Category: Auctions
Fakes, fakes everywhere?
October 24 2012
Picture: BG
If I told you about the fake old master that recently appeared at a major auction house's Old Master sale, and the fake old master that was on offer at a recent international fine art fair, I'd probably get sued. So I won't. Yet. Here, in the meantime, is the back of one of them. Yes, that's a suspiciously new stretcher.
I hope you didn't buy it!
A very heavy 'dialogue'
October 16 2012
Picture: BG
Doubtless when it is 'installed', dramatically lit, and with a label beside it, this 'Treetrunk' by Jurgen Bey will be worth the £4-6,000 Christie's says it is. And doubtless too it will, as the catalogue entry states, 'offer a dialogue between culture and nature'.
But to me, as I was walked past Christie's this morning and saw it being lifted through the front door, it just looked like a large log with two chair backs stuck into it.
Achtung - PR blunder alarm!
October 10 2012
Picture: Mail/Newsteam
Regular readers will know that I take a very dim view of auctioneers who cash in on the highly distasteful Nazi memorabilia market. So let us applaud Northampton auctioneer J P Humbert's spectacular PR own goal, and say loudly 'serves you right'. Recently, Humbert's staged an auction full of Nazi items on the holiest day in the Jewish year, Yom Kippur. They even saw fit to festoon their rostrum with Nazi flags. It was all very Nuremberg. When the blunder made the news, Humberts tried to make amends by offering a donation to the Holocaust Education Trust. But this was rightly turned down. From The Daily Mail:
A spokesperson for the charity said: 'The Holocaust Educational Trust will not accept any donations from organisations which profit from the sale of items associated with the Nazi regime.
'It is our view that these items are best placed in archives, museums or in an educational context.'
Mr Humbert defended the auction house, based in Towcester, Northants, and said yesterday: 'Not being Jewish, how am I expected to know the dates of Jewish festivals?
A bargain Bond in paint?
October 5 2012
Picture: Artnet
Sometimes Bonhams puts pictures in rather random sales, where they pass under the normal picture-buying radar. (I once bought a very important portrait of Disraeli in a 'Gentleman's Library' sale for peanuts. It's now hanging in the House of Commons.) The painting above came up last year in an 'Entertainment Memorabilia' sale, and sold for just £5,400 (inc. premium). Today's 50th Anniversary of Dr No, the first Bond film, has reminded me of it.
The picture was catalogued as 'attributed to Robert McGinnis', who designed the poster for The Man with the Golden Gun. Bonhams suggested it was the unfinished preparatory painting for the iconic poster. In which case, the picture was a steal at £5,400. But I see that the Bonhams website carries this update, with a quote from Mr McGinnis:
"It's possible I did it and have forgotten; however, if I didn't do it, someone made an exact copy of my final poster painting of Roger Moore."
So depending on Mr McGinnis' memory, it was either the Bond bargain of the decade, or a rather cunning fake. It thought it was well painted - if I'd seen it, I reckon I'd have had a punt...
Caveat Emptor, again
September 28 2012
Picture: Mayfair Art Purveyors
They're back again - those curious 'investment level' art auctioneers I warned you about before.
Should we market Old Masters like this?
September 24 2012
Video: Sotheby's
A reader writes:
Just wondering, would you advertise a $35-50 million picture in this way?
And this is the voice of their Contemporary Art front man, Tobias Meyer…. Regardless of what we think about it, I guess it speaks of the core of what Sotheby’s believe most of such millionaire Contemporary Art buyers really look for in a work of art – to enter into another dimension (of space rather than time. Meyer makes that clear – but still, the space needn’t be new). Perhaps this could be a new marketing approach for your Old Masters in order to attract those millionaire buyers? Most serious unfinished/preparatory works do this quite well. Titian, Rembrandt, Turner, Ribera all have this memorising quality. Similar to Rothko, their misty brush work becomes our hallucinogen.
I might not use Tobias Meyer's choice of words. But I certainly think auctioneers and dealers should have a go at taking Old Masters out of their comfort zone.
Why connoisseurship matters, ctd.
September 21 2012
I can't name names (this blog isn't registered in Ecuador), but there's a growing problem with fakes in regional English auction houses. They are spreading like an infection. So if you're tempted by a seemingly bargain late 19th Century or early & mid-20th Century picture, for goodness sake be careful...
Spot the difference - new Vernet discovered
September 19 2012
Picture: Telegraph
In The Telegraph, Colin Gleadell has news of an impressive new discovery by my fellow London dealer Theo Johns:
Spotted high up on a wall at Sotheby’s last year, the painting of a shipwreck and its survivors was attributed to “the Studio of Claude-Joseph Vernet”, a French artist who catered for the 18th-century romantic taste for the “terrible” and the picturesque. Although signed, it was thought not to be by Vernet, but by one of his studio assistants. Consequently, it was knocked down to London dealer Theo Johns, for just £25,000.
