An Australian crowdfunding campaign is seeking to secure the return of two previously unknown works by one of the most significant Australian Aboriginal figures of the 19th century, William Barak (c. 1824-1903). Consigned to Sotheby’s New York, the works are estimated to sell for in excess of USD$425,000 (£340,000).
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Since 2016, billionaire real estate tycoon Harry Macklowe and his ex-wife Linda Burg have feuded in court over assets during their contentious divorce proceedings. Disagreeing on the value of their impressive art collection, the couple were ordered to sell off the coveted trove. Sotheby’s have now auctioned all 65 artworks for a staggering $922.2 million (£741.9 million) in total, making it the most valuable private collection ever sold at auction.
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Jean-Siméon Chardin’s (1699-1779) painting of a delectable stack of strawberries fetched €24 million (£20 million) with fees at Artcurial in Paris last week, smashing the French artist’s auction record.
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Last week saw Sotheby’s sale of old master paintings bringing in a staggering total of $91 million (with buyer’s fees). Despite this being a considerable sum, it is in fact lower than the equivalent sale last year at Sotheby’s, which made $114.5 million. The auction included the much anticipated sale of Sandro Botticelli’s The Man of Sorrows (circa 1500) which, it was revealed earlier this month through the use of technical analysis, has a hidden composition of a Madonna and Child underneath.
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Last Thursday, a carved wood and paper globe dating to the 1550s or 1560s sold at Hansons Auctioneers for £116,000 against a pre-sale estimate of £20,000-30,000, a huge sum considering the owner had purchased it recently for just £150.
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The Mexican government has attempted to halt two auctions of Pre-Columbian artefacts in Paris. In a letter sent to the French Ministry, the Mexican Embassy expressed its “deep concern” about the legality of the sales.
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You may remember the life-sized painted lions that landed in London and other cities across the globe this summer as part of the Tusk Trust Lion Trail. The trail brought to life the stories of these iconic predators as well as the people who work tirelessly to protect them. Curated by Chris Westbrook, the trail was in situ for six weeks over the summer and covered a number of international iconic locations.
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Next month, Christie’s will sell a watercolour on paper landscape scene by Vincent Van Gogh with an estimate of $20-30 million. Christie’s played a pivotal role in facilitating the negotiations of this sale, which involves three different parties. Two are the descendants of Jewish collectors who previously owned the work during the Nazi era and sold the watercolour under duress, and the other is the heirs of the most recent owner, Texas businessman Edwin Cox (1921-2020).
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‘Big John’, the largest triceratops skeleton ever discovered, is coming to auction at Paris auction house Binoche et Giquello next month. The 66-million-year-old fossil is estimated to sell for a staggering €1.2 million to €1.5 million (£1 million to £1.5 million).
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Seven new artist records were set at Christie’s ‘Old Masters Sale’ this week, as well as a new record for a tiny drawing by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) at ‘The Exceptional Sale’ in London. Christie’s specialist Clementine Sinclair explained that “this is a bigger sale than we would normally have, and I think that’s partly due to the fact we didn’t hold an Old Masters evening sale last July, so there was some pent-up demand of collectors wanting to sell.”
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