art market

Alexander Calder Fetching High Prices At Auction

It looks very simple but the simple mobile by Alexander Calder shown above sold for a sky-high 2.3 million euros in Paris on May 31 at Artcurial's evening sale of contemporary art. The piece is named Pour Vilar and dates from the early 1950s. Calder made the piece for the French actor Jean Vilar, showing up at his home with the mobile wrapped in newspaper. He proceeded to set up the mobile in the actor's home. The piece was sold to a Swiss collector and had a pre-sale estimate of €500,000-€800,000. It set a record for the artist in France. Calder is a hot property lately. The Art Newspaper reports that a similar mobile Untitled (Autumn Leaves), sold earlier this May at Sotheby's New York for $3.7 million. Calder's spare style appears to resonate with younger collectors whose tastes are more minimalist.

Tags: alexander calder, art, art market, mobile

Is Life A Bowl of Cherries For The Picasso Market?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

When it comes to art does a rising tide lift all boats? Since the record setting sale of Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust" for $106.5 million, the global art world seems to be gripped by Picasso fever. This means that smaller, less expensive Picassos are hitting the market. On June 12, Bloomington Auction House in Illinois is auctioning off "Still life with Bowl of Cherries," a small, unframed painting signed "Picasso." The simple still life oil on board measures about 9 inches by 11¾ inches and carries a big estimate of $400,000 to $1 million.The listing on Live Auctioneers says the painting has never been offered before for public sale.

Tags: art, art market, picasso

Monet Plus Picasso Could Equal London's Biggest Art Sale Ever

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

One of Monet's famous waterlily paintings is part of the upcoming Impressionist and Modern Art sale at Christie's London on June 23. Claude Monet's 1906 'Nympheas' is another piece in the sale that includes a Blue Period portrait by Pablo Picasso, offered by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation. Monet's work is estimated at 30 million pounds to 40 million pounds ($44 million to $59 million) and the Picasso could bring in around $60 million. Given the recent record set by a $106.5 million Picasso that painting could go even higher. This plus the rest of the other works on offer could make this the biggest sale that Christie's has ever had in London. It could bring in 164-231 million pounds which would beat the London record of 147 million pounds set at rival Sotheby's in February.

Tags: art auction, art market, Christies, london, monet, picasso

Manet Self Portrait Headed for Auction

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Manet's Self Portrait with a Palette is owned by hedge fund manager Stephen Cohen of SAC Capital. This June, during a Sotheby's auction, Cohen will add to his already vast fortune when he puts his Manet on the block. Pre-sale estimates value the painting at £20-£30 ($30M - $45M U.S.), but that is described as conservative. What shouldn't be described as conservative is art collectors' hunger for important works this year, with top-dollar records already broken twice. There are only two self-portraits of Manet in existence, and this is the only one in private hands. It is being assumed that another, very wealthy, private hand will keep it that way come June.

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Tags: art market, edouard manet, manet, sac capital, sothebys, stephen cohen

Noth Korean Art Found Has No Market Impact

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

Usually, when rare art is discovered, the auction houses go crazy, and collectors salivate. Well, when the discoveries come in North Korea, there's little the art market can do to participate. Nine pieces depicting Kim Il Sung were discovered, according to the state news service, Korea Central News Agency (so, a grain of salt is necessary, here). Reportedly, the artwork dates "back to the period of the anti-Japanese armed struggle" and "highly laud[s] him as a central figure in the national liberation struggle and the invincible and iron-willed commander who led huge enemy troops by the nose."

Needless to say, I've never seen a piece by Picasso described this way ... and certainly not one by Damien Hirst.

The works are said to be of historical significance, apparently fitting into the historical tradition of works that "truthfully deal with the noble traits of the President who left lots of legends about his love for people behind."

Though indirect, the pieces are suggested to be the work of Kimg Jong Suk, Kim Il Sung's first wife and, according to the KCNA, "a great pioneer of the anti-Japanese revolutionary fine art and a forerunner in creating fine art works depicting the leader."

