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Record Rise for Orientalist Paintings – artmarketblog.com

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:19:10 +0000

Record Rise for Orientalist Paintings – artmarketblog.com

As the art market continues to rebound, and new buyers continue to emerge from the middle east, the demand for top orientalist paintings has risen significantly over the last twelve months. Exceeding the market high seen during the 2007/2008 boom, the prices being paid for the work of many orientalist artists have reached record highs. Christie’s 26 January 2012 Old Master & Early British Drawings & Watercolors held at the Rockefeller Plaza in New York saw the fifth highest auction price achieved for British/Italian artist Edward Lear whose orientalist watercolour painting Montenegro - a group of figures in a mountainous landscape – shot past the $120,000 – $180,000 estimate for a final price of $422,500. Previously sold by Christie’s for US$93,400 (excluding premium) in 1992, the painting then passed to the vendor through Artemis, London in 1996. Lear’s View of Gwalior, India, 1880 also sold well fetching $170,500 against an estimate of $50,000 – $70,000.

Over at Bonhams, a new auction record was set for Russian artist Vasilii Dmitrievich Polenov with an orientalist inspired painting titled He that is without sin from the artist’s The Life of Christ series. Estimated to sell for £1,200,000 – 1,800,000, this epic painting by one of Russia’s greatest artists sold for £4,073,250 during Bonham’s The Russian sale held on the 30 Nov 2011 in London. Earlier in the year, on the 6th of June, Sotheby’s achieved a new auction record for one of Polenov’s contemporaries, Vasily Vasilievich Vereschagin, whose orientalist painting of the Taj Mahal sold for £2,281,250 against an estimate of £250,000 – 450,000.

According to French auctioneers Artcurial, they were the world leader in orientalist paintings in 2011, posting a turnover total of 5 million euros for the year. Artcurial set four orientalist auction records during 2011 including:

La Kasbah rouge by Jacques Majorelle, 1924, sold for €1,315,818 on 9 June 2011;
A work on paper by Alexandre Roubtzoff, sold for €60,020 on 9 June 2011, reaching a record of €434,300, on 8 June 2010 for an oil painting from 1935, la Bédouine de Tunis;
La Tikka, l’heure du thé by Edouard-Léon-Louis Edy-Legrand, sold for €378,494 on 9 June 2011;
Les Beautés de Marrakech by Lucien Levy-Dhurmer, pastel on paper, sold for €297,900 on 18 December 2011.

image: Montenegro by Edward Lear

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.

Indonesian Art Soars at Hong Kong Auction – artmarketblog.com

admin — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:52:14 +0000

Indonesian Art Soars at Hong Kong Auction – artmarketblog.com

On the 26th of November 2011, an auction was held in Hong Kong of Modern and Contemporary Art that produced results which allude to a continued desire for the work of the top modern and contemporary Indonesia artists. The auction was held by United Asian Auctioneers, “a consortium of four of Asia’s leading modern & contemporary Asian art auctioneers – Asian Art Auction Alliance (A|A|A|A) the overseas arm of Japan’s Shinwa Art Auction, Korea’s K-Auction, China’s Beijing Hanhai Auction Co. and Singapore’s One East Larasati”, and included works by a range of artists from China, Japan and South East Asia as well as works by Western artists such as Warhol and Dali.

The top price of the auction went to the young Indonesian artist Handiwirman Saputra whose witty surrealist style painting, Pose No. 6 – Sofa, sold for HK$870,000 against an estimate of 700,000 – 1,200,000 HKD. Solid support from the cultural sector combined with the nature of his work, which appeals to both Western and Eastern collectors, seems to have shielded Handiwiriman’s prices from the effects of the financial crisis. Falling just short of the price achieved for Handiwiriman’s work but selling much closer to the high estimate was lot number 21, Masih panas (Still hot), a large acrylic on canvas by Indonesian artist Nyoman Masriadi. Estimated to sell for 500,000 – 900,000 HKD, Masriadi’s painting fetched a final price of HK$840,000. The first solo exhibition of Masriadi’s work was held at Paul Kasmin Gallery from April to May 2011 which would have significantly aided the artist’s reputation and helped justify the high prices paid for his work.

