Monthly archive
20 headlines
Source-linked reporting
theartnewspaper.com
European collectors dominate, Americans in short supply at Art Basel reports that continental European buyers were the strongest at Art Basel this year, with fewer Americans and US museums purchasing. The article notes record attendance and the role of high prices from May auctions in New York, and includes quotes from dealers about competition for top works and guarantees.
artnews.com
Alfredo Ramos Martínez artworks at Christie’s and Matta works at Christie’s led Latin American sales totaling $50.3 million. Martínez’s Flowers of Mexico sold for $4.07 million and The Lonesome Indian brought $1.1 million at Christie’s; Matta’s Tige verte (Les possessions) and Imaschus sold for $2.2 million and $456,000 respectively at Christie’s. Fernando Botero also featured prominently with multiple top lots at Christie’s in New York.
twincities.com
Damien Hirst’s Lullaby Spring sold for $19.1 million at Sotheby’s, setting a new record for a living artist. The artist is Damien Hirst and the work is Lullaby Spring; the sale price is $19.1 million. Previous record holder was Jasper Johns with Figure 4 at about $17 million.
thetimes.com
Damien Hirst was crowned the world’s most expensive living artist after Sotheby’s in London sold Lullaby Spring for £9.65 million. The auction followed Lucian Freud becoming the most expensive living European artist at Christie’s, and Hirst’s record surpassed Jasper Johns’ earlier world auction record of £8.74 million in New York.
artforum.com
Edvard Munch paintings The Scream and Madonna, damaged in a 2004 Oslo museum theft, are to be restored with a $670,000 donation from Idemitsu Petroleum of Japan, directed to restoration and research at the Munch Museum; the paintings suffered chips, scratches, punctures, and humidity damage. The donation was reported by the New York Times.
thetimes.com
The Monet lily painting sold for £18.5 million at Sotheby’s in London, falling short of the world record (£19.8 million for Bassin aux nymphéas et sentier au bord de l’eau, 1900). The sale attracted over 600 attendees and included a notable auction of a Rodin sculpture, Iris, which sold for £4.6 million, a new record for the artist. The event featured competitive bidding, with a phone-based bidding frenzy and multiple private collectors in attendance.
telegraph.co.uk
Colin Gleadell reports on the Basel art fair following the Venice Biennale and discusses the impact of recent New York auction results on Basquiat prices; the piece considers whether there could be benchmark sales like $14 million Basquiats at Basel.
antiquesandthearts.com
Francesco d’Ubertini Verdi, known as Il Bachiacca, and others are added to VMFA’s collection, including a Virgin and Child painting, a late 19th century oil on canvas by Charles Sprague Pearce, and an 18th century genre scene by Benjamin West; additional acquisitions include an early 19th century monumental urn, Indian watercolors, a female figure after her bath, two light-based works by living American artists, and a sculpture by Robert Lazzarini.
deseret.com
Monet’s 1904 Waterloo Bridge, Temps Couvert sold for 17.9 million pounds with fees, securing a total sale of 121.1 million pounds ($240 million) at a Christie’s International sale in London. The auction saw 18% of 72 lots unsold and multiple records, including Joan Miró’s Le Coq and Natalia Goncharova’s Picking Apples, while the rose garden scene by Monet did not meet its low estimate.
phillymag.com
The article discusses Christopher Germain, president of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers, who lives in Philadelphia and crafts violins and cellos in his Locust Street workshop; prices cited are $18,000 for violins and $35,000 for cellos.
smh.com.au
Steve Meacham reports on Sydney's Grainger Quartet using four instruments from the National Museum of Australia's collection, including a violin, viola, and cello made by Arthur Edward Smith (A. E. Smith) during his golden period, purchased by the Australian government in 1978 for the National Historic Collection.
smh.com.au
The artwork The Olgas for Ernest Giles by Brett Whiteley sold for $3.48 million at Deutscher-Menzies in Sydney, setting a new record for an Australian painting at auction. The piece measures 2.1 by 2.4 metres and depicts ochre rocks with suggestive figures, and includes wildlife such as a magpie, cockatoo, and emu against a desert sky. The previous Australian painting record was $3.36 million for John Brack's The Old Time, and Whiteley’s Opera House sold for $2.88 million in the same month.
artnews.com
The Sotheby’s Australia sale at Paddington Town Hall totaled A$22.45 million (about $18.6 million), exceeding the presale estimate and previous records. The event featured 114 lots with 93.9% by value sold, including 22 Qantas lots; top works included John Brack’s The Old Time (A$3.36 million) and Brett Whiteley’s Sydney Opera House (A$2.8 million). Proceeds supported artists’ scholarships.
mult-kor.hu
The article reports that a Stradivari violin worth 2.5 million euros, stolen ten days earlier, has been safely recovered and returned to Austrian violinist Christian Altenburger. It notes that a fingerprint led police to the suspects and mentions Altenburger’s reaction to reclaiming the instrument.
civil.ge
Civil Georgia reports that six Georgians were arrested in Vienna on suspicion of stealing a Stradivarius violin valued at about EUR 2.5 million and a Vuillaume violin worth EUR 120,000. The instruments were taken from a local musician’s flat in central Vienna and recovered from an apartment housing six Georgian asylum seekers. Authorities noted additional items stolen suggested a Georgian gang linked to 21 other burglaries.
denik.cz
Article reports that rare violins by Antonio Stradivari stolen in Vienna were found undamaged. The violins were valued at about 2.5 million euros; six Georgian suspects were involved in the theft, along with other instruments. The piece notes the original maker Antonio Giacomo Stradivari and mentions the recovered Stradivárky among other stolen items.
english.pravda.ru
A Stradivari violin worth at least euro 2 million (US$2.7 million) was returned to its owner in Austria after being stolen from a musician's apartment. Austrian Interior Minister Guenther Platter handed the instrument back to musician Christian Altenburger in Vienna, with several members of a Georgian gang arrested in connection with the robbery.
lenta.ru
The stolen Stradivarius violin from Vienna, valued at 2.5 million euros, was recovered and returned to musician Christian Altenburger. An accomplice was arrested and additional stolen items from Altenburger’s home were found, including a second, less valuable violin by Violin maker, and three bows.
worldcollectorsnet.com
Carl Barks original artwork Hands Off My Playthings sold for $204,000 at Bonhams & Butterfields in Los Angeles, setting a world auction record for a Carl Barks painting featuring Disney characters.
artlover06.blogspot.com
The post discusses Andy Warhol's silkscreen 30 Coloured Maos (Reversal Series) being sold at Sotheby’s Evening Sale of Contemporary Art for £1.25 million in London. The work was consigned by the Art Loss Register on behalf of insurers after a lengthy provenance issue including a 1980 theft and recovery earlier in the year.