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Greek Financier Wins Picasso’s Lover in Art Auction Stoush – artmarketblog.com

admin — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:21:33 +0000

Greek Financier Wins Picasso’s Lover in Art Auction Stoush – artmarketblog.com

Greek financier Dimitri Mavrommatis added to his already impressive art buying history on the 21st of June when he purchased Picaso’s Femme assise, robe bleue at Christie’s London Impressionist and Modern Art sale for £17,961,250 against an estimate of 4,000,000 – 8,000,000. Bidding like a man yet to be informed of the Greek economic crisis, Mavrommatis held off several other determined bidders to come out the victor taking Picasso’s mistress as his spoils of war. Not the first time that he has made a move on one of Picasso’s women, Mavrommatis purchase a painting of Picasso’s wife Jaqueline from Christie’s New York in May last year (2010). Again paying well over the expected price, Mavrommatis took home Picasso’s Femme au chat assise dans un fauteuil for $18 million against an estimate of $10-15 million. Considering that Macrommatis is a member of rival auction house Sotheby’s advisory board, he has sure spent a lot of money at Christie’s. Again feeding what appears to be a penchant for anatomically askew females, Mavrommatis plonked down 11.8 million pounds at Sotheby’s in June of 2010 for Matisse’s 1928 Moroccan interior Odalisques jouant aux dames which had an estimate of 10-15 million pounds.

Having amassed a great collection of old master and modern paintings from the early 1990′s onwards, many of which were purchased from London dealer Richard Green, Mavrommatis sold 17 paintings from his collection in 2007 through Sotheby’s who sold them for just over 8 million pounds against an expected total of only 3 million pounds. Again employing the services of Sotheby’s to sell items from his collection of important french furniture and Sèvres porcelain that was housed in his Chester Square, London house – the sale of which prompted the clear out – Mavrommatis once again profited substantially from the sale. According to Sotheby’s :

“Furniture and Works of Art from the Collection of Dimitri Mavrommatis on July 8 (2008) in London attracted strong competition from the all corners of the globe, realizing the extraordinary sum of £10,410,600 ($20,535,950) against a pre-sale estimate of £5.5/ 8.7 million. No fewer than 80 of the 85 lots offered found buyers, with the majority of lots sold achieving prices well in excess of the pre-sale high estimate. The top lot in the sale was an Important and Rare Large Gilt-Bronze-Mounted Chinese Black and Gold Porcelain Pot-Pourri Vase and Cover (the Gilt-Bronze Louis XV, circa 1745, the Porcelain Qianlong, 1736-1795), which sold for £2,169,250 ($4,279,063) – far exceeding its pre-sale estimate (“in excess of £1 million”), and establishing a new auction record for a piece of mounted porcelain.”

Studying the habits of connoisseur collectors such as Mavrommatis is a great way of learning how to develop a collection. Mavrommatis is a man who obviously knows what he wants and makes sure that he gets it as long as the spoils are top quality works by famous artists. By focusing on the very best examples of the artists and artisans that he is interested in, Mavrommatis has been able to profit significantly from his collecting efforts over the last few decades.

Images:

1. Femme assise, robe bleue by Picasso

2. Femme au chat assise dans un fauteuil by Picasso

**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.

Greek Art Reaches Giddy Heights at Bonhams – artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:47:06 +0000

Greek Art Reaches Giddy Heights at Bonhams – artmarketblog.com

Lot No: 23 Spyros Papaloukas (Greek, 1892-1957) Mt. Athos, skete of the Three Hierarchs and the Holy Trinity signed in Greek (lower right) oil on cardboard 54 x 50 cm. Sold for £168,000 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Bonhams UK have been promoting themselves as the gods of Greek art for quite a while now and have claimed market dominance in the UK when it comes to selling Greek art on more than one occasion. I am not entirely sure what brought about Bonhams’ fascination with Greek art, but whoever is responsible for the assault on this region should be congratulated for what has proven to be, and continues to be, a shrewd move for Bonhams. Bonham’s most recent sale of Greek art held on the 10^th of November was a good indication that the market for Greek art is extremely buoyant and also that Bonhams continue to maintain a dominant position in what is a competitive niche. A total of £3.5 million worth of art was sold and a number of significant prices were achieved including:

- Spyros Papaloukas (Greek, 1892-1957) ‘Mt. Athos, skete of the Three Hierarchs and the Holy Trinity’ which sold for £168,000 (auction record for artist) inclusive of Buyer’s Premium

- Constantinos Maleas (Greek, 1879-1928) ‘Acropolis / Acropole vue entre des pins et aloès’ which sold for £311,200 (2^nd highest price achieved at auction for artist) inclusive of Buyer’s Premium

-Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika (Greek, 1906-1994) ‘Calligraphy of a town’ which sold for £264,000 (3^rd highest price achieved at auction for artist) inclusive of Buyer’s Premium

As a side note I am hesitant to refer to 2^nd and 3^rd highest auction prices for an artist as ‘world records’ as Bonhams have done and consider the practice of doing so to be dishonest. Is the 20^th highest auction price for an artist a world record too? Bonhams went as far as to list the fifth highest auction price for an artist as a ‘world record’ which I think is rather cheeky. Anyway, back to the action.