A work by one of Indonesia’s more senior artists, S. Sudjojono, took the third highest price of the auction with his emotive painting Tiga orang majus. Given an estimate of 600,000 – 800,000 HKD, Tiga orang majus sold for a fantastic HK$720,000 – the third highest price achieved for Sudjojono’s work at auction. Falling just short of the second highest auction price of USD 108,318 (841,247.13 HKD) achieved for the painting Gunung Gede dan Pangrango, as sold by Singapore’s Masterpiece Fine Art Auction house in November 2011, the price achieved for Tiga orang majus is evidence that the desire for Sudjojono’s work remains strong post financial crisis.

To be continued……..

image: Tiga Orang Majus ( The Three Wise Men) by S. Sudjojono

Contemporary Art Market Karma at Phillips de Pury Pt. 3 – artmarketblog.com

admin — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:10:59 +0000

Contemporary Art Market Karma at Phillips de Pury Pt. 3 – artmarketblog.com

My last two posts, parts one and two of ‘Contemporary Art Market Karma at Phillips de Pury’, provided an insight into the way auction house Phillips de Pury approach the contemporary art market niche that they have chosen to pursue. With this post, the last of this series, I am going to focus on what I believe will be the reason that Phillips de Pury will see continued success into the future.

As the market for contemporary art continues to be buoyed by the introduction of new sub-markets that are defined primarily by geography and culture, dealers and auction houses operating within the contemporary art market are discovering new ways of profiting from the market for contemporary art. What makes the ever increasing range of possible sources of profit within the contemporary art market so significant for a business like Phillips de Pury is that the demise of one source of profit can easily and quickly be replaced with another source of profit. With so many sub-markets of the contemporary art market operating at the one time it is likely that there will always be a profitable sub-market within which an auction house like Phillips de Pury can operate. Take, for example, the first ever BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) auctions held by Phillips in 2010 and repeated in 2011. Although each of these sub-markets is profitable in its own right, by combining all four into one sale Phillips have found a safer and more profitable way of approaching each of these sub-markets.

Although the BRIC auctions held by Phillips de Pury are so enticing because they combine the strengths of four major art market forces, Phillips have also found that they can shift the focus onto one particular sub-market should the others not do as well as planned. Speaking about the 2011 BRIC sale, Henry Allsopp, the Worldwide Director of Curated Sales and Exhibitions for Phillips, said: “With this auction we aim to show the new strength and depth of the Contemporary Art Market in Brazil, and the continuing upward trends of the Chinese, Indian and Russian markets.” Allsopp’s comment cleverly focuses on the Brazilian art market which was likely to be the most successful sub-market of the auction. Sure enough, Phillips de Pury & Co. found buyers for eight out of the 10 Brazilian works offered in the evening session of their 2011 BRIC sale. Although they only sold 53% by lot, Phillips were able to cleverly direct attention away from the poor overall results and towards the success of individual sub-markets. Allsopp’s post-sale comment was “China and Brazil continue to demonstrate strength with solid prices and world records and will continue to be markets where Phillips de Pury & Company consolidates its presence.”

Curated auctions are another way that Phillips are trying to expand the number of different avenues of profitability. Having pioneered the concept of “curated” auctions, Phillips de Pury are once again seeking to profit from the concept with ‘The World of Muriel Brandolini’, an interiors auction celebrating the life and work of decorator Muriel Brandolini which will take place in New York on the 21st of October 2011. The Brandolini auction will allow Phillips to once again profit from the profile of a highly regarded cultural icon and create a whole lot of hype surrounding the auction with the introduction of a number of associated events. According to Phillips: “A blaze of color on the fall calendar, Brandolini’s sale will include works from her wide-ranging collection of decorative arts, contemporary design and fine art, as well as examples of her own signature line of furniture”.

Towards a False Art Market Globalisation pt. 2 – artmarketblog.com

admin — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 13:15:16 +0000

Towards a False Art Market Globalisation pt. 2 – artmarketblog.com

Artprice.com has record of a total of 581 works by Hannah Hoch going to auction. Of those 581, about 97% were sold in Germany where works by Hoch appear at auction on a regular basis. What doesn’t appear in Germany are the sort of auction records that suggest frenzied and competitive bidding for works by Hoch. In fact, the auction records for works by Hoch sold in Germany are much more stable than those from outside Germany and are much more consistent with the sort of low estimates that were given to most of the estimate busting works mentioned above. Looking at the top fifteen prices paid for works by Hannach Hoch sold at auction also suggests a discrepancy with ten out of the ten fifteen prices occurring in either London or New York. Of the remaining five top fifteen prices, two were achieved in Switzerland and three in Germany. Even more compelling is the fact that out of the 581 works by Hoch sold at auction, only 34 fetched more than 10,000 euros, and only 68 fetched more than 5000 euros.

