Peter Brant was ruled the true owner of Warhol’s Red Elvis, a 1962 multi-image silkscreen. The decision concluded a dispute that began in 2000 after Brant purchased the work from Swedish dealer Anders Malmberg via Stellan Holm; Malmberg had previously conveyed that the painting would be loaned to a Copenhagen museum, but instead sold it to Brant. Lindholm pursued legal action in Sweden and the US, but the Connecticut Superior Court found Brant acted in good faith.
Andy Warhol’s Red Elvis, 1962, a silkscreen on canvas depicting Elvis Presley’s face repeated 36 times, is ruled by a Connecticut judge to be owned by Peter Brant. The ruling discusses Brant’s purchases from 1999-2000 and his prior involvement in Warhol transactions, including his loaning of Red Elvis during a Guggenheim exhibition.
Carol Vogel reports that two major postwar art collections were acquired by Christie's in the same season: Edward R. Broida's collection, including a Rothko and two Guston paintings, and the estate of Lee V. Eastman, featuring works by de Kooning and Pollock.
Christie’s announced the sale of John Franks’s collection of original Vanity Fair caricature watercolours. The group included a historic Tissot portrait of Bismarck and 26 works by Sir Leslie Ward, known as “Spy.”
L.A. Renoir Paints the Way to Recovery of Stolen Rembrandt - Los Angeles Times describes the recovery of a Rembrandt self-portrait and two Renoirs stolen from the Swedish National Museum in 2000, including the recovery of Renoir's “Young Parisian” in Los Angeles and the subsequent sting operation in Copenhagen.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s painting Young Parisian, stolen from the National Museum in Sweden in December 2000, was found in the United States. The painting Conversation and a Rembrandt self-portrait were also mentioned as previously stolen; the Rembrandt has been recovered and led to the arrest of four people.
Rembrandt's self-portrait and Renoir's A Young Parisienne, both stolen from Sweden's National Museum, were recovered in an undercover operation. Renoir's Conversation had already been recovered in 2001. The Rembrandt and Renoir works were valued at about $40 million and $13 million respectively.
Christie’s announced the sale of Titian’s Portrait of a Lady and her Daughter after a restoration uncovered the composition beneath a later painting. The work, unseen in its original form for centuries, was expected to realise more than £5 million.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir heirs file a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in Texas against Paula Hantman and Hantman’s Auctioneers after a failed auction of the artist’s personal artifacts, seeking about $5 million. The suit alleges fraud and breach of fiduciary duty related to a later sale to an Ohio buyer for $135,000 without consignors’ consent.
The Independent reports on the Viotti violin, a Stradivari instrument that has been in Britain for over a century. After a lengthy fundraising campaign and negotiations, the instrument was secured for the Royal Academy of Music with help from the Art Fund and a family concession, and will be publicly displayed and occasionally played by top students.
Vesko Eschkenazy, born in Sofia in 1970 and since 2000 concert master of the Koninklijk Concertgebouw Orchestra, joins the Osiris Trio as violinist. The trio includes Ellen Corver (piano) and Larissa Groeneveld (cello) and was founded in 1988.
International Entertainment News reports that violinist Vesko Eschkenazy, born in Sofia in 1970 and long-time concertmaster of the Koninklijk Concertgebouw Orchestra, will join the Osiris Trio as violinist. The Osiris Trio includes Ellen Corver (piano) and Larissa Groeneveld (cello); a 1738 Guarneri del Gesu violin is mentioned as Eschkenazy's instrument.