The article covers Sotheby’s $200.7 million sale of new Damien Hirst artworks in London on Sept. 15–16. It highlights the top buyers, including Alina Davey who bought nine lots for £12.9 million, Moscow gallery owner Gary Tatintsian who acquired about half a dozen works for £2.7 million, and a telephone buyer who spent £10.3 million on The Golden Calf, possibly François Pinault. Other notable purchases include The Abyss for £1.8 million and multiple works bought by Jay Jopling for White Cube, such as Heaven Can Wait and The Triumvirate.
Damien Hirst’s “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever” auction at Sotheby’s saw the sale of 223 works and included the notable pieces “The Golden Calf,” which sold for $18.6 million, and “The Black Sheep With The Golden Horn,” which sold for $4.7 million. The tiger shark piece “The Kingdom” sold for $17.2 million, and “Fragments of Paradise” fetched $9.3 million; several works did not sell, and the two-day total reached $206 million.
Paul Cezanne's Bords de la Marne (1888) was bought by the Art Gallery of NSW for A$16.2 million (NZ$19.52 million). The work had been in a Swiss private collection for over 100 years and was acquired by gallery curator Edmund Capon, described as the gallery's most ambitious purchase.
The Art Gallery of NSW has acquired a $16.2 million Cezanne landscape, Bords de la Marne, the most expensive work bought by an Australian public gallery. The painting, from 1888, was in private hands in Switzerland for about a century, with Margaret Olley donating $1 million toward the purchase.
Damien Hirst's two-day sale at Sotheby's in London, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, raised £111 million ($250 million), setting a new record for a single-artist sale. The auction included notable pieces such as The Golden Calf and The Dream, with 54 lots sold on Monday and 80 more buyers later, totaling approximately £70.5 million on day one and £24.3 million additional gains.
Damien Hirst makes £95m in Sotheby’s sale, despite global slump. The article discusses Damien Hirst and his two-year body of work achieving £95.7 million at Sotheby’s two-day auction, amid global financial market turmoil.
The article reports on Phillips de Pury & Co hosting a Contemporary and Urban Art sale in London on September 6, where 454 lots were offered and about 850 thousand dollars was traded. It discusses street art and its artists, noting Banksy, Blek le Rat, Judith Supine, and KAWS among others, and mentions the visual nature of street art versus graffiti; it also references Shepard Fairey and the popularity surrounding Barack Obama imagery.
Sotheby’s filed a $16.8 million lawsuit against Halsey Minor for failure to pay for three paintings, including Andy Warhol’s Diamond Dust Shoes, Childe Hassam’s Paris, Winter Day, and Edward Hicks’s Peaceable Kingdom with the Leopard of Serenity. Minor bid amounts were $301,000, $3.96 million, and $9.7 million respectively, with the Hicks work setting a new artist and American folk art record. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Sept. 2, and Sotheby’s argued Minor was in willful default, while Minor claimed extended payment terms and disclosed financial arrangements involving the consignor and a loan related to The Peaceable Kingdom.
Damien Hirst’s Mammoth Art Auction Attracts Plenty of Bidders, Despite Financial Turmoil - The New York Times discusses Sotheby’s auction of 223 works by Damien Hirst, all created within the last two years, amid financial market turmoil. The first session total was $127.2 million, above a $112 million high estimate, with bidders including Jay Jopling and remarks from Sotheby’s Tobias Meyer and dealer Jose Mugrabi.
The article reports that Sotheby’s sued Health Maynor (Halsey Minor), founder of CNET Networks, seeking 16.8 million dollars for three paintings bought at auction in May: The Kingdom of Peace by Edward Hicks, Shoes with Diamond Crumbs by Andy Warhol, and Paris, Winter Days by Frederick Childe Hassam. Sotheby’s claims the total value exceeds 13 million dollars and seeks additional costs and interest; Maynor disputes the payment, alleging Sotheby’s disclosed information to influence the value of the works.
The article discusses a Stradivari cello made about 300 years ago, owned by Amaryllis Fleming, Ian Fleming’s half-sister and cellist. It is insured for 1.4 million pounds (about 2.8 million USD) and will be sold at Tarisio in New York in October, with online bidding beginning October 1. It notes that the instrument is among Stradivari’s finest and references a prior record sale of the Bonjour cello for 1.3 million USD at Christie’s in 1999; proceeds will benefit the Royal Academy of Music.
The Fleming, a Stradivari cello almost 300 years old and insured for £1.4 million, is to be sold at an online auction. Named after Amaryllis Fleming, the late British cellist and half-sister of Ian Fleming, the instrument is highly sought after and could set records in the market.
The article reports that a Stradivari cello owned by Amaryllis Fleming, half-sister of Ian Fleming, is to be auctioned online and is insured for £1.4 million; it notes the cello is one of 60 surviving Stradivari cellos.
Damiena Hirst’s forthcoming solo auction, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, at Sotheby’s in London on September 15–16, 2008, is covered with estimates suggesting total sales could reach at least 65 million pounds (117 million dollars). The study by ArtTactic tracks past Hirst sales since 2004 and notes a strong 2000–2008 total of about 150 million dollars in sales, with expectations that the September results could double that figure if performances meet projections.
The article profiles violinist Augustin Hadelich, who recovered from serious burns as a teenager to win the Indianapolis International Violin Competition and become a prominent soloist. It notes his performances of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto and recent activities, including appearances at Carnegie Hall and a Hollywood Bowl debut.
The article reports that Robert M. Mardirosian, a 74-year-old former lawyer from Falmouth, Massachusetts, was found guilty of possessing six paintings that had been stolen 30 years earlier from a Stockbridge home and faces up to 10 years in prison. The works include two paintings by Jean Jansem, two portraits by Chaim Soutine, and one painting each by Maurice Utrillo and Maurice de Vlaminck; a seventh work by Paul Cézanne remains uncharged due to the statute of limitations. The theft was committed by David Colvin, and the artworks were stored and later involved with Sotheby’s and the Art Loss Register during restitution efforts, with the Cézanne later sold for £18 million ($29.3 million).
The Lipinski Stradivarius, one of fewer than 700 Stradivari instruments, was uncovered in Milwaukee and will be played by Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Frank Almond. The instrument was constructed in 1715 in Cremona and is associated with Karol Lipinski and earlier owners including Giuseppe Tartini; its current owner contacted Frank Almond in 2008 for possible sale.