edouard manet

Manet Self Portrait Sets New Record

Sotheby's London sold an Edouard Manet self-portrait at auction for $33.1 million (22.4 pounds) on Tuesday setting a record for the artist at auction. The number was actually at the lower end of pre-sale expectations of 20-30 million pounds. The painting is one of only two self-portraits by the artist and the only one in private hands but only one bidder Franck Giraud, a private dealer based in New York made an offer. The NY Times reports that Steven A. Cohen, who runs SAC Capital Management, was the owner of the painting and had paid as much as $35 to $40 million for the painting nearly a decade earlier from art loving casino mogul Steve Wynn.

The overall total for the sale was $165.2 million at the lower end of the $148.4 million to $217.5 million and 16 of the 51 works did not sell. In the NY Times article, Richard L. Feigen, a New York dealer, said that part of the issue was that while it's a great picture, Manet just doesn't have the marquee appeal of artists like Picasso and Giacommetti. In a world that worships the modern, Manet's painterly rendition of himself as a dated dandy simply doesn't excite the masses. Cohen himself has moved on to modern art picking up a 1958 "Flag" painting by Jasper Johns for a reported $110 million.

Tags: art, art market, edouard manet, sothebys, steven a cohen

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