rembrandt

Fab Fair for Art Royalty

Filed under: Art

Louvre, hyperphoto by Jean-Francois Rauzier, Waterhouse & Dodd

Is it all about money or art? The answer is probably both but if you're in the Art 101 category, you can catapult up to PhD level at The European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht, the Netherlands.

TEFAF is the most sophisticated, highly vetted, and elegant art fair anywhere. All true, but it is also a place where the minute the doors swing open to VIP guests, there's a stampede to the jewelry booths where for the most part glitz not glamour dominates.

Collectors, museum curators often accompanied by their trustees, and general connoisseurs attend to browse, to see and be seen, and to bring home treasures. This year, some 73,000 visitors attended. Most are Dutch, followed by Germans and Belgians, English, French, Italians, Americans and an impressively growing numbers of Russians and Chinese. Among a handful of Arab sheiks, most prominent this year was Sheikh Saud al-Thani, the art-hungry collector who is a cousin of the ruling Emir of Qatar. He surely arrived on one of the 154 private jets that landed on the tarmac of the tiny Maastricht-Aachen airport.

Van Gelder Antique Indian Jewelry

At the blue chip opening one of the first pieces to be snapped up was by a Russian collector: a billowing tapestry made of beaten red and gold bottle tops by the Ganaian artist El Anatsui. The price was $965,532. You can see his aesthetically beautiful "Earth and Heaven" sculpture installed in the African art galleries at the Met. In another gallery in the modern section, a well-heeled collector bought Spanish artist Joan Miro's sculpture, "Oiseau Lunaire," or moon bird, a wooden surreal, bird-like figure for $5 million. A bronze version of a moon bird by Miro is in the Nasher Sculptural Center in Dallas. That same day, March 18, Russian TV didn't waste a minute filming at the booth of Van Gelder Indian Jewelry which showcased some fabulous South Sea pearls and antique jewelry.

Tickets to the private first day are distributed to dealers who then invite their most important clients. The next day, all are welcome at a tab of €50 or about $75.

Now if you don't fit into the curator or collector category, what would draw you to TEFAF? Without a doubt, it is a remarkable learning experience for anyone who loves art. As Michelin says, it's worth the voyage, merely to see some 5,000 years of impeccable art, exquisitely presented. It could be that some TEFAF director handed down guidelines to the presenting dealers insisting that they treat every inquiry with respect. You won't find any condescending brush offs here.

Portrait of a Man with Arms Akimbo, Rembrandt

One item that drew large crowds was a fragment of an Egyptian water clock depicting Alexander the Great from about 332 BC at Belgium's Harmakhis Galerie. Old Dutch masters, especially a portrait by Rembrandt, "Portrait of a Man with Arms Akimbo" from 1658 and Renoir's "Woman Picking Flowers," depicting Camille Monet in a field of flowers also gained a lot of attention. A major attraction was a Helmut Newton solo exhibition of 40 photos from London's Hamiltons Gallery. Other standouts were Joana Vasconselos sensual feminine crocheted canvases at Haunch of Venison, Secessionist furniture at Kolomon Moser, beautiful Chinese textiles from Jacqueline Simcox in London. Only a BMW art car designed by Jeff Koons looked as if it had driven in by mistake.

TEFAF, first organized in 1975, invites 260 dealers from 16 countries all of whom undergo tremendous scrutiny to assure the quality, condition, and authenticity of their objects. About 100 dealers apparently are on a waiting list hoping to make it another year. Think of it as an art melting pot presented in an aura of gentility. It's the most promising, sophisticated, and enjoyable fair for specialists and the general public.

Tags: art, Art Fairs, Maastricht, Netherlands, Rembrandt, Renoir, TEFAF, The European Fine Art Fair

Rembrandt at the Frick: A Case of "True Grit"

by Bobbie Leigh (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

Study Rembrandt's self-portrait, a monumental painting in a new show at the Frick Collection in New York City, and you see a man who looks much older than 52. Rembrandt presents himself as a bear of a man, draped in a luxurious fur cape, a golden pleated smock with a red sash wound around his waist. He holds a silver-tipped cane. He looks indomitable, strong, and resolute. The American painter Kenyon Cox's description of the painting in 1910 says it all: "It is the head of an old lion at bay, worn and melancholy, yet conscious of his strength, determined, and a little defiant." Yet in reality, in 1658, the year he painted the portrait, Rembrandt was morose and troubled. He had declared bankruptcy two years earlier. His family was hounded by debtors. He was forced to sell his many collections and even the house and studio he had occupied since 1639. His reputation suffered. Commissions lagged and his once large group of students and followers had all but abandoned him and in some cases, even his "Rembrandtesque" style.