So what does all this mean? Well, to recap, very few works by Hannah Hoch appear at auction outside of Germany but works by Hoch do appear at auction in Germany quite regularly. Those that do appear at auction outside of Germany tend to end up at major auctions in either London or New York where the prices achieved tend to eclipse the given estimate as well as the prices paid for works that are sold in Germany. If the works sold in New York and London were of greater importance than those sold in Germany there would be a partial explanation for this trend, however, if the works being sold in New York and London were more important they would undoubtedly have been given higher estimates to begin with. Interestingly, though, the works that did achieve the really high prices were from the early years of Hoch’s career – around 1919-1925. This suggests that perhaps there is a different perception of Hoch’s early works in English speaking Western markets such as London and New York than in her native Germany where works from Hoch’s early years sell for relatively small sums of money. The discrepancies, inconsistencies and trends that I have mentioned above all suggest that the art market is not as globalised as we may think – especially when it comes to notions of value. Although information regarding the art market and access to fine art has become a much more global affair, our understanding and appreciation of the way fine art is valued is far from being globally uniform. My question to you is: How global do you really think the art market is, and what would the definition of a “global” art market be?

See part 1 here:

http://www.artmarketblog.com/2011/03/17/towards-a-false-art-market-globalisation-pt-1-artmarketblog-com/

image:

Hannah Hoch (1889-1979)
Mechanischer Garten
signed with initials and dated ‘H.H 1920′ (lower center)
gouache, watercolor and pen and India ink on paper
28¾ x 18½ in. (73 x 47 cm.)
Painted in 1920

Sold to Richard Green – artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:28:40 +0000

Sold to Richard Green – artmarketblog.com

Thomas Gainsborough R.A., A Pug, oil on canvas

While browsing through the top results of recent auctions, as provided by Sotheby’s through their press releases, I came across something that I don’t see to often – the identity of a buyer listed in the release. Usually under the heading “Buyer” there is an indication of what sort of buyer they are and sometimes where they are from. Examples of the usual identities given to buyers are: UK Private, UK Trade, Private European Collector, London Trade or, as is often the case, a buyer is listed as anonymous. I continued perusing the press releases when I came across another with the same buyer once again identified as having purchased a painting that had achieved one of the ten highest prices of the auction. The buyer in question was the very well known London art dealer Richard Green who dabbles in everything from 17th century Old Masters to 20th century British art but is best known for his dealings in Old Master paintings.

In a market where a high level of discretion is the norm for both buyers and sellers it is interesting that a dealer in Old Master paintings, of all people, would be so transparent with their dealings. It makes sense though that if you are a dealer and want to sell a painting that having your name on the press release identifying you as the successful bidder would not only advertise your business but attract potential buyers. This tactic seems to be working quite well for Mr. Green whose business seems to be fairing extremely well in the current climate. There is, however, more to the story of Richard Green and his success as an art dealer. Much more in fact. To start with, the two works that I said were listed by Sotheby’s as having been purchased by Mr. Green are rather revealing. The first painting was purchased on the 9th of July from the Sotheby’s Early British Paintings sale and was an oil on canvas by Thomas Gainsborough titled “A Pug”. Listed with an estimate of 100,000-150,000 pounds, “A Pug” was purchased by Green for £993,250 (including premium) which, other than being more then six times the high estimate, was the highest price of the auction. The second work was a painting by Herbert Olivier titled “Summer Is Icumen In” which Green purchased from Sotheby’s July 15 Victorian & Edwardian Art sale. He paid for 331,250 pounds against an estimate of 80,000—120,000 pounds estimate – a new record for the artist at auction and the third highest price of the sale.

