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wwd.com
Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé collection sale ends at Grand Palais with a total of 373.5 million euros, or 484.6 million dollars. Individual heads of the Qing dynasty are among items mentioned as sold to anonymous telephone bidders for 15.7 million euros, or 20 million dollars.
mediafax.ro
The piece reports that Romanian police in Constanţa found a Stradivarius violin believed to have been stolen from Belgium. The instrument, dating to 1721 and bearing an authenticity label, was discovered during a late-night raid on a Roma dwelling near Piaţa Ovidiu. Two people – a man and a woman – are being investigated in connection with the case.
themagazineantiques.com
The Magazine Antiques reports on the three-day Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé sale at the Grand Palais, noting long queues and a record-setting auction. Top lots included Yves Saint Laurent’s favorite Matisse painting Les couscous, tapis bleu et rose by Henri Matisse (1911) which sold for 35.9 million euros, and Madame L.R. by Brancusi which reached 29.1 million euros, among many records across old master and 19th-century works. The piece also highlights the sale of silver, miniatures, and objets de vertu breaking records, and mentions a world record for the most valuable private collection ever sold at auction.
cancan.ro
The article reports that a Stradivarius violin, about 300 years old, was found by police in Constanţa after a search related to an attempt to sell it for 10,000 euros. The instrument bears inscriptions and a stamp suggesting Stradivari provenance, with indications it may have been stolen from Belgium; it will be sent to Bucharest for expert evaluation to determine if it is an original or a copy.
wz.de
The Romanian police seized a Stradivari violin in a Constanta apartment; the instrument, believed to be from around 1721 by Antonio Stradivari, was to be evaluated in Bucharest. Authorities aim to determine how the violin arrived in Romania and whether the owner is part of an art-smuggling ring; the value is not disclosed.
artinvestment.ru
The last day of sale featured triumphal works from the collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, including two Chinese bronze sculptures of a rat and a rabbit that sold for 15.7 million euros each. The works were discussed in relation to earlier auctions and notable pieces such as Henri Matisse still life and Eileen Gray Armchair with Dragons, with commentary on legal and cultural issues surrounding the pieces.
Christie’s
Christie’s reported €373.9 million for the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé collection, setting a record for a private collection at auction and the highest auction total recorded in Europe. Matisse’s Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose led the sale at €35.9 million.
time.com
The sale at the Grand Palais in Paris is led by Christie's and features works collected by Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Berge, with the event running through February 25, 2009; the sale is expected to gross 200-300 million euros, with a Picasso estimated as high as 2-3 million euros for a piece mentioned in coverage.
nytimes.com
Yves Saint Laurent and his partner’s private collection sold at Christie’s in Paris for more than $264 million on the first night; notable records were set for Matisse, Duchamp, Brancusi, Ensor, Mondrian and de Chirico, including a $40.9 million Matisse painting.
benningtonbanner.com
Henri Matisse painting sold for euro32.1 million ($41.1 million) at a Christie's sale of Yves Saint Laurent’s estate; Matisse work titled Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose sold for euro35.9 million including buyer's premium. The sale opened a three-day Paris auction with six world records, and other works by Mondrian and Brancusi also sold; a Picasso piece did not sell.
theglobeandmail.com
Nina Wolmark, Guy Plamandon and Frank Moore are among the visitors who attended the Saint Laurent and Bergé collection exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris. The 733-piece collection, displayed over two days before a three-day auction, is described as the largest single-owner art collection ever to go up for sale, with Christie’s estimating as much as $480 million.
abc.net.au
Matisse's Cuckoos On A Blue And Pink Carpet sold for a record 32 million euros. Bids for Yves Saint Laurent's private art collection reached 206 million euros, the most expensive ever auctioned. Notable works by Piet Mondrian, Constantin Brancusi, Marcel Duchamp also achieved record sums, while Pablo Picasso's Musical Instruments On A Table did not meet its guide price and was withdrawn unsold.
nzherald.co.nz
Pierre Berge and Yves Saint Laurent assembled a vast private collection. Christie's expects the sale of more than 700 works could reach up to 300 million dollars. The collection is displayed at the Grand Palais with many notable attendees including Nicolas Sarkozy, Laurent Fabius, Simone Veil, Dustin Hoffman, Charlotte Rampling and Paul Smith.
artnews.com
The article covers Old Master and European paintings and drawings sales in New York by Sotheby’s and Christie’s totaling $87.4 million, down from $98.4 million last January. The highlight was J. M. W. Turner’s The Temple of Jupiter Panellenius Restored, sold for $12.9 million with premium after an irrevocable bid, with the sale showcasing a flight to quality as collectors seek fresh-to-market works.
restitutiecommissie.nl
Proehl – Restitutiecommissie discusses NK collection item NK 3082 Prometheus chained to the rock, a copy after Rubens, restitution claim by I.M.L.-P. and G.C.V.P.; painting housed in the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage depot.
albawaba.com
Maestro Eduard Wulfson and Vadim Agreev performed on historic Stradivarius and Guarneri violins presented by the Stradivari Society during a Dubai Culture & Arts Authority event in Dubai. The evening included history of the instruments and introductions by Wulfson, with presentations by Lawrence Assadourian of Stradivarius Middle East.
artinvestment.ru
The article discusses two Picasso paintings, Boy Leading a Horse (1906) and Moulin de la Galette (1900), claimed by Julius Schoeps (Sheps Julius) as lost by his family during Nazism and involving the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. It outlines the background of ownership and a disputed line of title through Paul Rosenberg and Elsa von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, with complexities about Nazi-era seizures and subsequent museum possession.
indianartnews.visionsarts.com
Edgar Degas, Petite danseuse de quatorze ans, circa 1879-81, was the subject of the news. Sotheby’s London sale of Impressionist & Modern Art totalled £32,564,300 ($46,238,050) with a new auction record for a Degas sculpture at £13,257,250. The consignor of the sculpture was Sir John Madejski.
artinvestment.ru
The page reports Sotheby’s London results for Impressionist and Modern works, highlighting Edgar Degas for the sculpture Little Dancer chetyrnadtsatiletnyaya sold for 13.3 million pounds. It notes overall sales totaling 32,564,300 pounds and mentions other top lots, including Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's Street Scene at about 5.4 million pounds; unsold items include Degas pastel Dancers in the foyer, Fernand Léger A Trip to the Country, and a Modigliani Caryatid.
web.archive.org
Titian's Diana and Actaeon, a privately owned Old Master, was bought for the nation for £50m after an emergency appeal. The painting, a centerpiece of the Bridgewater collection, is now jointly owned by the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Gallery in London, with funding from Scottish government ministers and other donors.