The monumental self portrait has pride of place in the Oval Room in the Frick's new show, "Rembrandt and His School; Masterworks from the Frick and Lugt Collection." It presents work by the master, his pupils, and followers in a blockbuster celebration of Rembrandt's paintings, drawings, and etchings. Henry Clay Frick (1849--1919) and Dutch art historian and collector Frederik Johannes Lugt (1884-1970) were both great admirers of Rembrandt van Rijn. The precocious Lugt at 12 had started to catalog Dutch and Flemish drawings in Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum while Frick once said that the the talents he would most like to have possessed were Rembrandt's. These two admirers were renowned collectors with the eye, the connections, and the deep wallets to buy what pleased them.

Tags: Frederick Johannes Lugt, Frick Collection, Govert Flinck, museum exhibit, museum exhibition, rembrandt, Rembrandts

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Old Masters Move at Sotheby's Auction

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Sotheby's reached the high end of its presale estimate for its Important Old Master Paintings and Sculpture auction on Thursday. The sale was expected to generate between $38 million and $55 million, and the final result came in at $53.4 million. The top performer was "Jupiter and Antiope," a 1612 mythological scene by Hendrick Goltzius, though the $6.7 million winning bid failed to reach the low end of its presale estimate of $8 million to $12 million. The last high for this artist, though, was $1.5 million, set in 1996 when the art market was recovering following the burst of its early 1990s bubble.

Rembrandt's "Portrait of a Young Woman with a Black Hat" was also estimated at $8 million to $12 million, but the painting never made it under the gavel. The piece was withdrawn at the seller's request, Sotheby's told ArtInfo. He'd picked up the piece at a Sotheby's New York auction in January 2007 for $9 million, paying much more than the $3 million to $4 million estimate.

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Tags: art auction, art auctions, art market, ArtAuction, ArtAuctions, ArtMarket, auction, auction houses, auction-house, AuctionHouses, auctions, new york, new york city, NewYork, NewYorkCity, rembrandt, Sotheby, sothebys

2009's Top 10 Art Auction Sales

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

The art market was already in decline when the global financial system was sent into mayhem in September 2008, but the financial nightmare accelerated the drop. This past year has been pretty miserable for artists, galleries, dealers and collectors (who have seen their buying power dry up), but that doesn't mean there hasn't been anything to celebrate.

Several prominent pieces hit fantastic heights at auction this year. Some of the names will look familiar, including Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse and Alberto Giacometti. Old Masters and Asia are represented as well, as they have generally done best in resisting the forces of the art market recession.

Below, take a look at the top 10 pieces at auction in 2009.

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Tags: andy warhol, AndyWarhol, art auction, art auctions, art collector, art dealer, art galleries, Art Gallery, art market, ArtAuction, ArtAuctions, ArtCollector, ArtDealer, ArtGalleries, ArtGallery, ArtMarket, degas, galleries, gallery, giacometti, rembrandt

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Casino Mogul Steve Wynn Is The New Owner Of Pricey Rembrandt

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

It has been revealed that casino mogul Steve Wynn is the proud new owner of the Rembrandt painting that sold for a record $33.2 million last week at Christie's in London. The 1658 "Portrait of a Man, Half-Length, With His Arms Akimbo," was sold over the telephone. Wynn has not officially revealed that he was the buyer but the NY Times reported that he called several art dealers and scholars to ask their opinions of the piece before the sale.

Wynn is famous for his art collection which includes excellent pieces by Rubens, Vermeer and Cezanne as well as the Picasso masterpiece, Le Reve. Wynn, who suffers from the eye disease retinitis pigmentosa, famously put his elbow through the picture in 2006.

Tags: rembrandt, steve wynn, SteveWynn

Old Masters Expected to Set Records at Sotheby's and Christie's

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Christie's and Sotheby's aren't being shy with the Old Masters. Pieces by Rembrandt, Raphael and Van Dyck are being offered at hefty prices, some records, that could bring in up to $133 million. If this happens, art collectors will have doubled last year's result ... and cast a strong vote in favor of an art market recovery.

The Christie's sale on Tuesday will include a portrait by Rembrandt and a sketch by Raphael. They are being estimated at 18 million pounds and 12 million pounds, respectively. According to Christie's, these are the highest estimates seen at auction, says Bloomberg News. The Sotheby's sale occurs on Tuesday, featuring a Van Dyck portrait that could fetch as much as 3 million pounds.

Unlike the volatile market for contemporary art, prices for the Old Masters have been relatively stable, as the supply is diminishing and demand is increasing.

