds rather intriguing too:
The portrait, Young Man Holding a Roundel, is recorded as being in the collection of Lord Newborough at Caernarfon in Wales in the 1930s. It is believed to have been purchased by his ancestor Sir Thomas Wynn, the first Lord Newborough, while living in Tuscany.
It apparently hung in an anteroom unknown to the outside world, its importance unrecognised. It was bought by a dealer who sold it to a private collector whose heirs sold it at auction to the present owner in 1982 for £810,000.
Over the past 50 years it has had periods of extended loan to the National Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington and the Städel Museum in Frankfurt.
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Once again it is proven that stormy seas can bring unexpected treasures to the shores. It will be interesting to see what state the art market, and the world for that matter, will be in after the November Presidential election.
Update - More details have emerged at the end of last week regarding the painting's owner. It has been consigned for sale by the real estate magnate Sheldon Selow. Selow is reported to have purchased the work for $1.3m at auction in 1982.
Paris Biennale at Christie's
September 23 2020
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz
In June I reported the news that this year's Paris Biennale would be replaced with an online sale at Christie's Paris. The catalogue for the Biennale sale has just been uploaded to their website. This diverse sale features old master paintings, antiquities, modernist sculpture and fine furniture from a variety of different periods. It includes lots from some of France's top dealers.
The old master paintings side of things is very well represented. The highlight is the above Summer Harvest by Pieter Bruegel the Younger. Estimated at €400,000 - €600,000, the work has been offered for sale by the gallery owned by the fair's president Georges de Jonckheere. Other artists whose works are up for sale include Jan van Kessel, Herri met de Bles, Jean Baptiste Pater, Marguerite Gerard and Hendrick van Steenwyck the Elder.
Online bidding runs from 24th September - 8th October.
Sotheby's Results
September 23 2020
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The mid-season online sale at Sotheby's London ended today bringing in a total of £1,318,968 (inc. premium) with 82.7% of lots sold.
The stand out result was for the picture above, catalogued as 'Follower of Guido Reni' which realised £189,000 (inc. premium) over its estimate of £7k - £10k. The catalogue states that the painting relates to this original work in the Bob Jones University Collection in South Carolina.
As expected with such low enticing estimates, many paintings did manage to double their low estimates. An estimate after all is something of a psychological game, often engineered to get people involved rather than pass lots by.
Some other notable results were this copy of a De Heem which made £21,240 over its £4k - £6k estimate; a grisaille sketch given to a 'Follower of Van Dyck' which realised £27,720 over its £4k - £6k estimate; two portraits 'attributed to Franz Kessler' which made £56,700 over its £12k - £18k estimate; this eighteenth century Spanish colonial painting which made £20,160 over its £4k - £6k estimate; and this James Pollard of the London to Glasgow Mail Coach which made £20,160 over its £4k - £6k estimate. These are not the most enormous results. But they do show that there is still some health in low to mid-range old master market.
Is this a Rubens?
September 23 2020
Picture: Hammersite
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
This drawing made $24,000 yesterday over its $2k - $4k estimate at Hammersite auctions in Tel Aviv yesterday. The auctioneer had catalogued the Woodland Scene as by 'Peter Paul Rubens'.
I'm not sure what the rules are Israel regarding the legalities of catalogue notes, but, in the UK at least if you are auctioning off a work and giving it to an artist in full (no added 'attributed to' or 'Follower of' etc.) then the buyer has the opportunity of legal recourse if it shown to be otherwise. This is why the big auction houses have so many bits of legal text at the back of their printed catalogues.
The auction house had drawn a comparison to this sheet in the Ashomolean Museum in Oxford, which is a recognised work by Rubens. The work also bore provenance linking it to the Estate of Isidor Kaiser, Copenhagen-Hamburg.
As the old saying goes, Caveat emptor.
Sleeper Alert!
September 23 2020
Picture: Waddingtons.ca
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A reader has alerted me to this drawing which sold at Waddingtons in Canada yesterday for $15,600 (inc. premium) over its $200 - $300 estimate. It was catalogued as 'Man in his study looking upwards - 18th century Baroque master, French'. Looks like an image of Saint John with his eagle.
