Monthly archive
25 headlines
Source-linked reporting
bbc.com
Francis Bacon's Crouching Nude and Andy Warhol's Debbie Harry were among works sold. An auction at Sotheby's in London achieved £108.8m, with artist records for Sigmar Polke and Georg Baselitz. Other notable results included Jean-Michel Basquiat's early untitled painting at £5.4m and several works from the Duerckheim collection.
nytimes.com
This article reports on Sotheby’s auction in London featuring 34 works from Count Christian Duerckheim’s collection, highlighting prices for contemporary German artists Sigmar Polke, Georg Baselitz, and Blinky Palermo, among others. The Duerckheim collection totaled $96.6 million, contributing to an evening total of $174.1 million with 9 of 88 works not selling.
ntdtv.com
The article reports that the Stradivarius violin Lady Blunt, donated by the Japan Music Foundation and auctioned by Tarisio, sold online for 9.8 million pounds (about 15.9 million USD) to an anonymous buyer to aid Japan earthquake and tsunami relief funds. The instrument dates to 1721 and is praised for its exceptional sound and preservation, with commentary from Tarisio’s Jason Price and notes on Stradivarius craftsmanship.
artnews.com
Frantisek Kupka’s Movement, 1913–19 sold for a record £1.5 million ($2.4 million) at Sotheby’s London. Josef Capek’s Sailor and Phantomas, 1917–20 and Karel Cerny’s In the Bar, 1946 also set records at the Hascoe collection sale in London, which realized £11.1 million ($18 million) against estimates of £4.2 million/£6.2 million. Otto Gutfreund’s Cubist Head, 1913–14 cast posthumously also set a record at £34,850 ($56,600).
artinvestment.ru
The Leopold Museum in Vienna reached a settlement with the heirs of Maurice Ayzlera regarding two Anton Romak paintings, Castle Grayllenshtayn and Countess Kyufshteyn at the easel, allowing the works to remain in the museum in exchange for compensation. The dispute involved the art seized by the Gestapo from Ayzlera, who survived Auschwitz and later returned to Brno. The museum previously also settled with the heirs of collector Jenny Steiner over an Egon Schiele painting for $5 million.
huffpost.com
Sotheby’s London sale of 35 lots brought in $155 million (97 million pounds). The top lot was Egon Schiele’s townscape Houses With Laundry (Suburb II), which sold for $40 million, a record for the artist, offered by the Leopold Museum, Vienna. Other notable results included Alberto Giacometti’s Trois hommes qui marchent II at 10.7 million pounds and Pablo Picasso pieces Couple, Le Baiser and Homme a la pipe et nu couche at 6.5 million pounds and 4.8 million pounds respectively.
artlyst.com
Egon Schiele landscape Hauser mit bunter Wasche ‘Vorstadt’ sold for £24.7 million or $40.1 million at a London auction. The article also notes a 1990s compensation case involving Lea Bondi Jaray and the Leopold Museum related to a Schiele portrait, and mentions prior Schiele cityscape auction records.
artnews.conteart.com
Jared French’s Siren sold for $138,000, Mary Nimmo Moran’s Long Island Landscape sold for $64,800, and Thomas Hart Benton’s Landscape, Martha’s Vineyard sold for $60,000 at Swann Galleries’ June 9 auction of American Art and Contemporary Art. Ogden M. Pleissner's Rail Shooting on the Connecticut River sold for $26,400; additional notable works were also highlighted.
bbc.com
The Lady Blunt Stradivarius violin, made in 1721 and named after Lady Anne Blunt, was sold in an online charity auction for £9.8 million ($15.9 million) to support disaster relief in Japan. Proceeds go to the Nippon Foundation's Northeastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund, with the sale organized by the Nippon Music Foundation and London-based Tarisio.
donga.com
The Stradivarius violin made in 1721 sold for 9.8 million pounds (about 172 billion won) according to Tariisio, the online instrument auction house. The violin, nicknamed Lady Blunt, was owned by the British Romantic poet Lord Byron's granddaughter Anne Blunt and is considered the best-preserved Stradivarius. Previous record was Mollyter, a 1697 violin sold in New York for $3.6 million.
nbcnews.com
The Nippon Foundation sold a 1721 Stradivarius violin known as the Lady Blunt for $16 million at a London auction to aid tsunami relief in northern Japan. Proceeds will support traditional arts in the region; the new owner was not identified.
nbcbayarea.com
A nearly 300-year-old violin once owned by Lord Byron's granddaughter sold for $16 million at auction to raise money for disaster relief in Japan. The Nippon Music Foundation, which owns several Stradivari and Guarneri instruments, put it up for sale.
