francisbacon

$6 Billion Francis Bacon Exhibit Opens in London

Filed under: Art

Most of megabucks Irish artist Francis Bacon's major works - an estimated $6 billion worth in total - just went on exhibit at the Tate Britain in London. As my colleague Deidre Woollard reported in May, Luxist mascot Roman Abramovich slapped down a record-breaking $86.3 million for a Bacon triptych at Sotheby's.

The exhibition will run through January 2009; as we noted earlier this month, Abramovich is bankrolling a Bacon show of his own at his girlfriend's Moscow gallery in 2010. Meanwhile, the Times of London just declared Bacon, who died in 1992 long before his prices went ballistic, to be the "single greatest artist that Britain has produced in the past 100 years." That must come as something of a shock to Damien Hirst.

[via Men.Style]

Tags: contemporary art, ContemporaryArt, Francis Bacon, FrancisBacon, London, Museums, roman abramovich, RomanAbramovich, Sothebys, Tate Britain, TateBritain

Abramovich Bankrolls Bacon Show at Girlfriend's Gallery

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Wealth

Profligate Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is bankrolling a major Francis Bacon exhibition at his gorgeous 27-year-old girlfriend Dasha Zhukova's new Moscow art gallery in 2010. The show at the luxe gallery, called the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture and also financed by Abramovich, will be entitled Death Shadowing Life: Francis Bacon: The Late Paintings, 1971-92, and will subsequently travel to the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, The Art Newspaper reports. The announcement would seem to explain Abramovich's astounding $86.3 million acquisition of a Bacon triptych at Sotheby's in May. Zhukova's gallery officially opens on Sept. 16 with an Ilya Kabakov retrospective.

Tags: Art galleries, ArtGalleries, contemporary art, ContemporaryArt, Dasha Zhukova, DashaZhukova, entertainment-awards, Francis Bacon, FrancisBacon, Hermitage Museum, HermitageMuseum, Ilya Kabakov, IlyaKabakov, Moscow, roman abramovich, RomanAbramovich, Russia, Russian billionaires, RussianBillionaires, Sothebys

Bacon, Basquiat, Prince and Warhol Star in Sotheby's Sale

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Not to be outdone by archrival Christie's, Sotheby's is staging its own major Contemporary Art auction in London on July 1st. With total pre-sale estimates topping $130 million, the event is being billed as "the highest value summer sale of contemporary art ever held by Sotheby's in Europe." The untitled Jean-Michel Basquiat painting belonging to Irish rockers U2 that my colleague Deidre Woollard mentioned earlier this month is a top draw in the auction, with an estimate of $8 - $12 million.

Other highlights include two important works by Francis Bacon: Figure Turning, painted 1962, est. $20 - $30 million, and Study for Head of George Dyer, painted in 1967, est. at over $16 million. Rounding out the other notable big-ticket items are Richard Prince's Overseas Nurse, 2002, est. at $8 - $12 million - more than the current Prince auction record; and Andy Warhol's 1964 Large Campbell's Soup Can (pictured right), est. $5 - $7 million. Also of interest: tennis great John McEnroe is selling his 1986 Warhol portrait with ex Tatum O'Neal, est. only $500,000 - $700,000. See the gallery for images.

Gallery: Sotheby's Summer Sale

Tags: Andy Warhol, AndyWarhol, Contemporary art, ContemporaryArt, Francis Bacon, FrancisBacon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jean-michelBasquiat, John McEnroe, JohnMcenroe, Richard Prince, RichardPrince, Sothebys, U2

Rare Never Exhibited Bacon on Offer at Christie's

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

A rare Francis Bacon triptych that has never before been seen in public and has never been offered at auction is expected to fetch over $20 million during Christie's Contemporary Art Sales in London at the end of the month. Painted in Paris in 1975, Three Studies for a Self Portrait (above) is similar in character to the Bacon triptych that sold for $28 million at Christie's last month. Also starring in the sales on June 30 through July 1: Lucian Freud's Naked Potrait with Reflection, one of the most important works by the artist ever to be offered at auction, est. $20 million - $30 million; Jeff Koons' Balloon Flower (Magenta), 1995-2000, the most important Koons work ever offered at auction in Europe, est. about $25 million; Andy Warhol's Nine Multicolored Marilyns, est. $5 million - $7 million; and Jean-Michel Basquiat's Trunk, painted in 1982, est. $2 - $3 million.

Gallery: Christie's Summer Sale

Tags: Andy Warhol, AndyWarhol, Christies, Contemporary art, ContemporaryArt, Francis Bacon, FrancisBacon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jean-michelBasquiat, Jeff Koons, JeffKoons, Lucian Freud, LucianFreud, Marilyn Monroe, MarilynMonroe

A Primer on the Price of Bacon

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Francis Bacon, that is. In this week's New York magazine, Marion Maneker, art world expert and author of the brilliant men's style book Dressing in the Dark, reveals how the Irishman who "painted meat and blurry popes" came to command $70 million per painting at auction these days. Before 2005, he hadn't crossed the $10 million mark.