Richard Green is known for identifying then purchasing works of art that he, as a results of his research, has identified as being undervalued. In fact, there are many reports of Green uncovering hidden gems which he then manages to on-sell for many times more than he paid for them. Both “A Pug” and “Summer Is Icumen In” were purchased by Green for well above the high estimate which suggests that Green identified these two works as being undervalued. One thing is for sure, he would not have paid what he did for these two works unless he was confident that they would appeal to his wealthy clientele and that he would be able to make a profit from them. Exactly what Green knows about these two paintings that makes them so much more valuable than the estimate provided by Sotheby’s I do not know. What I do know is that the research Green does, and his scholarly knowledge of the art he deals in, has played a major role in his success. One of the smartest dealers around if you ask me.

Art Market News Flash – Drawing by Artistic Genius to be Sold at Auction

Niki de Saint Phalle Braves the Crisis – artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:07:56 +0000

Niki de Saint Phalle Braves the Crisis – artmarketblog.com

After the sale of three Niki de Saint-Phalle’s giant Nanas in Germany in December 2008 for €750,000, the Paris sale last month of her Le Banc produced another excellent result. The French-American artist – whose works are collected all over the world – is generating good sales performances in spite of the crisis.

Born in France and raised in the United States, Niki SAINT-PHALLE de successfully steered her career under the two flags at a key moment in the history of art and of the art market. Indeed, at the start of the 60s – when Niki de Saint-Phalle was creating her first Tirs and Nanas – the art market’s centre of gravity was being pulled across the Atlantic towards the United States and the American Pop Art phenomenon. Niki, who was associated with the New Realists in France, created the most distinctly “Pop” works of the French movement using a playful iconography of curves and colours. By successfully establishing herself as a female artist on both sides of the Atlantic, Niki de Saint-Phalle managed to join the ranks of artists whose price-indices enjoy international recognition (unlike some of the other New Realists, including her partner Jean TINGUELY). Nevertheless, the market for her work has remained more dynamic in France, and 35% of her auction sales take place in her native country. In terms of sales revenue, the geographical breakdown of her auction sales (often involving monumental pieces) is as follows: 38% in France, 31% in the UK and 15% in the United States.

Her Nanas – buxom women made with fibres glass and painted in bright colours – easily reach and exceed the estimate. Niki created her first Nanas in papier mâché and fibre in 1965, inspired by a friend’s pregnancy. Initially uncoloured, her joyous Venuses soon acquired multi-coloured surfaces – leading a playful revolution against gloominess. The very large and unique pieces – including some of her later works produced from the 1990s – sell for over €100,000. Her best-ever auction result was generated by a giant Nana (270 cm) in painted polyester which fetched $1m (nearly €780,000) at Sotheby’s in New-York during the sale of the Vanthohournot Collection on 14 November 2006. Two years before this record, a Nana of the same dimensions fetched €360,000 in Paris (Sotheby’s, 18 July 2004 La vie en rose – La danseuse rose).

The price range for the Nanas is very broad because Niki made them in various different sizes and sometimes produced limited editions of the same piece. For a small Nana from the 1960s (less than 30 cm), one would expect to pay between €15,000 and €30,000. Indeed, a Mini nana acrobate of 20 cm doubled its price estimate in Paris last month when it sold for €26,000. With strong demand for her work already developing during her lifetime, Niki de Saint-Phalle decided to make her work available to a broader public by producing prints and small porcelain Nanas edited in 200 copies, some of which can be acquired at auctions for around €3,000 (one such piece recently fetched €2,800 at Venator & Hanstein in Cologne).

The price index for her sculpture-furniture is also regaining momentum. On 27 May 2009, a sculpture of a man reading a newspaper on a bench watched by an imaginary animal entitled Le Banc (1 of 3 copies) fetched €460,000, substantially more than its estimated value. The fact that the piece was presented at Christie’s sale of a collection of pieces by François-X. & Claude LALANNE – hybrid works on the cusp of art and design – undoubtedly contributed to the result: the high number of furniture-sculpture pieces at the sale and the good results for the Lalanne works was the perfect context for the sale of the Saint-Phalle work.