According to Johnny van Haeften, an art dealer based in London, told Bloomberg News, "Prices at auction are very strong because there isn't much out there." He continues, "People don't want to sell at the moment. They're saying, 'If I let a painting go, where do I put the money? I'd rather keep it in a work of art.'" He bid unsuccessfully for two still life pieces by 17th century Dutch painter Adriaen Coorte. Both ultimately sold for more than 10 times their high-end presale estimates.

[Photo via Christie's]

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Tags: art, art auction, art auctions, art collecting, art collection, art collector, art market, ArtAuction, ArtAuctions, ArtCollecting, ArtCollection, ArtCollector, Artists, ArtMarket, artwork, auction, auction-house, auctions, Christies, Old Masters, OldMasters, rembrandt, Sotheby, sothebys

Rembrandt From Private Collection To Be Sold at Christie's

by Lisa Palladino (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Rembrandt From Private Collection To Be Sold at Christie's

A Rembrandt portrait that has been hidden in a private collection and not seen by the public for nearly 40 years will be sold at Christie's in London on December 8, reported The New York Times on September 18. "Portrait of a Man, Half-Length, With His Arms Akimbo," from 1658, depicts an unknown sitter, and experts at Christie's say it could garner $29.7 million to $41.2 million, the highest estimate ever for an old master painting coming to auction.

Although Christie's will say only that the painting is from a "distinguished private collection," the seller is known to be Barbara Piasecka Johnson, a Polish-born collector who once lived in Princeton, N.J., and now resides in Assisi, Italy. Johnson inherited about $300 million from her husband, J. Seward Johnson, son of the founder of the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical company, after he died in 1983.

The portrait was first shown publicly in 1847, when it was included in an exhibition at the British Institution in London, on loan from George Folliott, a notable British collector. His grandson sold it in 1930 at Sotheby's, where it brought £18,500, then a huge price. Soon after that it was acquired by George Huntington Hartford II, a supermarket heir who was in his 20s at the time. He donated it to Columbia University in 1958, and it hung in the president's office until 1968, when, because of student demonstrations, it was removed for safekeeping and put in storage.

In 1970 Columbia lent it to "Rembrandt After 300 Years," an exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts. That was the last time it was seen in public. Four years later Harold Diamond, a New York dealer, sold it to the Johnsons on behalf of the university, which used the proceeds to benefit an endowment fund.

Tags: art, auction, auctions, Christies, paintings, Rembrandt

Swann Galleries Prints Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

Swann Galleries will be auctioning off 100 Important Old Master Prints and Old Master through Modern Prints on Thursday, May 4. The first part of the two-part auction includes many important prints from the16th century, including Dürer engravings such as Coat-of-Arms with a Skull,1503 (estimate $7,000 to $10,000), and St. Eustace, circa 1501 ($20,000 to $30,000) and Rembrandt etchings such as Self Portrait with Curly Hair and White Collar: Bust, circa 1630 ($20,000 to $30,000). The afternoon session of prints includes Manet’s Le Buveur d’absinthe, etching, 1862 ($7,000 to $10,000), the sweet and simple Cassatt’s Quietude, drypoint on Japan paper, fifth state, circa 1891 shown here ($25,000 to $35,000) and Odalisque, brasero et coupe de fruits, lithograph, 1929 ($40,000 to $60,000). You can view the art at Swann Galleries April 29 to May 3.

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Tags: 16th century, art, auction, cassatt, manet, matisse, prints, rembrandt, swann galleries, SwannGalleries

Rembrandt to mystery bidder

by Gustad Mody (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

As per the New York Times, unidentified New York collector also known as Paddle No. L0179 paid a whopping $4.27 million for Rembrandt’s "Study of an Elderly Woman in a White Cap” dating to about 1640. Now this isn’t quite as much as when the last Rembrandt was sold to Stephen A. Wynn for $11.3 million, but it’s still a memorable figure. Who is this mysterious bidder? Well, that’s for Sotheby’s to know, and us to find out. The painting also has a decent amount of history to it such as various characteristics added to it after it was complete, and various restorations.

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Tags: art, auction result, painting, rembrandt

Old Master Drawings Auction May Bring In Record Prices

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

This month's Artnews focused on the increasing market for drawings. What was once just an entry point for younger or less wealthy collectors has become something much larger. This point is well-illustrated by the prices for drawings in the latest Old Master Drawings auction to be held on Tuesday at Christie's New York. The drawing shown here a male torso that is one of the Michelangelo drawings in private ownership may bring in well over $3 million. Drawings by Rembrandt, Rubens and Watteau are also up for bid.

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Tags: art, art market, auctions, drawings, michelangelo, rembrandt

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