Since then, Johns has had the painting cleaned to reveal one of Vernet’s trademark lighthouses perched on a cliff (pictured above), which, for some unknown reason, had been painted over in the 20th century. Johns then tracked the painting’s exhibition history and found it had been included in the 1926 catalogue raisonne of the artist’s work. It is now on offer for £400,000, which is par for the course for a large, early shipwreck scene by Vernet, an artist who is represented in museums the world over.
More details and better photos here.
Auction horror of the week
September 18 2012
Picture: Mullocks Auctioneers
Ghastly, ghastly. But which is worse - the fact that there is a demand for this sort of thing (the estimate is £2,000-£3,000), or that auctioneers are prepared to cash in on it?
Update - isn't it a fake?
Update II - a reader writes:
I have been watching Alistair Sooke's Roman art series (Treasures of Rome) and found it both stimulating, educational and visually stunning, opening an area of art history I know little of - and in it have seen sculpted images of characters besides whom Himmler is an amateur in the cruelty stakes apparently. Which auction house would not handle an ancient bust of Caligula? And would you condemn them for doing so?
Nope. But then Caligula's victims, their children and grandchildren, aren't still alive.
The Sooke series is really excellent - catch it on iPlayer if you haven't seen it.
Update III - a reader writes:
Caligula may be a slightly ropey counter-offensive, but what about Maoist/Stalinist items?
A £7m Steen on the block
September 12 2012
Picture: Arts Council/Sotheby's
A reader alerts me to the sale of a fine Jan Steen, Grace before Meat, from the Walter Morrison Picture Settlement (ie, Sudeley Castle). The pre-auction guide price for any museums interested in acquiring this tax exempted picture is £7m. Probably the lower auction estimate will be around that level when it comes up for sale at Sotheby's in London this December.
Sleeper Alert
September 12 2012
Picture: Bonhams
At least two people got excited enough at yesterday's minor Bonhams sale to bid this '19th Century French School' head of a monk to £49,250 (inc. premium), from its £700-£1,000 estimate. Clearly 17th Century, and Flemish, I thought it had a sniff of Jordaens about it. It looked much better in the flesh than the illustration. Perhaps we will soon see it again.
Update - a reader writes:
Isn’t someone guessing it’s a study of the monk on the lower right of Ruben’s altarpiece of “The Last Communion of St Francis” [KMSKA, Antwerp]?
Giant Warhol sale - everything must go!
September 6 2012
Picture: Sally Holland/CNN
Only, not all at once. The Andy Warhol Foundation has announced that it will sell its entire Warhol collection through Christie's. It has, however, wisely decided not to flood the market, and the sales will be eked out. From AFP:
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts announced Wednesday it will disperse its entire collection of works from the ground-breaking pop artist through sales and donations.
The profits will be used to bolster the foundation's grant-making activities, with Christie's entering a long-term deal to market the works.
"Christie's will conduct phased sales over a period of years using multiple platforms, including single artist live auctions, private sales and continuing online auctions, bringing a wide range of Warhol's art -- much of which has never before been seen by the public at large -- to existing as well as new collectors worldwide," a statement from the two partners said.
Great coup for Christie's. Whoever sealed that deal needs a big bonus.
Selling second hand paintings, US style
August 15 2012
Picture: Christie's
You thought Christie's Interior Sales were a place to buy cheap-ish antiques and paintings? Think again. In New York, Christie's 'style and beauty expert' Mary Alice Stephenson says it's all about the experience of 'self-curating':
“Speaking of curated experiences, that’s really what Christie’s Interiors sales are. You can find incredible pieces that fit into different aspects of your life. Right now, the DIY movement informs how so many people approach style and décor, and a big part of that overall philosophy is taking objects that had another use or lived in someone else’s world and incorporating them into your own in a thoughtful, sophisticated way. Many of the works you’ll find here have stories—or are the perfect start to a new story that’s all your own.”
I've looked to see if Christie's has a 'style and beauty expert' in London, but it seems they don't. I guess some things don't translate across the Atlantic. As George Bernard Shaw said, we're 'two nations seperated by a common language'.
How corrupt is the Chinese art market?
August 14 2012
Unbelievably so, according to Abigail Esman in this must-read article at Forbes.com.
Beach Volleyball in London c.1752
August 9 2012
Picture: Dorotheum
Dorotheum have announced that they will auction the above Canaletto of Horse Guards Parade (where today we're hosting the Olympic Small Bikini Wearing Competition Beach Volleyball games) on 17th October. It is apparently one of only three Canalettos painted on panel. More details and a better image here.
Boom - Christie's post record results
July 23 2012
Picture: Christie's
Apart from a dip in Chinese sales, Christie's have seen big rises in all sectors. From Reuters:
Christie's announced record first-half art sales of 2.2 billion pounds on Tuesday, a rise of 13 percent over the same period of 2011 and further evidence of the strength of the high end of the market.
