The Gramophone orchestral review covers Tigran Mansurian's Quasi parlando for cello and string orchestra, performed by Amsterdam Sinfonietta with Candida Thompson conducting, and featuring Anja Lechner (cello) and Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin). The release details list ECM New Series as label, genre Orchestral, and catalogue 481 0667, with a 71-minute runtime. The review discusses Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and String Orchestra, Romance for Violin and String Orchestra, Quasi parlando for Cello and String Orchestra, and Concerto No 2 Four Serious Songs as part of the program.
Vincent van Gogh, Head of a Man (1886) was returned to the heirs of Richard Semmel, a Jewish industrialist, by the National Gallery of Victoria after reviewing the context of its 1933 sale. The article discusses Semmel’s fleeing Nazi persecution and the painting’s restitution under the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-confiscated Art and the Terezin Declaration.
Benning Violins announces a three-day viola exhibit titled The Viola: An Exhibition of Sound, Form and Beauty to run June 12–14, 2014 in Los Angeles, California, coinciding with the 2014 Primrose International Viola Competition. The event will showcase rare violas and viola bows from old and modern masters, with Benning displaying one of his own violas.
Dinesh Ramde reports that Universal K. Allah, 36, pleaded guilty to providing the stun gun used in the January theft of a $5 million Stradivarius violin from a Milwaukee concert master. Salah Salahadyn is charged with felony robbery and has a June 30 plea hearing; the violin was recovered nine days after the robbery.
The Belarusian news site reports thatInterpol is searching for the owner of a rare Stradivari violin after Russian police recovered the instrument from a criminal group in Tver Oblast. The instrument was found in the leader's residence and described with details suggesting it is a 19th century German manufacture, with a crack and red lacquer, lacking several fittings; experts from the Glinka Music Museum concluded it dates to the late 19th century.
Toronto Sun reports that Universal Knowledge Allah, 36, pleaded guilty to felony robbery in Milwaukee County Circuit Court for stealing the Lipinski Stradivarius, a 1715 violin valued at about $5 million, from concert violinist Frank Almond after a stun gun was used; Salah Jones, 42, pleaded not guilty to the robbery charge, and Allah’s sentencing is set for July 24.
The Moscow Times reports that Interpol assistance is being sought to locate the owner of an antique Stradivarius-labeled violin seized in a police raid in Russia. Investigators from the Tver region say the instrument was found during a raid on a man suspected of robberies; experts later concluded it is of German origin from the late 19th century, despite Stradivari labels.
CNN reports that a violin valued at more than $250,000, played by Zachary De Pue, led to him being bumped from a flight. The incident occurred at Charlotte Douglas International Airport and the violin is described as priceless, prompting a viral video.
The article reports that members of Time for Three and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Zach De Pue were briefly unable to bring their violins on a flight, prompting a protest performance; after social media attention, the airline reassessed and re-booked them with their instruments on board.
The article discusses New Yorker Jose Mugrabi and his sons Alberto and David, detailing how the Mugrabi family became major art-market participants with the world’s largest Warhol collection outside Pittsburgh, including Warhol’s Men in Her Life sold for $63 million. It traces Jose Mugrabi’s life from Jerusalem to Colombia and New York, his entry into the art world after Warhol’s death, and the family’s collecting focus on Pop artists and commercially resonant works.
Digi24 reports that a Stradivarius violin, one of the world’s most valuable instruments, arrived in Oradea and is guarded constantly by three security agents. The instrument, created about 300 years ago and purchased by the Romanian state in 1955, is insured for one million euros and transported with maximum security. Violinist Alexandru Tomescu and pianist Eduard Kunz are involved in upcoming performances.”
Reuters reports that a 1731 Kreutzer Stradivarius violin, once owned by reclusive U.S. heiress Huguette Clark, could fetch as much as $10 million at Christie's in a sealed bid auction. The instrument, found after decades in a closet, is part of Clark's estate and is among high-value musical instruments discussed along with a 1719 Stradivari viola valued at $45 million in Sotheby’s sealed bid auction.
Lucio Fontana’s Concetto Spaziale (1957) sold for €1.08 million ($1.48 million) at Dorotheum in Vienna, surpassing the previous Fontana record. The presale estimate was €700,000–1,000,000. The article also notes a separate Fontana record at Christie’s New York for Concetto Spaziale, La Fine de Dio (1963) at $20,885,000, and mentions a Dorotheum result for Concetto spaziale, Attesa (68 T 77) (1968) at €1,071,389 ($1,453,322). It also reports a new world record for Paolo Scheggi’s Zone Riflesse (1965) at €573,300 on a €90,000–120,000 estimate.
Gustav Klimt's Die Medizin (Kompositionsentwurf), an 1897–98 study for a series originally commissioned for Vienna's Great Hall, was acquired by the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, from Hermann Wittgenstein's descendants. The painting is the only extant version of the three panels and is Klimt's first work by the artist to enter the museum's collection.
Radio-Canada reports that the Sûreté du Québec and the RCMP found two violins in Montréal, including one that may be a Stradivarius dating to 1685. The owner, who remains anonymous, paid 56,000 dollars for both instruments, which are now with the police; a suspect around 50 years old faces possible charges as the investigation continues.
The Amati violin from the 18th century that belonged to Benito Mussolini did not sell at a Bonhams auction in London, failing to meet the minimum bid. The instrument, made in Italy around 1700 by Hieronymus Amati, was valued between 122,000 and 185,000 euros but remained unsold.