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Tags: art market, dprk, Kim Il Sung, north korea

$106 Million Picasso Sale Sets New World Record for Most Expensive Work of Art

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Last month The Classicist broke the news that a rarely-seen Picasso was expected to fetch up to $90 million at Christie's landmark Evening Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art, which took place yesterday in New York. Now the results are in and the painting, Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust (above) dated 1932, from the Collection of Mrs. Sidney F. Brody, was sold for a staggering $106.5 million to an unidentified telephone bidder, breaking the previous world record for any work of art sold at auction (set back in February when a Giacometti sculpture brought in $104.3 million). Yesterday's sale achieved a stunning $335.5 million in total. The Evening Sale portion of the Brody Collection also became the highest total for a single-owner sale offered at Christies New York, surpassing the landmark sale of the Collection of Victor and Sally Ganz sale in 1997. The 27 lots from the Brody Collection achieved $224.2 million.

Marc Porter, Chairman of Christie's Americas, commented: "This was a stellar night for Christie's and for the art market. The sale was led by exceptional prices for works by Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti and Henri Matisse from the Brody Collection, one of the greatest private collections to come to market. In addition, we witnessed great depth of bidding and strong results for important works from other American and European collections, including additional paintings by Picasso and works by Giacometti and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. We are honored to have been entrusted with so many remarkable works this season, and we are delighted to have delivered such positive results, including three new world auction records for Picasso, Georges Braque, and Jean-François Raffaelli."

Tags: art market, auction record, Christies, Giacometti, Henri Matisse, modern art, most expensive art, Pablo Picasso, Picasso, world record

Saudi Art Set to Surge

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

The timing couldn't be better for Saudi artists. Just as the art market is recovering in the wake of a severe slump – the worst in almost 20 years – the world is starting to take notice of work that has long been limited only to a local market. Following an exhibition by a group of artists in London in October 2008 and another at last year's Venice Biennale, momentum is building. Shows are planned for Istanbul and Berlin. Auction prices are shooting higher. Excitement is abundant.

And the government is behind it.

King Abdullah's strategy for rebranding Saudi Arabia includes promoting the country's artists, even though there aren't many art galleries inside its borders. The combination of hype and low prices could translate to an amazing opportunity for art collectors. Get in now while the buzz is beginning, and you might be able to ride a sharp increase.

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Tags: art galleries, Art Gallery, art market, artist, Artists, artwork, King Abdullah, saudi arabia

May Art Sales to Bring Records and Liquidity

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

The Impressionist and Modern Art sales on May 4 and 5, 2010 are likely to confirm a continued climb in art auction pricing. We're now six months or so into the badly needed upswing, and there's plenty of room for optimism. Not only are the presale estimates and sales on the way up, but the number of pieces being resold quickly is on the rise, as well. This means that there's a high degree of liquidity in the art market: collectors can sell easily and without worry (as long as the inventory doesn't suck, in which case there's no hope, of course).

The increase in art market liquidity is due in part to the return of guaranteed minimum pricing, in which the auction houses assume some sales risk for attractive or desirable pieces that they feel can beat the numbers and attract buyers and sellers of other strong works. According to ArtPrice, there are "tens of millions of dollars for major works" committed via guaranteed minimum pricing, indicating that confidence is up.

It's the price guarantees that have led to the arrival of some strong pieces at the early may auctions this year, including pieces from the collections of Mrs Sidney Francis Brody, Raymond and Miriam Klein, Bernard Goldberg and Michael Crichton. Brody's works alone could fetch up to $150 million. The high estimate for Christie's is $300 million, a target that doesn't include the top lot, "Nude, Green Leaves" by Pablo Picasso, which as Jared Paul Stern revealed in a recent column is expected to bring in as much as $90 million. Other artists with eight-figure estimates include Henri Matisse, and Alberto Giacometti.

Don't just look for good news – also a expect a few records to b set. Sotheby's has high hopes for pieces by Salvador Dali and Auguste Rodin.

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Tags: alberto giacometti, art auction, art auctions, art market, artist, Artists, auction, auction houses, auction-house, auctions, Christie, Christies, ChristiesAuction, ChristiesAuctionHouse, contemporary, contemporary art, giacometti, Henri Matisse, impressionist, impressionists, michael crichton, modern art, Pablo Picasso, picasso, rodin, Salvador Dali, Sotheby, sothebys

Hidden Art Collection Will Finally Reach Auction

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

A collector's hidden art stash could be good for as much as $26 million. The collection, which had been owned by Ambroise Vollard, will be sold at Sotheby's sales in May and June. It's been hidden in a bank vault for four decades, and now people have shot at buying works by Pablo Picasso, Paul Cezanne and Andre Derain.