The world's largest auctioneer reported auction sales of 1.8 billion in the first six months of 2012, seven percent up on a year ago, while private art sales soared 53 percent to 413 million pounds. All figures include buyer's premium.
However, there was a steep drop in Asian and Middle Eastern auction revenues to 234 million pounds, 23 percent down on the first half of 2011 as rampant Chinese buying cooled.
In terms of auction categories, the post-war and contemporary sector rose by 34 percent to 576 million pounds, jewellery jumped 28 percent to 190 million and old masters and 19th century art was up 50 percent to 72 million.
Encouraging news too from the lower end of the market:
Several experts have warned that the disparity between art values and the broader economy cannot continue forever and that while the most coveted works are rising in value, other sectors of the art market are less healthy.
Christie's noted, however, that sales at its South Kensington showrooms in London, where lesser works are typically sold, had risen 23 percent to 73 million pounds in the first six months.
How clever Christie's have been to keep hold of their South Kensington saleroom, and to run it with such panache. A few years ago there was talk of closure, especially after Sotheby's ditched their Olympia saleroom. Having a seperate premises for lower value items allows greater flexibility, and builds loyalty among the next generation of collectors. It also means that the main salerooms aren't cluttered with mediocre lots during the more important sales, which is often the case at Sotheby's. A good example of the versatility that South Kensington offers is the forthcoming 'London Sale' (3rd September), which includes the above famous photo by Norman Parkinson, 'New Look at the National Gallery' (est. £4-£4,500). You can even buy an old Routemaster London bus (est. £20-£30,000).
Happy Birthday Sir Joshua
July 16 2012
Picture: Christie's
I generally try to avoid 'on this day' items, but today is Sir Joshua Reynolds' birthday. He would be 288 years old (I think). It gives me an excuse to illustrate a previously unrecorded self-portrait by Reynolds, which was sold at Christie's in the recent auctions for £325,250, a sum way over the strangely low estimate of £60-£100,000. To be honest, I thought it would make much more. Dated to the 1760s, this unfinished self-portrait is, to me, one of the best he ever painted, and in its daring appearance seems a rare combination of modernity and 18th Century genius.
However, I may be biased because 1) I love unfinished pictures and 2) we bought it. But I hope you agree with me. There is quite a lot of over-paint in the background, perhaps an attempt in the past to make the picture look less sketchy. We are doing tests now to see what lies beneath.
A handy Old Master investment
July 13 2012
Picture: Galerie Koller
In their July newsletter, Old Master dealers John Mitchell highlight not only the good value of a well-sourced painting compared to modern and contemporary art, but also the investment potential:
The delectable little flower painting on copper of 1612 by Roelandt Savery [above] was bought by us at Sotheby’s in 2001 for nearly £1.8 million. The commonly-held belief that we had paid far too high a price for such a picture has just been dispelled; the owner sold it through a Swiss auction house six weeks ago for more than £3.6 m. In the light of this, one can’t help wondering what the painting will be worth in another ten, twenty or thirty years’ time.
Everything is relative, of course, and these sums are trifling when compared to the prices being paid for modern art– at the time of writing, the sale of Munch’s pastel Scream is still very much in the headlines. The point has been made before,and bears repeating, that there is still a huge discrepancy in value between Old Masters and contemporary art; if a meaningless, repetitive Warhol screenprint can fetch millions of dollars, then on that basis a precious early flower painting from four centuries ago must be worth many times that. That this is not the case is greatly to the advantage of the true picture collector endowed with some understanding of the past and,above all, an appreciation of true craftsmanship.
Quite. Amen.
A new Van Dyck grisaille
July 13 2012
Picture: Sotheby's
I've been meaning to mention a newly discovered Van Dyck grisaille that surfaced at Sotheby's in the recent Old Master day sale. It is a sketch for his 1639 double portrait of Mountjoy, Earl of Newport, and George, Lord Goring, which is now at Petworth. There are a few differences in the composition of the final picture, so this is handy evidence of Van Dyck's working practice. The page, of course, is a frequently used Van Dyck motif, and originates with Rubens. It was later re-used by Robert Walker in his portraits of Cromwell.
The grisaille was estimated at £30-£50,000, but didn't sell.
'Scream' buyer named
July 12 2012
Picture: Reuters
In the Wall Street Journal, Kelly Crow has the art world scoop of the year:
New York financier Leon Black paid Sotheby's nearly $120 million for "The Scream," Edvard Munch's 1895 pastel of a terrified man holding his head, according to several people close to the collector.
The identity of the buyer—who set a record for a work of art sold at auction—had been one of the art world's most closely guarded secrets since the dramatic, 12-minute sale in May. Now a new parlor game will begin: guessing where the iconic artwork ends up.
Mr. Black sits on the boards of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art, setting up a potential tug of war between two of the country's most powerful art institutions. Neither owns a "Scream," aside from lithograph-print versions of it.
