The violin Molitor by Antonio Stradivari, dated 1697, will be provided to Russian violinist Alena Baeva. The instrument was acquired by patron Maksim Viktorov, who founded the Paganini International Violin Competition and owns Russia's largest private collection of rare instruments, through Ingles & Naudau in London. The Molitor previously belonged to General Gabriel Jean Joseph Molitor; in 2010 it was sold at auction for $3.6 million, and American violinist Anne Akiko Meyers recently played it.
Acquisitions of the Month: July reports on notable museum acquisitions in July, including works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Watts Gallery, Caen, the Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford, and mentions of other institutions.
The painting of Saint Luke the Evangelist, signed “Rembrandt,” was recovered after 35 years and is actually by Pietro Bellotti. It belonged to the Giorgio Cini Foundation and was stolen from Castello Cini di Monselice on December 12, 1979. It was valued about €150,000 ($200,000).
The article reports that a 300-year-old Stradivarius violin, dating to 1696, was recovered by Britain's Rail and Transport Police after being stolen in December 2010 from a London metro station. The instrument is valued at 1.4 million euros, with two bows valued at 79,000 euros, and the recovery is described as part of a long and complex investigation.
Tracey Emin’s 1998 work My Bed, a scene of an unmade bed littered with cigarettes, condoms, underwear and vodka bottles, was sold for $4.3 million to Count Christian Duerckheim and is to be loaned to the Tate for at least 10 years; the piece was originally bought by Charles Saatchi in 2000 for £150,000 after its Turner Prize exposure.
The article reports that Universal K. Allah, 37, a Milwaukee man, pleaded guilty to robbery as party to a crime in the January 27 armed robbery of the 1715 Lipinski Stradivarius from Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Frank Almond and was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison plus 3 1/2 years extended supervision; Allah loaned the weapon used to co-defendant Salah Salahadyn and was ordered to pay $4,014.57 in lost wages and ambulance fees. Salah Salahadyn, 42, is described as the mastermind and will appear in court.
The Independent reports that Sotheby’s in London unveiled key works from Middle Eastern artists to be auctioned in Doha in October, alongside pieces by Damien Hirst and Anish Kapoor. The piece mentions Nasrollah Afjei, Ali Banisadr, and Moataz Nasr as artists highlighted for the sale, and notes the growing international interest in Middle Eastern contemporary art.
The article notes that violinist Alex Granger premiered composer Lucas Floyd’s violin concerto in San Francisco, performed on a violin crafted by Los Angeles violinmaker Eric Benning. The premiere occurred April 27, 2014 at the Sol Joseph Recital Hall, SFCM, with Eric Choate conducting, and the instrument is a 2010 model by Benning with an antiqued varnish inspired by the 1725 Da Vinci Stradivarius.
The 1879 Gand Bernardel violin stolen from the Turin Conservatory in 1988 is at the center of a judicial battle between the Turin prosecutor and German authorities. The Torino prosecutor has located the instrument and requested its return, but German authorities refused. The State Advocate's Office has been brought in to start civil litigation, while the Torino public prosecutor Andrea Padalino continues investigations into possible recipients of stolen goods and illegal export. The violin was donated to the Subalpine Conservatory by musician Maddalena Maria Teresa Tua.
Liborio La Mattina reports that a valuable violin stolen from the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Turin in 1988 has been traced to Berlin, but German authorities refuse its return; the Gand Bernardel violin, once owned by Teresina Tua, is at the center of a Franco-Italian dispute.
The article discusses a stolen Gand Bernardel violin from the Conservatorio Verdi in Turin, stolen in 1988 and later found in Berlin; German authorities reportedly refuse cooperation, and Italy's prosecutor has asked the State Attorney to pursue a dispute.
The Christie’s I.Q. van Regteren Altena Collection. Part I auction on July 10 totalled £13,202,225/$22,615,412/€16,555,591, with the top lot Samson and Delilah by Sir Peter Paul Rubens realizing £3,218,500, the world record price for a drawing by the artist at auction.
The Violin Channel, in partnership with Decca, is giving away five personally autographed copies of Alisa Weilerstein’s Dvorak album. The entry period ends July 16, 2014, and the recording features Juri Belohlavek and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra performing Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B minor and related pieces.
Botticelli’s drawing Study for a Seated St Joseph, dating from the 1480s, sold at Sotheby’s for a record £1.3m. The work was formerly in the collection of Barbara Piasecka Johnson and was bought for $88,000 (£51,300) in 1988.
The Vermeer painting Saint Praxedis, dating to 1655, sold at a Christie’s auction in London for $10.7 million (6.2 million pounds). The work’s authorship was debated, with Rijksmuseum analysis supporting Vermeer’s authorship. The sale supported the Barbara Piasecka Johnson Foundation, from the estate of Barbara Piasecka Johnson.