Derain's piece, shown above, is the top lot in the collection, a landscape that is estimated with a low end of $13.9 million and the potential to go over $20 million. It heads under the gavel on June 22, 2010 at Sotheby's in London. The following week, in Paris, 140 paintings, drawings, prints and books once belonging to Vollard will be sold, with a presale estimate staring at $3.4 million.

The 141 pieces in the collection were tossed in a Societe Generale vault in Paris by Vollard's associate, Eich Slomovic, in 1939. That's the year Vollard died car crash). Slomovich, who was given the collection to sell on consignment, died in 1942 (cause of death: NAZIs). The vault was opened in 1979 and was scheduled that year for auction. Legal challenges, however, kept the collection in limbo until 2006.

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Tags: art auction, art auctions, art market, auction, auction-house, AuctionHouses, auctions, cezanne, london, Pablo Picasso, paris, picasso, sothebys

The Classicist: $90 Million Picasso, Crichton Collection & More in Megabucks May Art Sales

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art, The Classicist

May is shaping up to be a megabucks month for the art market with some of the world's most notable collections of modern and contemporary master works crossing the block. Topping the list is a rarely-seen Picasso that's expected to fetch up to $90 million at Christie's landmark Evening Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art on May 4th in New York. The painting, Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust (above) dated 1932, is from the Collection of Mrs. Sidney F. Brody of real estate fame. The Brody collection boasts a wealth of master works by the "towering figures of the Modernist movement", including Picasso, Henri Matisse, Alberto Giacometti, Georges Braque, Edouard Vuillard, Marino Marini, and Henry Moore. The total value of the works to be offered is expected to exceed $150 million, making it one of the most valuable single-owner collections ever offered at auction.

Other standouts from the sale include Matisse's Nu au coussin bleu, 1924, estimated at $20–30 million, and Giacometti's Grande tête mince, 1954, estimated at $25–35 million. The Brodys acquired the Picasso direct from the artist's dealers in the 1950s and made it the focal point of their expanding collection at their mansion in Holmby Hills. The painting has only been exhibited once in the United States, when the Brodys loaned it to the 1961 exhibition Bonne Fête Monsieur Picasso, a retrospective staged in honor of Picasso's 80th birthday that was sponsored by the UCLA Art Council. The upcoming sale preview on April 30 marks the first time in 50 years the work will be publicly displayed.

Gallery: Megabucks May 2010 Art Auctions

Tags: alberto giacometti, Andy Warhol, art auction, art market, Christies, contemporary art, eduoard vuillard, georges braque, Henri Matisse, Henry Moore, Jasper Johns, marino marini, Mark Rothko, Mark Tansey, Michael Crichton, modern art, modernist, mrs. sidney brody, New York, Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein

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Sotheby's and Christie's Place Their Russian Bets

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

The Russians are coming to New York! From April 21, 2010 to April 23, 2010, 600 lots of Russian art will be coming to market. Sotheby's will be auctioning 359 of them, including several by Pavel Tchelitchew, from actress Ruth Ford's collection. Also going under the blog are pieces by Stanislaw Zukowski, Nicolas Kalmakoff and Vladimir Davidovic Baranov-Rossine. Sotheby's is expecting a new auction record for Yuri Ivanovich Pimenov, with "Morning Windows" carrying a presale estimate of $250,000 to $350,000.

At Christie's, look for Konstantin Egorovic Makovskij to cause a stir. According to Artprice, his index gained 853 percent from 1999 to 2009 before losing 72 percent in the art market bust. "In from a stroll" has a presale estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. Makovskij hasn't had a sale above $200,000 since November 2008.

While there's obviously some excitement over the coming Russian sales, it shouldn't be confused with the market enjoyed from 2005 to 2008, when seven-figure values weren't unusual. Moving carefully, Sotheby's and Christie's are offering many works with estimates below $400,000.

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Tags: art auction, art auctions, art market, Christies, ChristiesAuction, ChristiesAuctionHouse, russian art, Sotheby, sothebys

May Art Auctions Likely to Bring Back Excitement

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

The May art sales are coming, and I, for one, can't wait to see what happens. The art market took an exciting turn at the end of 2009. Prices appeared to be on the mend, though nobody was willing to believe it fully – not after the tumult experienced for the year and a half before it. Tentative steps gave way to optimism at the beginning of this year, leading many to accept that the art market is coming back. Collectors opened their wallets. Auction houses put better works on the block. Everything looked good.

