mark rothko

$50 Million Warhol Stars in Christie's Contemporary Art Sale

A rare early Andy Warhol painting expected to fetch up to $50 million, the first picture by Warhol ever to be shown in a museum, headlines Christie's incredible Contemporary Art sale in New York on Nov. 10. The artist's Big Campbell's Soup Can with Can Opener (Vegetable), dated 1962 (above), is one of several multimillion-dollar Warhols on offer in the eye-popping sale. The next most expensive artwork is Roy Lichtenstein's Ohhh...Alright..., dated 1964, expected to fetch in the region of $40 million and one of a number of Lichtensteins on offer, again with several carrying multimillion-dollar estimates. Both seminal paintings "literally changed the course of art history," Christie's notes. In third place price-wise is Gerhard Richter's 1982 oil on canvas Zwei Kerzen, estimated at $12 million – $16 million, followed by Jeff Koons' steel sculpture Balloon Flower (Blue), 1995 - 2000, also estimated at $12 million – $16 million. Following that in the $9 million – $15 million range are two works by Mark Rothko, Untitled (Black on Gray) and No 18 (Brown and Black on Plum). Oligarchs and oil sheikhs, prepare your paddles.

Gallery: Christie's Contemporary Art 11/10

Tags: Andy Warhol, art, auction, Contemporary Art, Gerhard Richter, Jeff Koons, Mark Rothko, museum, New York, painting, Roy Lichtenstein

Megabucks Rothko, Warhol & Bacon Head Sotheby's Sale

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

A $30 million Mark Rothko, $25 million Andy Warhol, $18 million Roy Lichtenstein and $10 million Francis Bacon will headline Sotheby's stunning Contemporary Art sale in New York on Nov. 9. Though the least expensive of the top four lots the Bacon, 1985's Figure in Movement (above), is our favorite among the offerings. Bacon gave the painting to his personal physician, Dr. Paul Brass, and the sale marks it's historic first appearance to market. It featured prominently in the 2008 landmark exhibition Francis Bacon: A Centenary Retrospective at Tate Britain which traveled to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The Rothko, 1955's Untitled, is one of the artist's most monumental works measuring over 7.5 ft. high. Warhol's contribution is 1962's Coca-Cola, not particularly compelling but guaranteed to ride the wave of high prices realized for his work. The Lichtenstein, Ice Cream Soda, is also dated 1962 and has been in a private collection since it was originally purchased that same year.

Tags: Andy Warhol, art, auction, Contemporary Art, exhibition, Francis Bacon, Mark Rothko, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Roy Lichtenstein

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

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

What Inspires You, Temple St. Clair?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Art

Where do you get your inspiration? Jewelry designer Temple St. Clair tells us about the artists that have influenced her work.

I find inspiration in many different art forms and from many eras – from ancient to modern. I recently accompanied my ten year-old son to the Metropolitan Museum of Art here in New York City. He was studying Mesopotamia and the Assyrians and Babylonians. His homework was to find and sketch particular artifacts. My favorite kind of project! We sketched together, and though familiar with this period, I never cease to be amazed at the graphic detail of the sculpture and stone carvings. If one of these pieces was placed in a Picasso museum, it could easily be mistaken for one of the modern master's works. In ancient art, the patterns and repeated motifs become the aesthetic vocabulary not only for design but also for symbolic purposes; I find this absolutely fascinating.

Among my favorite contemporary artists are Richard Diebenkorn and Mark Rothko. Both were masters of color. Rothko's colors emanate beyond the surface of his canvases. I believe this is why many museums fill entire spaces with Rothkos. The Tate Modern in London has one of my favorite "Rothko rooms." The color of a beautifully cut gemstone has a life of its own in a similar way. I select gems for individual color, but also for how their colors work together. There are tourmalines and aquamarines that I never tire looking at. For me, that's the fascination of color whether in a natural gemstone or in a painting. In Richard Diebenkorn's "Ocean Park" series, he relies heavily on color for his composition with very little use of actual line. I think about this when I am putting stone layouts together. The colors of the stones as they relate create the design of the piece; the metal work merely supplies the structure.

It is not that one artist or one art form has influenced my work directly. It is more about creating a lifestyle that celebrates an awareness of beauty in art and nature. With my work, I am lucky in that I have been able to cultivate a reason to read and study and explore. I collect ideas, thoughts and images through literature, music, performance, through visits to museums and travel. I keep a sketch or a postcard or a book on things that I particularly love and that move me. It all goes in to my work and my daily life.

Gallery: Temple St. Clair's Blue Inspirations

Tags: jewelry, mark rothko, MarkRothko, richard diebenkorn, RichardDiebenkorn, temple st clair, TempleStClair

Rothko, Diebenkorn and Degas join Obama in the White House

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Celebrity Design

The world's latest Nobel Peace Prize winner also has excellent taste in art. President Barack Obama has skipped the staid portraits that are usually pulled to adorn White House walls and instead opted for three dozen pieces with a bit more of an edge. Works have been pulled from the National Gallery of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the Smithsonian American Art Museum to decorate the building the symbolizes executive authority in the United States.

The Obama family is definitely leaning modern, with Rothko, Degas and Diebenkorn among the artists represented. They've also included a word painting by Ed Ruscha. Not wanting to deprive the public of the opportunity to view works on display, the Obamas limited their choices to artwork in museum storage.