Bohnams have a good record with the Greek art auctions that are held in the UK. In November of 2008, Bonhams’ sale of Greek art held at their Bond St. Saleroom brought in a total of 3.8 million pounds and resulted in fourteen artists’ auction records being broken. According to Bonhams, a large majority of the buyers were Greek. Moving on to May 2008 and once again Bonhams made headlines with their Greek art sale when they managed to shift 3.6 million pounds worth of art with and sell a record 90% lots offered. Bonhams also reported 17 new world record prices which, as per above, should be taken with a grain of salt.

The Greek art market is quite unique because of the history of Greek art which basically revolved around the creation of religious icons until the start of the 19^th century due to the fact that Greece was essentially shielded from the Renaissance by the ruling Ottoman empire . “Modern” art is therefore a relatively new concept to the Greeks and represented a relatively untapped market that the three major auction houses were quick to take advantage of. There are several reasons that the opportunity to dominate the market for Greek art became available to an organisation outside of Greece. The main reason is that much like the Indian art market, the Greek art market is relatively un-regulated and there is also a severe lack of infrastructure relating to authenticity, valuation and art market expertise that would be required to support the development of a free market in Greece. An opportunity was therfore available to an international organisation that could supply what the Greek art market lacked and to satisfy the needs of those rich Greeks who have a passion for art.

Although the market for Greek art has proven to be very strong even during the recent financial crisis, investors and collectors should be extremely wary of the hype surrounding Greek art and should be extremely cautious with their purchases. My reason for suggesting caution is that the Greek art world lacks the cultural sector infrastructure that is so important to the long term stability of an art market and the buoyancy of the prices being paid for the work of that market’s artists. The contemporary Indian art market has suffered during the financial crisis due to the same lack of infrastructure that the Greek art market suffers from. Greek art, especially the work of contemporary artists, has plenty of potential for investors but is also fraught with potential traps and problems that could have a major effect on the price of the work of many artists.

Although Bonham’s quip that “Interest in Greek art is more than just a myth at Bonhams 15th Greek Sale” does ring true, the market for Greek art is in it’s infancy and is at a relatively high risk of becoming a very fragile bubble that could easily be burst. Investors and collectors should be particularly concerned about authenticity and future value until a more advanced cultural and market infrastructure is in place.

Art-Athina 09 Greek Contemporary Art Fair – artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:28:22 +0000

Art-Athina 09 Greek Contemporary Art Fair – artmarketblog.com

For Immediate Release

ART-ATHINA 2009

Greece’s Foremost Contemporary Art Fair

Athens, 21-24 May 2009

Athens – Greece’s leading international art fair for contemporary art, ART-ATHINA, is delighted to announce its 15th edition and the first under the direction of Alexandros J. Stanas. ART-ATHINA – International Contemporary Art Fair of Athens – was established by the Hellenic Art Galleries Association in 1993 and has become over the years, one of Europe’s most established art fairs. As of 2009, ART-ATHINA will be organised by the non-profit cultural organisation, D.ART, which is dedicated to developing a strong contemporary art scene in Greece. Collateral events include In Praise of Shadows, an exhibition curated by Paolo Colombo taking place at the Benaki Museum and the On Art Performance (OPA) Festival.

The fair will be located at the shorefront of Athens, in the Faliro Pavilion, a former Olympic Games venue. Here the wide range of prominent galleries exhibiting at ART-ATHINA provide the fair’s international audience with an overview of emerging trends within the arts, and enable visitors to see and buy works from leading international artists. ART-ATHINA will also host an expansive programme of parallel events, talks, exhibitions and art projects taking place both within the fair and throughout the city, creating a platform for experimentation, discussion and debate within the contemporary arts.

The Faliro Pavilion is an ideal place to re-connect with contemporary art, while revelling in one of the most beautiful sea sides close to the centre of the ancient capital city. The new venue offers a variety of both indoor and outdoor exhibition spaces, and boasts amenities such as free parking and easy access by public transport.

ART-ATHINA is organised by D.ART, an organisation which publishes the bi-monthly arts and culture magazine highlights and takes part in important Greek arts projects, including events in cooperation with various private and public Greek institutions such as the Greek Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. D.ART is taking part and funded by the Dragonas Group. The fair is supported by the Greek Ministry of Culture and the Hellenic Olympic Properties S.A .

The month of May will see Greece as a prime destination figuring on top of every collector’s calendar as the country will not only host ART-ATHINA but also the Thessaloniki Biennale. Visitors to ART- ATHINA will be welcomed in Thessaloniki, and joint VIP programs will allow guests to visit both art events. ART-ATHINA is also pleased to announce a reciprocal patrons’ programme with Art Dubai and Art Rotterdam in 2009. The partnership will bring collectors from Dubai and Holland to Athens and seeks to create a contemporary art itinerary stretching from Europe to the Middle East.

For more info see: http://www.art-athina.gr

Art Market Blog - artmarketblog.com » greek art

Greek Financier Wins Picasso’s Lover in Art Auction Stoush – artmarketblog.com

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Greek Art Reaches Giddy Heights at Bonhams – artmarketblog.com

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Art-Athina 09 Greek Contemporary Art Fair – artmarketblog.com

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