The next time you go rummaging in your cupboards, you may like to think twice before carting your unloved bric a brac off to the charity shop in case you are sitting on a goldmine. Continue reading
Tag: Sotheby’s
Middle East Art Collector takes Sotheby’s to court
One of the most prominent collectors of Modern Middle Eastern Art has taken Sotheby’s to court for allegedly misrepresenting the value of an Egyptian sculpture in their sale catalogue. Continue reading
Pittsfield museum to auction off American masterpieces
Last week, we learned the National Gallery of Canada plans to sell a Marc Chagall painting from its collection to fund another acquisition. Now it seems another museum is clearing house in a bid to raise US$55 million (£39.2 million) to enable it to undertake major renovation works. Continue reading
Wearable Picasso inspired by lovers’ tiff up for sale
A ring crafted by Picasso to smooth over a lover’s spat is expected to fetch up to £500,000 at auction.
Containing a miniature cubist portrait of photographer, painter and poet, Dora Maar, the ring was presented to her by Picasso after they quarreled. His lover and muse, Maar had persuaded Picasso to exchange one of his artworks for a ruby ring. After Picasso grew irritated with her over the deal Maar tossed the cabochon gem into the Seine. Continue reading
Basquiat smashes world records for art
A painting by late US artist Jean-Michel Basquiat has smashed several art market records after it sold for US$110.5 million (£85.4 million) at auction at Sotheby’s New York on Thursday night (18 May).
The untitled work from 1982, which depicts a face in the shape of a skull rendered in oil stick, acrylic and face paint is the most expensive work by any US artist to have sold at auction. It also marks a new record for a work by Basquiat, is the highest price ever paid for an artwork by an African-American artist and is the sixth most expensive work ever sold at auction. Continue reading
Sotheby’s take Weiss to court over fake Frans Hals
Sotheby’s have launched legal proceedings against London art dealer Mark Weiss and business partner Fairlight Art Ventures over the sale of a fake portrait by Frans Hals. The auction house stated that it had ‘been left with no other option’ after the sellers ‘refused to make good on their contractual obligations’ and repay the sale proceeds.
‘Portrait of a Gentleman’ is one of several disputed works at the centre of an art forgery scandal, which broke in October 2016. Weiss bought the portrait from collector Giuliano Ruffini for a reported US$3 million (£2.5 million) in 2010. He subsequently sold it to a US collector for approximately US$10 million (£8.4 million) in a private sale brokered by Sotheby’s in 2011.
World’s largest collection of contemporary art goes under the hammer
Artworks collected by the Artist Pension Trust (APT) will go under the hammer for the first time since it was founded 13 years ago.
Works from a star-studded list of artists will be auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York and London in March and April this year. The lineup includes pieces by David Shrigley, Iván Navarro and Bob and Roberta Smith and carries an estimated value of £255,000 to £370,500. Continue reading
Sotheby’s sue over fake Parmigianino
Sotheby’s has filed a lawsuit in New York against the vendor of a 16th century Old Master painting after it was confirmed to be a fake.
In October last year, the auction house announced it would be conducting an investigation into the painting of ‘Saint Jerome’. Attributed to the ‘Circle of Parmigianino’, it was sold by Sotheby’s New York in January 2012 for US$800,000 (£509,650). Doubts over the work’s authenticity emerged after it was linked to an Old Master forgery scandal, which broke last year. Continue reading
Sotheby’s declares war on art forgery
Sotheby’s auction house announced its acquisition of specialist art investigation firm Orion Analytical in a press release on Monday (5 December 2016).
Founded by James Martin in 2000, Orion Analytical began life as a niche firm offering materials analysis and consultancy. Over the years it has built a reputation for expertise in researching and investigating fake artworks. Now Sotheby’s is bringing this expertise in-house and has appointed Martin director of its newly created scientific research department. Continue reading
Restituted Klimt painting to be offered at Sotheby’s
Gustav Klimt’s portrait Bildnis Gertrud Loew (1902) will be offered for sale at Sotheby’s London on 24th June in the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale. The painting, which has an estimate of £12-18 million, has been consigned for sale following a settlement between the Felsöványi family and The Gustav Klimt | Wien 1900-Privatstiftung (Klimt Foundation). Continue reading
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