Unfortunately, there hasn't been much action in the major categories since February. This is strictly a function of the auction seasons. Sure, we've had the Armory Show in New York and Phillips de Pury's anemic sex-themed auction, but this doesn't scratch the big-money art market itch. At the beginning of March, Sotheby's moved Andy Warhol's "Self Defense" for $420,000, well ahead of the presale estimate of $250,000 to $300,000. Christie's pushed "Two Jackies" for $446,500, more than 10 times more than the low-end presale estimate of $40,000. Yet, without piercing the million dollar mark, it's hard to capture anyone's imagination.

So, we've had to wait – and will have to continue to do so until May. In the meantime, anticipation has been mounting. What's coming up next?

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Tags: andy warhol, art, art auction, art auctions, art market, artist, Artists, arts-culture, auction house, auction houses, Christies, Pablo Picasso, Sotheby, sothebys

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Drawings Steady in Global Art Market

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

Like the broader art sector the prices of drawings rose through the bubble and fell during the financial crisis. According to Artprice, however, drawings resisted much of the insanity on the way up and was thus protected on the way down. By the art market peak, this medium picked up a price increase of only 27 percent, compared to 93 percent of contemporary art from 2002 through 2008. Since the broad market decline, drawings have fallen only 11 percent, while the global art index plummeted 36 percent (as of October 2009). Last year, the number of drawing sold actually increased by 10 percent, standing out in a dismal art market.

Old Master drawings have brought new life to the sector, particularly thesale of Raphael's "Head of a muse," which sold for £26 million at Christie's last December, setting a world record. The Chinese market is helping the sector along, as well, with the copious capital it brings to the market.

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Tags: art market, bubble, Christies, drawings, Old Masters, raphael

The Big Deals TEFAF Didn't Mention

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

You know how it is in the art scene: big checks, big names and big egos like to stay under the radar. Anonymity is the norm, of course, and the buyers of Rothkos and Basquiats don't like to see their names in press releases. Yet, a look under the covers of the TEFAF Maasricht art fair shows that some pretty important pieces moved for some rather hefty amounts. The billionaires came out to play, and dealer and galleries were more than ready to accommodate.

Over 10-days, $2.7 billion of inventory was offered t dealers and museums from around the world. Prices edged higher thanks to a recovering art market, and impressive pieces found new homes. Jean-Michel's Basquiat's "Busted Atlas 2" was picked up for $2.4 million by a German collector, sold by Van de Weghe Fine Art, a gallery in New York.

Nonetheless, it's not like the art bubble. David Leiber, of New York's Sperone Westwater gallery, tells Bloomberg News, "Collectors are adjusting to the new values. We have to charge these prices because we can't replace these works." He adds, "There may be some people who went a little overboard at the auctions," a sentiment echoed by Paolo Vedovi of Galerie Odermatt-Vedovi. Vedovi observes, "Auctions are almost a separate market," continuing, "We don't see many of those people. Art fairs aren't as spontaneous. Buyers are cautious and they need to think."

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Tags: art collecting, art collection, art collector, art dealer, art fair, art galleries, Art Gallery, art market, basquiat, galleries, gallery, maastricht, rothko, tefaf

TEFAF Boasts of Art Market Recovery

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

Plenty of art moved at TEFAF Maastricht 2010, and collectors were willing to deal with the prices ... and enjoy their stays in style. According to a statement by TEFAF, many international collectors took private jets to Maastricht/Aachen Airport, where 171 private aircraft landed during the fair. Eighty-two of them touched down in time for the Private View on March 11, 2010. U.S. collectors were back in the game, and the Europeans amped up the intensity, too.

TEFAF attracted 263 dealers and representatives from more than 150 museums from more than 17 countries, which contributed to the robust marketplace (along with the change in global economic circumstances , of course). TEFAF on Paper, a new section at the fair, featured a wide range of prints, drawings and photographs, among others. Parisian dealer Tanakaya moved two early prints, very rare, by Hashiguchi Goyô, entitled Kami sukero Onna, 1921 and Keshô no Onna, 1918. They sold for €32,000 and €30,000 respectively.

Over in the antiquities section, dealer Rupert Wace of London moved an Egyptian Wood Mummy Mask at an asking price of €150,000 (final price not announced) to a private collector. He also sold a Roman bronze statuette of Aphrodite wearing a silver diadem. The piece was from the first century and is headed for a private museum in France.

Tags: art collecting, art collection, art collector, art fair, art galleries, Art Gallery, art market, kandinsky, maastricht, private jets, tefaf