Paul Allen’s ownership of a Mark Rothko painting helped Phillips sell $132 million worth of art in New York. The painting, Untitled (Red, Blue, Orange), was estimated at $50 million to $60 million and sold for $56.2 million with fees to August Uribe at Phillips.
NPR reports by David Kestenbaum about whether a Stradivarius violin’s value is due to its sound or the brand, noting a 2010 blind test and a repeat with better conditions that found no reliable ability to distinguish old Stradivaris from newer violins; the piece mentions Sotheby’s anticipated sale of a Stradivari-related viola for $45 million and includes reflections from violinist John Soloninka and Earl Carlyss as cited by the New York Times.
Andy Warhol, Six Self Portraits (1986) sold for $30 million, above its low estimate of $25 million. Gerhard Richter abstract (1988) sold for $28.7 million on an estimate of $25–35 million.
Christie’s staged a $745 million evening sale that surpassed prior records, with nine lots priced at $20 million or more. The top lot was Barnett Newman’s Black Fire I (1961) selling for $84.2 million, and Francis Bacon’s Three Studies for a Portrait of John Edwards (1984) sold for $80.8 million. Andy Warhol’s Race Riot (1964) sold for $56 million after a bidding war led by Larry Gagosian.
Christie’s New York sold $744.9 million in contemporary art led by Barnett Newman’s $84.2 million, setting a new house record. The sale included top results for Alexander Calder, Joseph Cornell, Robert Gober, Robert Mangold, Joan Mitchell, Martin Puryear, Lucas Samaras, Salvatore Scarpitta, and Frank Stella, with 72 works offered and only four unsold.
The Christie’s contemporary sale titled If I Live I’ll See You Tuesday reached $134.6 million from 35 lots, with a 99.5 percent by value, and a top bid of $18.6 million for Martin Kippenberger’s 1988 untitled self-portrait. The piece set a new auction record for Kippenberger, beating a previous record of $6.4 million sold at Sotheby’s New York. Bidding involved Robert Manley and Xin Li, with intense competition and aggressive increments, culminating in a final hammer of $16.5 million ($18.6 million with premium).
Piet Mondrian’s Composition with Red, Blue and Grey (1927) is expected to set a new world record at Sotheby’s London Impressionist and Modern Art evening sale on June 23, with a £18 million estimate, surpassing Mondrian’s previous record of £17.6 million set in 2009.
Martin Kippenberger's Untitled painting set a world record at Christie's New York May 12 sale, selling for $18.6 million from a $12 million estimate. The result marks a substantial increase from his previous record of £3.2 million ($5.1 million) set at Christie's London in 2012. Peter Doig's Road House also achieved $11.9 million, an auction record for the artist.
The Christie’s New York contemporary sale realized $134.6 million (estimate up to $124 million) with 35 works offered and 34 sold. Records were set for Joe Bradley, Dan Colen, Peter Doig, Wade Guyton, On Kawara, Martin Kippenberger, Glenn Ligon, Adam McEwen, Richard Prince, R. H. Quaytman and Thomas Schütte.
Francis Bacon, Three Studies for a Portrait of John Edwards (1984) is listed with an asking price in the region of $75 million. The article discusses Christie’s and Sotheby’s high-value lots, including multiple $20 million+ estimates and a Francis Bacon triptych with a price target around $75 million; it notes historic high sale prices such as Bacon’s $142.4 million at Christie’s.
Serge Poliakoff painting titled “Composition abstraite [Abstract composition]” (the Poliakoff) was returned to Brazil after a seven-year investigation led by Preet Bharara and Bruce Foucart. The work was smuggled into the United States and forfeited to the United States, with a repatriation ceremony held in Manhattan.
Pablo Picasso Le Sauvetage, 1932 sold for $31,525,000 at Sotheby’s and Claude Monet Nymphéas, 1907 sold for $27,045,000 at Christie’s, leading the Impressionist and Modern auctions.
Monet’s 1907 Water Lilies from the Clark collection sold at Christie’s in New York for just over $27 million to an undisclosed Asian buyer. The sale was part of an auction of estate works including pieces by Degas, Matisse and Picasso, and Christie’s moved through 47 lots as part of Clark and Bronfman estates, totaling over $285 million.
Christie’s New York’s Impressionist and modern sale brought in $285.9 million, led by Monet, Picasso, and Modigliani, with 47 of 53 lots sold (89% sell-through). The top lot was Monet’s 1907 Nymphéas at $27 million, sold to a private Asian buyer; Picasso’s Portrait of a Woman (Dora Maar) sold for $22.6 million, below its low estimate of $25 million.
Monet's Nymphaes, painted in 1907, sold at Christie's in New York for 27 million dollars, against an estimate of 25 to 35 million. The painting came from Huguette Clark's private collection and the Corcoran Gallery of Art; Corcoran will not receive a portion of the final sale price due to legal terms in Clark's estate.
Christie’s evening Impressionist and Modern sale totals $286 million. Pablo Picasso’s Portrait de femme (Dora Maar) sold for a hammer price of $20 million, with premium ending at $22.6 million, below the $25 million estimate. Alberto Giacometti’s Femme de Venise IV sold for a hammer price of $11.2 million, and $12.7 million with premium.