1700 Times Estimate at Brunk Auctions – artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 02:48:30 +0000

1700 Times Estimate at Brunk Auctions – artmarketblog.com

"The Plasterers" by John Koch

Smaller auction houses rarely get the sort of attention given to the big four auction houses which is a shame because the smaller auction houses produce their fair share of exciting results and top sales. Brunk Auctions, a North Carolina based auction house that sells fine and decorative arts as well as collectibles, ephemera and jewellery, recently had the sale of their lives when two seemingly ordinary pieces of Chinese ceramics sold at their May 9-10, 2009 Auction for what can only be described as astonishingly high prices. The first piece, a Chinese famille rose vase described as a 20th century copy of a Qianlong period (1736-1795) piece, had been purchased from a yard sales by it’s owner and was given an estimate of $400 – $800. At the fall of the hammer this apparently cheap knock off had sold for an incredible $1,075,000 or more than 1790 times mid estimate. Obviously several people knew something about this piece that the owner and Brunk Auctions didn’t. The next item was a Chinese decorated jar described as an 18th or 19th century copy of a Jialing period (1522-1566) piece and was given an estimate of $600 – $1,200. Once again the price headed north at a rapid rate finally settling at a dizzying $60,000 once again suggesting that several people knew something about this piece that the owner and Brunk Auctions didn’t.

Plenty of other items soared past their estimate at the same auction such as the Jean Dubuffet “Tapis” wool-pile carpet weave tapestry which sold for $11,000 against an estimate of $2000-$3000 and a Tamara de Lempicka print titled “Femme a la Mandoline” which made $10,500 against an estimate of $4,000 – $8,000. The high price for the de Lempicka print is likely to have been influenced by the new auction for the artist’s work set at Christie’s on the 6th of May as well as the number of other excellent results for the artist’s work sold at auction recently. Although selling for a price within the estimate a spectacular major work by the American Realist John Koch called “The Plasterers” sold for $210,000 against a $175,000 – $250,000 estimate which was still a good result. A revival in the interest of classical style sculpture is sure to have been a factor in the results for a marble bust of Prince Borghesi whcih trippled its high estimate selling for $12,000.

The following Brunk auction held on the 30th of May which included the collection of Florence and Bill Griffin produced some more outstanding results proving that smaller auction houses are capable of playing with the big boys. Art wise, two portraits by American folk artist Edwin B. Smith were highlights of the auction selling for well above their high estimate. The first, a portrait of Robert Ransome Billups sold for $80,000 against an estimate of $30,000 – $50,000 and the second, a portrait of Elizabeth Ware Fullwood sold for $36,000 against an estimate of $12,000 – $18,000. Edwin B. Smith is not a particularly well known or highly regarded artist on the world stage but is a very important artist to the area of Georgia, USA which was the theme of the auction and the home town of Florence and Bill Griffin. Furniture from the Georgia region also sold extremely well with the highlight being a fine Georgia paint-decorated cellaret or liquor stand which sold for $105,000 against an estimate of $30,000 – $50,000.

The internet has given smaller auction houses the ability to operate on a national or international level as is the case with Brunk Auctions who use liveauctioneers.com to accept online bids and promote their sales. I am often surprised by the quality and rarity of the items that are sold by the smaller auction houses and would encourage everyone to take a greater interest in the smaller national and regional auction houses that operate in their area. The advantage the smaller national and regional auction houses have over the big four is that they are more likely to come across those surprise objects that the owner does not know the value of or realise the significance of. People who own very valuable works of art and know the value of those works of art are more likely to go to one of the big auction houses whereas someone who has no idea what an item they own is worth is more likely to take that item to a local auction house. The moral of the story is that smaller auction houses are well worth keeping an eye on.

For more information see http://www.brunkauctions.com

Helping Humble Arts and Supporting MOCP – artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Thu, 07 May 2009 10:22:29 +0000

Help Humble Arts and Support the MOCP – artmarketblog.com

Stein, Amy $300.00 Hillside from the series Domesticated, 2007 C-print 11 x 13 3/4 inches on 14 x 16.75 inch paper Edition of 50. Available from the MoCP

The financial crisis has undoubtedly had a significant effect on the arts especially those non-profit organisations that are the backbone of the art world. Many non-profit art organisations have funding programs that involve the sale of works of art so why not help support the arts and take advantage of some of the bargains currently available. The Humble Arts Foundation is a well known not-for-profit organisation that works to advance the careers of emerging fine art photographers. Like many other arts organisations, the Humble Arts Foundation is doing it tough. There are two ways you can help the Humble Arts Foundation. The first involves making a tax deductable donation of $15 or more which, if 3500 people obliged, would give Humble enough funds to continue supporting and exhibiting the work of emerging art photographers through 2012. The second way you can help support Humble is by purchasing one of their fantastic limited edition prints. To sweeten the deal a discount of 30% is available to those who use the code HAF30 which makes the Humble prints even better value.