today.com
The article reports that a 1721 Stradivarius violin, once owned by the granddaughter of Lord Byron, sold for 9.8 million pounds ($15.9 million) at auction for Japanese disaster relief. Proceeds benefited Nippon Foundation's Northeastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund, with Tarisio noting strong bidder interest.
newsfeed.time.com
The Lady Blunt Stradivarius violin, owned by Lady Anne Blunt, is being sold online by Tarisio on behalf of the Nippon Music Foundation to raise funds for the Northeastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. Jason Price of Tarisio described it as the “Mona Lisa” of violins, noting it is rarely played. The auction supports relief efforts following the March 11 disaster in Japan, with bidding continuing until 15 minutes pass without a bid.
reuters.com
Reuters reports a Stradivarius violin known as the Lady Blunt, owned by Lady Anne Blunt, fetched a record 9.8 million pounds (about $15.9 million) at auction for Japanese disaster relief. Proceeds support Nippon Foundation’s relief fund; Tarisio described strong bidding; the instrument dates from 1721 and is among a few hundred Stradivari instruments remaining.
artartworks.com
Robert Rauschenberg’s Combine of 1955, Short Circuit, was acquired by the Art Institute of Chicago for its Department of Contemporary Art. The work, created in 1955, is one of his earliest Combines and was acquired from the artist’s estate through the Gagosian Gallery.
Christie’s
Christie’s announced a 92-lot London Impressionist and Modern Art evening sale estimated at £115–164 million, led by works from the Ernst Beyeler estate and major paintings by Monet and Picasso.
tarisio.com
The article discusses the reunion of the 1721 Lady Blunt and the 1716 Messiah violins, two of the world’s best-preserved Stradivari instruments, at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford on June 10, 2011. It notes the last time they were in the same room was likely in the 1930s at W.E. Hills in London and mentions the launch of the reference guide Musical Instruments in the Ashmolean Museum: The Complete Collection edited by John Milnes with photography by Tucker Densley.
artnews.conteart.com
The Art Institute of Chicago announced the acquisition of Robert Rauschenberg’s 1955 combine Short Circuit, entering the museum’s permanent collection via the artist’s estate and the Gagosian Gallery.
theglobalherald.com
The article discusses a 1721 Stradivarius violin, the Lady Blunt, last privately sold for $10 million and set to auction on June 20, 2011 to benefit the Nippon Foundation’s Northeastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. The auction is conducted by Tarisio and the instrument has a history including ownership by Lady Anne Blunt and association with the Nippon Music Foundation.
huffpost.com
The HuffPost article reports Christie's Hong Kong Modern & Contemporary sales totaling HK$1.77 billion ($227 million) across six days. Highlights include top lots by Zao Wou-Ki and Zeng Fanzhi, with a 5- and 4-times pre-sale high estimate hammer for specific works; 45 lots offered with 95% sold by value on the blockbuster evening, and a record-setting HK$492.6 million ($63 million) for the 20th Century and Contemporary Asian art sale. Zeng Fanzhi’s The Leopard was the standout piece and funds from its sale were donated to The Nature Conservatory.
collection.sina.com.cn
The painting Jiaou Tu by Zhang Daqian, created in 1947, sold for 190 million Hong Kong dollars at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong on May 31, setting a new personal-record auction price for Zhang Daqian. The sale was part of the Meiyun Tang collection auction, with total auction value and records noted. The buyer was Taiwan’s Lin Baili, with other bidders mentioned.
artobserved.com
Sotheby’s London contemporary art evening sale realized $174 million with a high estimate of $168.5 million, aided by the Duerckheim collection which brought $97 million against a $74 million high estimate. Top lots included Sigmar Polke’s Dschungel (Jungle), Francis Bacon’s Crouching Nude, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled, and Andy Warhol’s Debbie Harry.
pureartsgroup.blogspot.com
The auction highlighted a German post-war collection from Count Christian Duerckheim that achieved £108.8m, the highest contemporary art auction total in London, led by works by Gerhard Richter, Georg Baselitz and Sigmar Polke. Notable prices included Polke's Kopf (Head) at £3.7m, Baselitz's Der Baum at £1.8m, and Richter's 1024 Farben at £4.3m, with five artists setting records.
southasiacurrentaffairs.blogspot.com
The article reports that a 1721 Stradivari violin known as the Lady Blunt sold for £9.81 million ($15.07 million) at a London auction, setting a new world record for a Stradivari violin. The Nippon Music Foundation acquired the instrument in 2008 and plans to donate 100 percent of the proceeds to victims of Japan's earthquake and tsunami relief fund.