andrew lloyd webber

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Wine Collection Sells Strong In Hong Kong

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's wine collection achieved a strong result in a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong on January 22. Part of Webber's cellar was sold in London by Sotheby's back in 1997 and took in $6.1 million. The current sale included lots of 10 cases of the first growths of the 2005 vintage, Petrus 2000, Cheval Blanc 1982, Domaine de la Romanee Conti La Tache, and Domaine Leflaive. Many of the older wines have been cellared at Sydmonton Court, his 16th century home in Berkshire, England Newer wines have been kept in professional storage.

The sale was estimated to bring in between $2.8 to $4.1 million but brought in 43.3 million Hong Kong dollars ($5.6 million), including the 21% buyer's premium. The Wall Street Journal reports that the six-hour auction, which took place at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong, was filled to capacity. The top lot was a 1982 case of Château Pétrus (12 bottles) that went to an Asian buyer for $77,564. The WSJ article has a list of the top ten lots.

Tags: andrew lloyd webber, bordeaux, CHATEAU PETRUS, hong kong wine, hong kong wine auction, wine auction

Andrew Lloyd Webber Puts Wine Up For Sale In Hong Kong

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Auctions

Many wine collectors are sending their collections to Asia to sell to take advantage of the growing appetite for French wine there. Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber plans to sell off part of his cellar at a Sotheby's auction to take place in Hong Kong on January 22. "I am very happy that Sotheby's is bringing part of my precious wine collection to Hong Kong, particularly given that many wine connoisseurs are now in Asia," he said.

Part of Webber's cellar was sold in London by Sotheby's back in 1997 and took in $6.1 million. The current sale will include lots of 10 cases of the first growths on the 2005 vintage, Petrus 2000, Cheval Blanc 1982, Domaine de la Romanee Conti La Tache, and Domaine Leflaive. Many of the older wines have been cellared at Sydmonton Court, his 16th century home in Berkshire. Newer wines have been kept in professional storage. The sale is estimated to bring in between $2.8 to $4.1 million.

The Andrew Lloyd Webber wine collection represents the first half of a two-day sale that will also feature more wine from Henning Thoresen's Bordeaux Winebank 2000 Collection.

Tags: andrew lloyd webber, bordeaux, bordeaux wine, Bordeaux Winebank, Sothebys International Realty, Wii, wine auction

Andrew Lloyd Webber Selling Theaters to Cut Debt

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Art

Andrew Lloyd Webber, famed creator of "Cats" and "The Phantom of the Opera," is selling four of his London theaters in order to reduce debt. Described as "mid size" music houses the Palace, Her Majesty's, the Cambridge and the New London are all going for a total of 4,900 seats sold in all. 6,100 seats in the larger Palladium, Theater Royal Drury Lane, and the 50 percent owned Adelphi are all staying.

Webber had prostate surgery last year and post-operative complications since then have made things difficult. "It has been a totally gut-wrenching decision for me to decide to sell the four theatres," he said in a statement. "However, following my illness last year I was advised to reduce the debt in the family company."

The sale is expected to be finalized in January and details are not yet available except to say that in addition to reducing debt some of the proceeds will also be re-invested back into the Palladium and the Theater Royal Drury Lane.

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Andrew Lloyd Webber to Sell Picasso for Christie's

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art, Charity

Andrew Lloyd Webber is sending a "Blue Period" Picasso canvas under the gavel in June. A painting of an absinthe drinker, the composer has chosen Christie's as the auction house, with the proceeds going to Webber's charity. The Picasso could fetch as much as $60.9 million, a higher estimate than any other piece in Europe so far this year. Last year, Picasso was the top seller at auction, generating $121 million in sales, according to Artprice.

The painting, entitled "Portrait of Angel Fernandez de Soto (The Absinthe Drinker)," is a study of a young Spanish artist sitting at a Barcelona bar. Says Giovanna Bertazzoni, head of Christie's London-based Impressionist and Modern department to Bloomberg News, "A 'Blue Period' Picasso is the sort of painting that could appeal to a new Chinese buyer." She continues, "There is a new breed of Medici-style collectors who want to buy exceptional art from any period."

Lloyd Weber purchased the painting for $29.2 million in 1995 for his foundation using funds he donated. The painting almost went up for sale at Christie's in 2006 but was withdrawn at the last minute due to some concerns over ownership. A German man had claimed that the painting was lost by his family in a "forced sale" by Nazis but with all issues resolved the painting is now finally up for sale again.

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Tags: andrew lloyd webber, art auction, art auctions, art market, auctions, Christies, Pablo Picasso, picasso

$60M Picasso Withdrawn from Auction

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Charity

There have been some successful Picasso auctions in the past year or so, but an upcoming Christie's auction is not to be such an event. Andrew Lloyd Webber's Art Foundation has had to withdraw a Picasso valued at up to $60 million due to some 11th hour ownership claims made by a man named Julius Schoeps, who claims that the painting was lost by his family in a "forced sale" by Nazis. The Foundation says that the painting, to the best of their knowledge, was sold by the widow of the relative in question after his death in 1935 and that Scheops has no claim to it. A federal judge rejected the case due to a lack of jurisdiction, but Schoeps filed a civil suit in an attempt to claim the painting, titled "Portrait of Angel Fernandez de Soto." Schoeps seeks $60 million in damages and the return of the painting

Both Christies and the Foundation question Scheop's motives for making claim, especially as he was silent when the painting was purchased, with much publicity, by the Foundation in 1995. Proceeds from the sale of the portrait would have gone to charity.