To make a donation go here:
https://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/contribute/donate/1138

or to view the available prints go here:
http://humbleartsfoundation.org/editions/index.html

Another photography related organisation that I’m sure would love your support is the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. According to their website the Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) is the only museum in the Midwest with an exclusive commitment to the medium of photography. By presenting projects and exhibitions that embrace a wide range of contemporary aesthetics and technologies, the Museum strives to communicate the value and significance of photographic images as expressions of human thought, imagination, and creativity. The MoCP recently launched their 2009 series of fine photographic prints which includes works by Amy Stein and Michael Wolf. To see all the fantastic prints available check out:
http://mocp.org/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=11
**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.

Dissecting Christie’s Feb 09 Art Auction Pt. 2 – artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 13:37:23 +0000

Dissecting Christie’s Feb 09 Art Auction Pt. 2 – artmarketblog.com

A few weeks ago I posted the first half of the results from the Christie’s February 2009 Impressionist and Modern Art auction along with information relating to whether each lot had been sold at auction previously and if it had, when it was sold and how much it sold for. My purpose for doing this is to show that there is always far more to art auction results than the statistics provided by the auction houses will tell you. Just because an auction results in a high hammer total, high percentage of lots sold by value and a high percentage of lost sold by number doesn’t mean that the auction was a complete success. The statistics that the auction houses provides could be masking the fact that a majority of the works sold in the auction had been sold at auction before for a higher amount meaning that the people selling these works were selling at a loss. Although the purpose of the auction house is to sell works of art and not to ensure people make a profit on the works they are selling; the factors that may be beyond the control of the auction house, such as whether a person makes a profit or not, should still be used as a measure of the success of an auction. In the next post in this series I will look at the data I have provided in this and the previous post and provide an analysis of the data.

See part 1 of Dissecting Christie’s Feb 09 Art Auction here:

http://artmarketblog.com/2009/02/17/dissecting-christies-feb-09-art-auction-pt-1-artmarketblogcom/

Continuation of data relating to lots sold at the Christie’s February 09 Impressionist and Modern Art auction:

-Otto Mueller (1874-1930) Sitzender Akt in Landschaft, c.1927: Sold for £769,250 ($1,106,182) against an estimate of £650,000 – £850,000 ($926,250 – $1,211,250). No previous auction sale history

-Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) Dame en face mit plisiertem Kleid (Damenbildnis en face) , c. 1898: Sold for £1,385,250 ($1,991,990) against an estimate of £600,000 – £800,000 ($855,000 – $1,140,000). Previously sold by Christie’s on the 9th of November 2004 for USD$1,000,000 (GBP 524,700) against an estimate of USD$750,000 – 950,000 which represents an increase in price of $991,990

-Marino Marini (1901-1980) Gentiluomo a cavallo, c. 1937: Sold for £769,250 ($1,106,182) against an estimate of £700,000 – £1,000,000 ($997,500 – $1,425,000). No previous auction sale history

-Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967) Torse de femme, c. 1925: Sold for £421,250 ($605,758) against an estimate of £300,000 – £500,000 ($427,500 – $712,500). No previous auction sale history

-Marc Chagall (1887-1985) Les mariés aux deux bouquets, c. 1980: Sold for £541,250 ($778,318) against an estimate of £400,000 – £600,000 ($570,000 – $855,000). No previous auction sale history

-Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Buste d’homme, 1971: Sold for £1,497,250 ($2,153,046) against an estimate of £1,200,000 – £1,800,000 ($1,710,000 – $2,565,000). No previous auction sale history

-Max Ernst (1891-1976) Temptation of St. Anthony, 1945: Sold for £97,250 ($139,846) against an estimate of £100,000 – £150,000 ($142,500 – $213,750). No previous auction sale history

-Julio González (1876-1942) Le rêve (Le baiser) 4/6, c. 1934: Sold for £577,250 ($830,086) against an estimate of £400,000 – £600,000 ($570,000 – $855,000). Number 5 of the edition of 6 was sold by Christie’s in 2002 for GBP 220,000 against an estimate of GBP 250,000 – 350,000 which represents a theoretical increase in value of GBP 377,000.