Salomon Ruysdael Soars
September 22 2020
Picture: Pescheteau Badin
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
This rather unassuming picture by Salomon Ruysdael soared past its estimate of €40,000 - €60,000 today by achieving a €266,770 (inc. premium) at auction in France. It looks like there is an excellent clean in it, which must have tempted bidders. Equally, the Sedelmeyer provenance must have played its part too!
Christie's October Sales
September 21 2020
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's have published their October Old Master Paintings sale online. This forms part of their New York October Classic week, which also includes the sale of Jayne Wrightsman's collection.
The top lot in the evening sale on 15th October is Ter Brugghen's 'The ill matched lovers' estimated at $2m - $3m. Other interesting lots include the Brooklyn Museum's Cranach of 'Lucretia' is estimated at $1.2m - $1.8m (pictured); a fine Govaert Flinck of an officer in a gorget carries an estimate of $700k - $900k; a newly discovered El Greco portrait bears an estimate of $1m - $1.5m; A rare Jacopo Bellini of the Virgin and Child estimated at $600k - $1m; a energetic Triumph of Galatea by Artemisia Gentileschi carries as estimate of $1m - $1.5m; and a fine Van Dyck of John Count of Nassau-Siegen that won the praise of Reynolds estimated at $800k - $1.2m.
The 'day sale', which will take place in the form of an online auction between 1 - 20 October , hasn't been uploaded yet but can be found here.
Sleeper Alert!
September 21 2020
Picture: Great Western Auctions
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The above painting catalogued as 'Manner of Waterhouse' realised £42,000 (hammer price) over its £400 - £600 estimate at Great Western Auctions in Scotland over the weekend. It's well worth clicking on the link above the zoom into the brushstrokes! I'm almost certain that we'll see the picture again.
Sleeper Alert!
September 20 2020
Picture: Briscadieu Bordeaux
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
News on Twitter (via. @auctionradar) that eleven paintings of 'Inca Emperors' catalogued as 'South American School, 19th Century' made a staggering €1,050,000 over their €4k - €6k estimate on Saturday. The paintings were auctioned off at Briscadieu Bordeaux in France. It looks quite possible that they are much earlier than they might appear to be.
Göring's Prints up for Sale
September 17 2020
Picture: Interencheres.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
A reader has alerted me to the macabre provenance of a collection of old master prints coming up for sale in Northern France.
The bound volume of 193 prints by the likes of Van Dyck, Poussin, Guide Reni and Maroni bears stamps and inscriptions showing that it once belonged to Hermann Görring. After being sent to Berlin, presumably during the war, it was later taken by Russian soldiers after the capture of Eagle's Nest on 4th May 1945. It bears stamps purporting to show that it was then sent to Tsarskoe Selo before being distributed to soldiers of the second armoured division. Each of the prints bears an inventory mark.
Brooklyn Museum to Sell 12 Works
September 16 2020
Picture: Brooklyn Museum
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The NY Times have published an article regarding the Brooklyn Museum's intention to sell 12 works of art to raise funds for the care of its collection. This includes works by Cranach, Courbet, Corot and Donato de' Bardi (pictured).
The article suggests that the sale has been made easier due to an announcement in April this year from the Association of Museum Directors that it would not penalize museums that "use the proceeds from deaccessioned art to pay for expenses associated with the direct care of collections.” The article claims this change has been attributed to the COVID19 pandemic. The association has previously only condoned deaccessioning as a route to raise funds for new acquisitions. It seems that the Brooklyn Museum, who have seemingly long faced financial difficulties, are using this change in rules as an opportunity to find some stability.
The museum hopes to eventually raise $40m to establish a fund allowing them to spend $2m a year for the collection's care. The works will be sold through the auction house Christie's later this year.
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Selling the family silver to keep the house is not a new phenomenon. Let's hope this isn't the start of a more widespread trend.
Christie's Paris Results
September 15 2020
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Christie's recent Old Master Paintings & Sculpture sale in Paris realised a respectable €5,739,000 (all prices quoted inc. premium) today with roughly 79.6% of lots sold.
