Monthly archive
12 headlines
Source-linked reporting
playbill.com
An anonymous benefactor in Australia purchased a 1743 Guarneri del Gesù violin, known as the Carrodus, for $7 million (US) and loaned it to the Australian Chamber Orchestra for long-term use by Richard Tognetti. The instrument was sold by David Fulton and will be played by Tognetti, with Helena Rathbone as principal second violinist; the ACO plans to use the instrument in its 2007 season.
abc.net.au
The article reports that an anonymous benefactor bought a $10 million Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu violin from 1743, known as the Carrodus, and is making it available for use by the Australian Chamber Orchestra under artistic director Richard Tognetti.
gazetadopovo.com.br
The article reports that a Guarneri violin, worth US$7.7 million, will be played for the first time in 50 years by the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) as it begins its 2007 season in February. The instrument, one of only 100 made by Giuseppi Guarneri, was bought by an anonymous Australian collector and loaned to the orchestra; Richard Tognetti, ACO artistic director, will perform on the violin known as Carrodus.
artnews.com
Steve Wynn sues Lloyd’s of London over a damaged Picasso Le Rêve (1932) claiming $54 million for partial loss in value; the painting had a tear and Wynn had agreed to sell it to Steven Cohen for $139 million before the incident. The lawsuit, filed Jan. 12, targets Lloyd’s and certain underwriters for withholding appraisers’ reports.
nytimes.com
The article reports that Steve Wynn sued Lloyd's of London seeking $54 million in lost value and restoration costs for Picasso's 1932 painting Le Rêve after Wynn damaged it in his Las Vegas office. Wynn claimed the painting’s value dropped from $139 million to about $85 million after the incident, and he sought expedited appraisal or initial damages assessment from the insurers.
wtol.com
The painting "Children with a Cart" by Francisco de Goya, which disappeared while being transported from Toledo to New York in 2006, has been recovered and will be displayed at the Toledo Museum of Art. The work had been insured for about $1 million and is now shown temporarily in Gallery 28A; admission to the museum is free.
illicitculturalproperty.com
A Federal District Court in Ohio denied ownership claims to a work titled Street Scene in Tahiti by Paul Gauguin, purchased by the Toledo Museum of Art in 1939. The piece, valued between $10 million and $15 million, originated with German Jewish owner Martha Nathan who sold it in 1938 to a group of Jewish art dealers for 30,000 Swiss Francs (about $6,900). The Toledo Museum of Art retains the painting, and Nathan had not filed a restitution claim for it. The case involved Ohio’s statute of limitations and the discovery rule, with the Toledo Museum of Art preemptively initiating a quiet title action. The outcome of any appeal remains uncertain given the painting’s value.
archive.austria.org
Egon Schiele painting Krumauer Landschaft (Stadt am Fluss), 1916, looted by Nazis and restituted to the Vienna Cultural Community, was auctioned off by Sotheby’s of London and valued at about USD 12.5 million.
news.tvbs.com.tw
The article reports that renowned Taiwanese violinist Jian Mingyan bought a violin for $200,000, believing it to be by a master, but later learned it was a counterfeit attributed to Pressenda. The musician pursued legal action, displaying a world-class authentication certificate from Sotheby’s to prove the instrument was not made by the 19th-century master, and notes that the instrument’s value and loan payments have become a burden.
theartnewspaper.com
Barbara Pollock questions the long-term value of contemporary Chinese art amidst high prices and heavy reliance on auction records, noting concerns about bidding rings and inflated prices. She discusses how museums are priced out and contrasts Sotheby’s separate category with Christie’s integrated approach, expressing preference for the latter.
theartnewspaper.com
The article discusses Latin American art sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s in New York in November, highlighting record prices such as Alfredo Ramos Martínez’s Mujeres Con Flores selling for $1.8m, Fernando Botero’s Self-Portrait in Costume of Velázquez for $1.1m, and Botero’s Jugadoras de Cartas II for $1.7m, among others. It notes strong interest in 20th-century painting and contemporary abstract art, with weaker demand for colonial religious art from Mexico and the Andean region.
portlandart.net
Robert Rauschenberg's work Patrician Barnacle (Scale), 1981, was acquired by the Portland Art Museum. The piece is described as part of the Scales and Spread series and is to be installed at the Jubitz Center for Modern and Contemporary Art; the sale involved Blue Sky photography gallery and donors including Carol S. Hampton and Bruce Guenther, with a quoted statement from Brian Ferriso.