Essentially, a bunch of billionaires bid up his work - buyout king Henry Kravis bought one for $35 million last year, and other bigwigs recently paid $53 million for one of those blurry popes and $43 million for a self-portrait (similar to the triptych above, which could fetch $35 million at Christie's next week). Maneker points out however it's also due to the fact that Bacon, who died in 1992, was literally "one of the last great oil painters." His entire estate was only worth £11 million when he succumbed to a heart attack at the age of 82 - less than one little picture would bring now.

Gallery: The Twisted Genius of Bacon

Tags: Christies, Dressing in the Dark, DressingInTheDark, Francis Bacon, FrancisBacon, Henry Kravis, HenryKravis, Marion Maneker, MarionManeker, New York magazine, NewYorkMagazine, Sothebys

$70 Million Francis Bacon Stars in Sotheby's Sale

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

A Francis Bacon triptych painted in 1976 is expected to fetch about $70 million in the star sale of Sotheby's Contemporary Art auction in New York on May 14. If the work, billed as the most important privately-held Bacon extant, does max out despite all the hand-wringing going on, the price will eclipse Impressionist claptrap like this $40 million Monet while still falling far short of some puffed-up Picassos. (The middle panel is pictured here; see the image gallery for the complete piece.) Back in February, a Bacon triptych sold for $46.1 million at Christie's in London, slightly below estimate, though the one currently on offer is the better work in our opinion.

Also included in the stunning sale is Mark Rothko's 1956 Orange, Red, Yellow, expected to fetch in excess of $35 million; Jean-Michel Basquiat's beautiful Untitled (Prophet I), est. $9 - $12 million; Robert Rauschenberg's 1963 Overdrive, est. $10 - $15 million; Richard Prince's Millionaire Nurse, est. $3.5 - $4.5 million; a 1986 Andy Warhol self-portrait, est. $2 - $3 million; an untitled Cy Twombly, est. $1.5 - $2 million; and a very naughty manga-inspired sculpture by Louis Vuitton collaborator Takashi Murakami, valued at an astonishing $3 - $4 million.

Gallery: Sotheby's Contemporary Art Auction

Tags: Andy Warhol, AndyWarhol, Christies, Contemporary art, ContemporaryArt, Cy Twombly, CyTwombly, Francis Bacon, FrancisBacon, Louis Vuitton, LouisVuitton, Mark Rothko, MarkRothko, Monet, Richard Prince, RichardPrince, Robert Rauschenberg, RobertRauschenberg, Sothebys, Takashi Murakami, TakashiMurakami

Christie's $400 Million Contemporary Art Auction

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

On May 13, Christie's New York will stage an incredible Post-War and Contemporary Art sale that could realize close to $400 million. Several museum-quality works are on offer among the 57 lots, and Christie's expects several records to be set. Highlights include Francis Bacon's 1976 Three Studies for Self -Portrait, estimated at $25 - $35 million; a morbidly obese Lucian Freud nude, billed as the most important Freud painting ever offered at auction, also est. $25 - $35 million; Willem De Kooning's 1975 Untitled IV, est. $10 - $15 million; several major works by Andy Warhol including his 1962 Campbell's Soup Can (Pepper Pot), est. $6 - $8 million, and his 1986 Self-Portrait, pictured here, est. $2.5 - $3.5 million; Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1987 Victor 25448, est. $4.5 million - $6.5 million; and many more. Some story-hungry members of the press may be rooting for an art market crash, but we're not buying it.

Gallery: Christie's Contemporary Art Auction

Tags: Andy Warhol, AndyWarhol, Christies, contemporary art, ContemporaryArt, Damian Hirst, DamianHirst, Francis Bacon, FrancisBacon, Jackie Kennedy, JackieKennedy, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jean-michelBasquiat, Lucian Freud, LucianFreud, Willem De Kooning, WillemDeKooning

Rothko Painting Sets Record in New York

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

A painting by artist Mark Rothko broke the record for postwar art by more than a little at an auction at Sotheby's in New York when it sold for $72.8 million dollars on Tuesday. Although "White Center (Yellow, Pink, and Lavender on Rose)," was expected to go for high dollars (presale estimates had put it around $40 million), the over-the-top boost can most likely be attributed to the big name of owner and seller David Rockefeller Sr. -- who says he plans to donate the proceeds of the sale to charity.

It was a big night for record breaking sales, as earlier that night Francis Bacon's "Study From Innocent X" broke all previous records selling for $52.7 million, only to be outdone by the Rockefeller's Rothko moments later.

Source

Tags: art, artist, auction, break record, BreakRecord, broke record, BrokeRecord, david rockefeller, DavidRockefeller, francis bacon, FrancisBacon, mark rothko, MarkRothko, new york, NewYork, painting, paintings, record, record breaking, RecordBreaking, rockefeller, rothko, sotheby's, sothebys