Lars Nittve, director of Moderna Museet in Stockholm, asks the Swedish government for 50m Swedish crowns ($6.8m) to buy works by female artists. The museum holds about 250,000 20th-century works and has roughly nine times as many pieces by men as by women. Nittve hopes to acquire works by Paula Modersohn-Becker, Georgia O’Keeffe, Frida Kahlo, Dora Maar and Louise Bourgeois, among others, and mentions Ljubov Popova as a cheaper option. The request coincides with the museum’s 50th anniversary in 2008; the annual budget is 3.4m crowns ($470,000). Private donors, including Barbro Osher, have pledged $1m for acquisitions of art by women.
The Art Basel opening report notes strong start and an increase in jet-set collectors. The piece mentions Takashi Murakami's $1.5 million primary-market work, dealers’ strategies, and notable US and European collectors in attendance.
Frida Kahlo's cuadro Raíces, painted in 1943, sold at Sotheby's in New York for 5,600,000 USD, a new record for the artist. The prior personal record was Autorretrato (1929) at 5,065,750 USD in 2000. The sale price included a 12 percent buyer's premium.
The Christie’s postwar and contemporary sale totaled $143 million, its second-highest ever, with 83 of 91 lots sold. The auction featured 26 Donald Judd sculptures from the Judd Foundation to raise funds, plus notable works by Warhol and de Kooning. The sale included top prices of $2.7 million for several Judd stacks and individual Warhol pieces, achieving strong results in a tense market.
Georg Baselitz’s Untitled (Hero), Brice Marden’s Far, Lucio Fontana’s Concetto Spaziale, Joan Mitchell’s Blue Nose, and Tom Wesselman’s Bedroom Painting #42 were among top lots at Phillips, de Pury and Company’s May 11 sale. Jeff Koons’s Buster Keaton led the auction at $2.7 million, with Peter Doig, Richard Prince, Mike Kelley, and other 1990s works also performing strongly.
Pablo Picasso's 1941 painting Dora Maar au chat sold for $95.2 million at Sotheby’s impressionist and modern evening sale. The sale contributed to Sotheby’s total of $207.5 million and Christie’s $180.2 million the night before, with the two houses reporting $387.8 million for the combined auctions. Other highlighted works included Vincent van Gogh’s L’Arlésienne, Madame Ginoux and Picasso’s Portrait de Germaine and Le repos, with various guarantees noted.
The article reports that Antonio Stradivari's violin, labeled Hummer, was sold at Christie’s New York for 3.544 million dollars, a record for a musical instrument. The buyer wished to remain anonymous; the instrument was made in Cremona in 1707 during Stradivari’s golden period. The violin’s name comes from former owner Christian Hammer, a Swedish jeweler and collector.
The Stradivari violin from 1707 sold for 3.5 million dollars at a New York Sotheby’s auction, setting a record; previously The Hammer held the record at 2 million dollars. The seller expected 1.5–2.5 million dollars.
The article reports that Antonio Stradivari's violin known as the Hammer was sold at Christie’s in New York for 3.544 million dollars, making it the most expensive musical instrument ever sold. The instrument was crafted in 1707 during his golden period and later aged ownership and provenance are noted, along with the previous record of 2.032 million dollars. The initial estimate was 0.7 million dollars and buyers were anonymous, with a celebratory auction room response.
The article discusses a painting once thought to be a copy of Caravaggio's The Cardsharps being reidentified as an autograph work by Caravaggio. It mentions the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth and the painting’s potential value, with speculation about a price around $50 million, and notes Denis Mahon’s role and possible donation to the Ashmolean Museum.
The article reports that a Stradivarius violin labeled Hammer, signed by Antonius Stradivari, was sold at a record price of 3.54 million dollars in a Christie’s auction in New York. The buyer’s identity was not disclosed, and Stradivari is noted to have created Hammer in 1707 during his golden age.
The article discusses the Gothic Revival in America from 1800 to 1860, highlighting how it was interpreted and displayed in Hirschl & Adler Galleries’ show In Pointed Style: The Gothic Revival in America, 1800-1860, showing more than 100 pieces across furniture, glass, ceramics, silver, brass, iron, textiles, paintings, prints and drawings.
The NRC article reports that a stolen Stradivarius violin has been recovered. The piece is from NRC’s archive and discusses the restoration of the instrument after it was stolen.
The article discusses the 1707 Stradivari violin named The Hammer, created by Antonio Stradivari, estimated at $1.5 to $2.5 million for a New York auction, with provenance including the 19th-century Swedish collector Christian Hammer and current ownership by American collectors; Elizabeth Pitcairn comments on its tone relative to Mendelssohn’s 1720 Stradivari.
Pablo Picasso’s Dora Maar au chat sold for $95,216,000 at Sotheby’s on May 3, as part of an Impressionist and Modern Art sale that totaled $207,564,800. The sale included other notable works such as Henri Matisse’s Nu couch e9 vu de dos, which brought $18,496,000, and Dame Barbara Hepworth’s Three Obliques (Walk-In) at $1,128,000.
The article discusses the speculation over the identity of the buyer of Picasso's Dora Maar au Chat (1941), who purchased it for a total of $102.7 million at Sotheby’s. Sources cited include the New York Times, The Art Newspaper, and the New York Post, with names such as Roustam Tariko and Alexander Abramov mentioned as possible buyers. Sotheby’s reportedly refuses to identify the buyer or confirm payment.
Dora Maar au Chat, 1941 by Picasso sold for $95.2 million at Sotheby’s in New York, the second-highest auction price for an artwork. The buyer was unidentified and outbid several phone bidders; the seller was a member of the Gitwitz family. Picasso’s Olga Khokhlova portrait sold for $34.7 million at Christie’s, and Picasso’s Boy with a Pipe remains the most expensive auctioned artwork at $104 million.
The Massapequa Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by David Liebowitz, presents Colin Jacobsen (violin) and Eric Jacobsen (cello) performing the Brahms Double Concerto on Saturday, May 6 at 8:30 p.m. at Berner Middle School in Massapequa; program also includes Dvorak Symphony No. 7 and the Overture to the Merry Wives of Windsor. Admission is free with limited seating.
Picasso’s mistress Dora Maar with Cat, painted in Paris in 1941, was expected to sell for $50m (£27m) at Sotheby’s. Picasso’s Le Repos also drew bids at Christie’s, where Van Gogh’s L’Arlésienne, Madame Ginoux sold for $40.3m, against a $40m–$50m estimate.
The article reports on Laguna Beach Chamber Music Festival entering its fourth season with Edgar Meyer as mentor on double bass and Mihai Marica as cellist. It describes Meyer's performance of Rossini's Duetto in D Major for Cello and Double Bass and Meyer's 1985 Trio #1 commission piece performed with Mihai Marica and violinist Katie Hyun.