-André Masson (1896-1987) Le météore, 1939: Sold for £169,250 ($243,382) against an estimate of £120,000 – £180,000 ($171,000 – $256,500). No previous auction sale history.

-Joan Miró (1893-1983) Femme entendant chanter le coq aux éclats violets, 1972: Sold for £892,450 ($1,283,343) against an estimate of £500,000 – £700,000 ($712,500 – $997,500). No previous auction sale history.

-Paul Delvaux (1897-1994) Faubourg, 1956: Sold for £277,250 ($398,686) against an estimate of £200,000 – £300,000 ($285,000 – $427,500). Previously sold by Sotheby’s in 1975 – price unknown

-Francis Picabia (1879-1953) Geminis, 1936: Sold for £385,250 ($553,990) against an estimate of £120,000 – £180,000 ($171,000 – $256,500). Previously offered for sale at Christie’s Paris in May 2008 but failed to on an estimate of EUR 250,000 – 350,000. Previously sold by Sotheby’s in 1975 – price unknown.

-Joan Miró (1893-1983) Personnage, 1976: Sold for £481,250 ($692,038) against an estimate of £280,000 – £380,000 ($399,000 – $541,500). Previously sold by Sotheby’s in February 2004 for GBP 172,000 against an estimate of GBP 150,000 – 200,000 which represents an increase in price of GBP 309,000.

To be continued…..

YSL Collection Boosts French Market Share – artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:21:21 +0000

YSL Auction Boosts French Market Share – artmarketblog.com

The Bergé -YSL sale was a historical sale in more than one sense: the €373.5m total for the three-day auction is the world record for a private collection and the European record for an art sale of any sort. Moreover, the collection’s Fine Art generated a sum equivalent to 66.7% of total 2008 art auction sales in Paris and 53.2% of total French art auction revenue in 2008. Indeed, this total of €206m ($264.9m) for art works (excluding antiques, furniture and objects) could well modify the 2009 global auction revenue ranking by allowing France to recover the third place it has lost to China since 2007.

The first session of Christie’s Bergé – YSL sale opened on 23 February just as Wall Street posted its lowest level for 12 years (S&P 500 at 743.33 points). Despite the economic and financial alarm bells, Artprice’s AMCI suggested strong buy intentions from art market players (70.8% of respondents). These intentions were confirmed on the first day of Impressionist and Modern art sales which generated a total of €182m, a figure substantially higher than the previous world record for a private collection sale: €163,6m from the Victor and Sally Ganz collection in 1997 at Christie’s New York.

By the end of the evening on Monday 23 February, Christie’s had generated a number of new records for works by the grand masters of Modern art. These included €32m for Henri MATISSE’s Les Coucous, €26m (€6m above its estimate) for Constantin BRANCUSI’s sculpture Madame L.R., €7.9m (pulverising its “under-estimate” of €1.5m) for Marcel DUCHAMP’s historic ready-made Belle haleine-Eau de voilette, €19.2m for Piet MONDRIAAN’s Composition avec bleu, rouge, jaune et noir and €4.4m for James ENSOR’s Le Désespoir de Pierrot.

However, the overall prestige of the sale and the ownership history of the works did not trigger a “buy at any price” mood and collectors remained highly selective. Pablo PICASSO’s cubist painting, over-estimated at €25m, and four paintings by Théodore GÉRICAULT with high reservation prices remained unsold. Another Géricault masterpiece, Portrait d’Alfred et d’Elisabeth Dedreux, set a new record for the artist at €8m, refreshing a previous record dating back to 1989 when Portrait de Laure Bro, née de Comères fetched the equivalent of €4.9m at Sotheby’s in Monaco.

The exceptional quality of the collection attracted the attention of the French State which exercised its pre-emption rights three times on the first day, acquiring Giorgio CHIRICO de’s Ritornante for the Centre Pompidou, Édouard VUILLARD’s Les Lilas and James ENSOR’s Au conservatoire for the Musée d’Orsay. Total bill: €10.6m, excluding fees. Over the following two days, it intervened twice acquiring a miniature portrait of Louis XIV by Petitot and some XVI century wall plates in Limoges enamel for the Louvre.

This sale suggests that the art market is showing remarkable resistance to the financial crisis and the global economic recession… as long as the works offered are of exceptional quality.

Art Market Blog - artmarketblog.com » art sale

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