The two pictures that flew past their estimates were the ones that were appearing absolutely everywhere on social media. This fine 'Follower of Sofonisba Anguissola' realised €110,000 over its €25k - €35k estimate; and this attractive headstudy of a boy given to the 'Workshop of Rubens' made €137,500 over its €60k - €80k estimate; and this Lucretia by the 'Master of the Female Half Lengths' made €430,000 over its €80 - €120k estimate.
Equally interesting was this 'School of Antwerp - Follower of Rubens' which soared to €274,000 over an estimate of €12k - €18k. Did optimistic bidders spot something that the cataloguers had neglected?
Update - I forgot to mention that this very fine hatted lady by Nicholas Largillière made €1,570,000 over its €600k - €1m estimate in the Christie's Paris sale of Paul-Louis Weiller.
Sotheby's Mid-Season Sale
September 9 2020
Picture: Sotheby's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Sotheby's mid-season old master paintings sale has been published. The London sale, which will be conducted online, will run from 18 - 23 September 2020.
One is immediately struck by the temptingly low estimates, many of which hover around a few thousand pounds. Can anyone resist a good bargain? As to be expected, several pictures have appeared in previous sales. Overally, this approach might be a very good tactic to encourage all of those who saved up by not going abroad this summer to buy something beautiful for their home.
A few brief highlights include the above Salvator Mundi by Charles Mellin estimate at £6k - £8k; a 14th century 'Florentine School' triptych from the Downside Abbey Trust estimated at £40k - £60k; a 'Workshop of El Greco' of Saint Peter estimated at £8k - £12k; an atmospheric Gerrit Berckheyde of St Bavo Cathedral in Haarlem estimated at £6k - £8k; or equally this very pleasing 18th century 'Irish School' landscape estimated at £5k - £7k. There's also this rather fun 19th century artist's folding easle and chair, once said to be owned by John Constable, estimated at £3k - £5k.
On a personal note, I'm delighted to see this fun portrait by John Westbrooke Chandler, an obscure and chameleon-like artist on whom I contributed an article for the British Art Journal last year.
Gower Makes 8x Low Estimate
September 8 2020
Picture: Woolley & Wallis
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The above portrait by George Gower of Thomas Arundell, later 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour, made 8x its low estimate of £10k - £15k to achieve £82,000 (hammer) at Woolley & Wallis today. This portrait of a fascinating figure from history, with Rothschild Provenance, was always going to do well. It had been the subject of an interesting article in The Art Newspaper this week too.
My favourite lot in the sale was this 'Circle of Thomas Lawrence' pencil drawing on (or mounted to) canvas, which made £9,800 (hammer) over its £200-£300 estimate.
Modigliani Retouching Controversy
September 3 2020
Picture: The Art Newspaper
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Art Newspaper has reported on controversy that has arisen surrounding a retouched painting by Modigliani. The painting is caught up in a lawsuit between the scholar Marc Restellini and the Wildenstein Plattner Institute, with whom Restellini has been finishing a long awaited catalogue raisonné for the artist.
The most interesting part of the story, it seems to me, is the above painting of Beatrice Hastings Seat (1915). This picture sold at Christie's last year for $4.8m and given to Modigliani in full. Restellini has claimed previously that the auction house should have pointed out that the painting was retouched in the 1950s. The image on the right shows the painting in 1953 showing large areas where the work was clearly unfinished. The scholar's criticisms have also been interpreted as a concerted attempt to correct misattributions made in a previous catalogue raisonné by Ambrogio Ceroni in 1958.
The article quotes Restellini having said in 1997, when it sold previously, that:
It had been transformed by someone else to make it more marketable. I showed Christie’s the original work’s photograph from the Paul Guillaume archives and said I could never include the painting as it stands today, because to me that is fake.
Christie's, quite rightly I think, have stood by the fact that the picture is still a Modigliani, albeit it a slightly altered state. The old master paintings world has a slightly more liberal view of paintings in different physical and restored states, for example.
Overall, the story shows how political catalogue raisonné projects can be, especially with an artist whose works commands such high prices on the market.
