Na webu Naše Praha je popsána krádež dvou vzácných viol v hodnotě 600 000 korun. Okradený byl 49letý muž, který cestoval vlakem Excelsior z Ostravy do Prahy a při výstupu zjistil, že pouzdra s nástroji chybí; později policii oznámil událost. První viola je vyrobena David Achatius Stadelmann v Londýně roku 1742 a má hodnotu 500 000 Kč, druhá viola byla vyrobena Jan Bobak v Nowy Targ v roce 2009 a má hodnotu 100 000 Kč.
A foreign musician was robbed of two violas worth around CZK 60,000 (USD 32,000) after falling asleep on a train from Ostrava to Prague. The musician discovered his viola cases were empty upon arriving home; police in Ostrava appealed for information.
Andy Warhol's 200 One Dollar Bills and Untitled (Roll of Dollar Bills) featured in Sotheby’s Postwar and Contemporary sale, which brought in $134.4 million in New York. Works by Andy Warhol, including Diamond Dust Oxidation Painting (1978) and Tunafish Disaster (1963) sold, with prices ranging up to $1.2 million; Richard Prince’s Doctor’s Nurse (2002) sold for $1.7 million; Jasper Johns’s Gray Numbers (1957) sold for $8.7 million; Donald Judd’s Untitled (1980) sold for $1.2 million; Jean Dubuffet’s Trinité-Champs-Elysées (1961) sold for $6.1 million. Gagosian and museum representatives were active bidders, with Juan Muñoz’s Five Seated Figures (1996) purchased by Reina Sofía and Alice Neel’s Jackie Curtis and Rita Red acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art.
The article discusses Warhol works at Sotheby’s New York, including the sale of 200 One Dollar Bills, 1962 for $43.8 million and Self-Portrait, 1965 selling for $6.1 million, with broader context on Warhol prices and market activity in the postwar/contemporary auction environment.
The article discusses how violin-making is flourishing today while the oldest 450-year-old instruments remain superior. The piece is published in The Economist under Christmas Specials, with imagery from Reuters and location noted as Cremona.
Colin Gleadell reports that four lots accounted for two thirds of the £95 million of Old Masters sales at London auctions held by Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Bonhams. The piece notes record prices dominating coverage, including a £29 million Raphael drawing sale.
NPR reports on the reconstruction of a harpsichord-viola designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Edoardo Zanon built and plays the first modern harpsichord-viola, based on Leonardo da Vinci's sketches, as part of the Leonardo da Vinci's Workshop exhibit at Discovery Times Square in New York.
The article reports on a study in Angewandte Chemie examining Stradivari instruments and varnish, concluding there is no secret ingredient. Researchers suggest Stradivari’s true secret was his artistry as an instrument maker. By Steve Mirsky.
A Rembrandt portrait sold for $32.9 million at Christie’s International in London, the artist’s record at auction, and a Raphael drawing sold for $47.5 million, the most for an Old Master drawing at a public sale.
Christie’s reported a record £68.4 million total for its Old Masters and 19th Century Art auction. A Raphael drawing sold for £29.2 million and a Rembrandt portrait for £20.2 million, both setting records.
El artículo describe una exposición temporal en el Palacio Real de Madrid con instrumentos de la Colección Cremona procedentes de Cremona, entre ellos un violín Il Cremonese 1715, el violín Vesuvius (1727), y el violonchelo Stauffer ex Cristiani, junto a un cuarteto con una viola del taller de Stradivari. Se menciona la procedencia y características de cada instrumento y su historia, así como la curatoría de Patrimonio Nacional y la colección Palatina.
Max Beckmann’s View of the Outskirts at the Sea near Marseille, 1937, sold for 2,618,000 Euros in Berlin, a new world record for a Beckmann landscape. The work was acquired by a Southern German private collection as part of Villa Grisebach’s fall auctions, which overall totaled 8.6 million euros in the Evening Sale. Other notable prices included Max Liebermann, Karl Hofer, Gabriele Münter, Alexej von Jawlensky, Emil Schumacher, Günther Uecker, and Alex Katz.
Rembrandt’s Portrait of a man with arms akimbo is highlighted as a potential record piece in Christie’s London sale of old masters, with pre-sale estimates up to $45 million. The article notes evidence of renewed collecting and cites record sales by Edgar Allan Poe items as context for a recovering market.
Fu Baoshi’s Landscape inspired by Dufu Poetic Sentiment sold for HK$60 million ($7.7 million), setting a world auction record for the artist. Wu Bin’s 18 Arhats fetched nearly $25 million, a world record for a Chinese artwork. Chu Teh-Chun’s Vertige Neigeux sold for $5.8 million, an auction record for the artist. Zao Wou-ki’s 19-11-59 brought $3.9 million. Ren Renfa’s Five Drunken Kings Return on Horses realized $6 million.
Georgina Adam and Charlotte Burns report on contemporary art sales in New York (Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Phillips de Pury) in November with Warhol’s 200 One Dollar Bills and Tunafish Disaster among notable results; prices exceeded estimates at mid/high ranges and record results were noted for Jean Dubuffet.