There's now a lot of money hanging from those White House walls. "Red Band" by Rothko, "Berkeley No. 52" by Diebenkorn and "White Line" by Sam Francis together are estimated to be worth between $20 million and $30 million. Throw a piece by Jasper Johns into the mix – specifically "Numerals, 0 through 9" – and you get a sense of the collection the Obamas have assembled.

Even with access to a collection of that caliber, though, I'd still never take Obama's job. And, there aren't enough Rothkos out there to change my mind.

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Tags: art, art collecting, art collection, art museum, art museums, ArtCollecting, ArtCollection, artist, artists, ArtMuseum, ArtMuseums, artwork, barack obama, BarackObama, degas, ed ruscha, EdRuscha, hirshhorn-sculpture-garden, jasper johns, JasperJohns, mark rothko, MarkRothko, michelle obama, MichelleObama, museum, museums, national gallery of art, NationalGalleryOfArt, nobel peace prize, NobelPeacePrize, obama, president, president barack obama, president obama, PresidentBarackObama, PresidentObama, rothko, smithsonian, smithsonian american art museum, SmithsonianAmericanArtMuseum, white house, WhiteHouse

Tight Lips Won't Reveal Rothko-Madoff Connection

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

Last month, J. Ezra Merkin Ascot Partners LP sold his art collection, which included a hefty dose of works by Mark Rothko, for $310 million. The buyer still isn't known, which is the norm in the art market. But, there are some breadcrumbs along the way which Bloomberg News considered worth following. Interestingly, Merkin's Ascot Partners LP had invested a considerable amount of cash with Ponzi scam artist Bernie Madoff.

Along the way, Merkin's agent, TLIA, LLC, picked up $26.5 million of the $37.5 million in fees. The company is registered to a retired art collector and advisor, Ben Heller, age 83. He isn't talking. PaceWildenstein, which represents the Rothko estate, nabbed the other $11 million. Again, no comment. Yet, TLIA's piece of the commission is a bit high, according to art advisor Liz Klein, but she notes that answers are impossible without the full set of facts. Given the generally silent art market, we're unlikely to get all the facts anytime soon.

Like Merkin, Heller was a Madoff victim - $3.4 million in a charitable trust and $10 million of his own cash went down the drain.

Source

Tags: andrew cuomo, AndrewCuomo, art, art collecting, art collection, art collector, art market, ArtCollecting, ArtCollection, ArtCollector, artist, ArtMarket, artwork, bernard madoff, BernardMadoff, bernie madoff, BernieMadoff, madoff, mark rothko, MarkRothko, pacewildenstein, ponzi, ponzi scheme, PonziScheme, rothko, scandal

Continue reading “Tight Lips Won't Reveal Rothko-Madoff Connection”

Madoff Feeder To Part With Art Collection

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Wealth

Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff has been sentenced but many of his investors are still looking to recoup some of their money. There may be a potential bit of money coming their way from J. Ezra Merkin, a New York financier who put his clients' money in Madoff's hands. Merkin, a noted art collector, is selling a collection of Mark Rothko paintings and Alberto Giacometti sculptures for $310 million. The painting shown at right is not one of Merkin's Rothkos but shows the style of painting that Merkin will be parting with. He was one of the leading collectors of Rothko works and even bought works directly from the Rothko family in 2004 for $91 million.

THe deal was announced by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who had put a freeze on Merkin's assets. The Wall Street Journal says that around $192 million of the proceeds might make it into the hands of defrauded investors. The rest of the money will go toward paying liens on the art, sales commissions, fees and taxes. According to documents sourced by the WSJ, PaceWildenstein LLC, the gallery that acted as a sales representative for the family, has a $42 million lien on behalf of the Rothko family regarding those paintings bought in 2004 and it is possible that now they will buy those paintings back.

The WSJ article seems to indicate that the price for the collection is high given the recent art market slump. The painting shown at right "White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose)" which was sold by David Rockefeller in 2007 brought in $72.8 million at a Sotheby's auction but other Rothkos have sold for less and in recent months several Rothkos have failed to sell at all.

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Tags: art, bernard madoff, BernardMadoff, bernie madoff, BernieMadoff, giacometti, j ezra merkin, JEzraMerkin, mark rothko, MarkRothko, rothko

$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

Contemporary Art Goes Over Big at Christie's

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Could it be a coincidence that the stock market rebounded and Christie's had a great night at their postwar and contemporary art on Tuesday in New York? After the rather iffy returns after the Sotheby's auction last week mainly people were afraid that the numbers on the postwar and contemporary art auctions this week might not be so strong, especially since the contemporary is often the most volatile end of the market. No worries at Christies, they brought in $325 million, smack in the middle between the presale estimates of $271 to $373 million.

The stars of the show were a blue-and-ornange painting by Mark Rothko which sold for $34.2 million. Other top-selling artists included media darling Richard Prince, the nearly always bankable Lucian Freud and the art world's clown prince Jeff Koons whose "Blue Diamond" went for $11.8 million.

This sale even had a Hollywood angle in the form of a 1963 turquoise Andy Warhol portrait of actress Elizabeth Taylor that belonged to Hugh Grant. The painting sold for $23.6 million which was below its $25 million low estimate. Last week, Christie's had a strong night followed by a disappointing evening at Sotheby's. Judging by today's stock market dip, they just might be in for a bumpy night.

[Thanks, Lana]

Gallery: Christie's Postwar and Contemporary Art Sale

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Tags: andy warhol, christie's, contemporary art, hugh grant, jeff koons, mark rothko, sotheby's

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.

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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

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