The painting believed to be Henri Matisse's 1925 work Odalisque in Red Pants, valued at about $3 million, was returned to Venezuela from the United States. It was recovered in an undercover FBI operation in Miami Beach in 2012 and arrived in Caracas in a white box, with an acclimatization process planned before display at the Caracas Museum of Contemporary Art.
The Vermeer painting Saint Praxedis sold at Christie's in London for 6,242,500 pounds. Other Old Master works mentioned include Breugel's The Road to Calvary sold for 5,514,500 pounds, Guardi's Venice, the Bacino di San Marco with the Piazzetta and the Doge’s Palace sold for 9,882,500 pounds, and Reynolds's portrait of Lady Frances Marsham sold for 4,786,500 pounds.
The painting Odalisque in Red Pants by Henri Matisse, stolen over a decade ago, was handed back to Venezuelan authorities by US officials. It had been recovered in Miami Beach in an undercover operation and was previously swapped with a fake; the original was later identified and returned to Venezuela.
Daniel's Value and Ideas #24 discusses Christie’s saleroom for the Post-War and Contemporary evening auction, noting the high bidding activity and the cultural significance of the sale. The article references Tracey Emin’s My Bed and quotes from industry figures like Francis Outred and Brett Gorvy, highlighting the social dynamics and market psychology at play in the art market.
The Violin Channel reports that the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in the United States is accepting applications for the Principal Viola position, with applications due by September 9.
David Ostrowski, F (Gee Vaucher) (2012) sold at Phillips in London. The event featured 27 lots totaling £9.9 million ($16,954,900) with a tepid atmosphere and a star lot, Andy Warhol’s Self-Portrait (Fright Wig) (1986), selling for £2.5 million ($4,281,550 after starting at £2 million. Banksy and Rachel Whiteread works were withdrawn before the sale.
The Violin Channel reports that the plea hearing for Salah Salahadyn, one of two men accused of stealing the 1715 Lipinski Stradivarius from Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Frank Almond, has been postponed due to scheduling issues. The new hearing is scheduled for July 24, with co-defendant Universal K. Allah set for sentencing the same day; Allah pled guilty in May. Salahadyn was previously convicted in 2000 of attempting to resell a stolen statue.
The article reports that a plea hearing for Salah Salahadyn, a Milwaukee man, was postponed in a case involving a $5 million Stradivarius violin theft. Salahadyn pleaded not guilty to being party to felony robbery, with a new plea hearing set for July 24, the same day his co-defendant Universal K. Allah is to be sentenced.
Tracey Emin’s My Bed (1998) was bought by Jay Jopling for an anonymous collector for £2.5 million at Christie’s London, setting a new record for Emin and exceeding prior estimates. The piece, created after a breakup, features an unmade bed with stained sheets, cigarette butts and condoms. Art experts and commentators suggested the work belongs in a museum, with Tate often cited as a potential home.
Tracey Emin’s art installation My Bed, created in her Waterloo Council flat in 1998, sold at Christie’s in Central London for more than Dh16 million ($4.4 million). The work was owned by collector Charles Saatchi and was bought by an institution, with Christie’s Francis Outred stating it would end up somewhere important.
Tracey Emin’s My Bed (1998) led Christie’s postwar and contemporary evening sale in London, selling for £2.5 million to Charles Saatchi in 2000 and returning to the market to help drive the £99,413,500 (about $170 million) total; the event highlighted records for several artists and noted strong bidding activity in the room.
A small-format Francis Bacon triptych of his lover George Dyer sold for 26.7 million pounds at a London auction, surpassing Bacon's previous record of 23 million pounds. The painting, created in 1967, is based on photographs by John Deakin and is one of only five small-scale triptychs of Dyer known to exist.
Peter Doig, Country-rock (wing-mirror) by Peter Doig sold for £8,482,500 (US$14,453,058) at Sotheby’s London Contemporary Art Evening Auction on June 30, 2014. Francis Bacon, Three Studies for Portrait of George Dyer (on Light Ground) (1964) sold in the same sale. The event grossed £93,147,500 (US$158,608,000) and set new world records for Peter Doig and Adrian Ghenie.
Artemisia Gentileschi's painting Maria Maddalena in estasi (Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy) sold at Sotheby’s Paris for almost €900,000, setting a new auction record for the 17th century female artist from Rome. The work, rediscovered by the Department of Ancient Painting of Paris, was estimated between €200,000 and €300,000 before sale, and is linked to Gentileschi’s broader reputation and her best-known work Judith Slaying Holofernes.
The New York Times reports that Francis Bacon and Peter Doig had top prices at Christie’s London, with a Bacon painting selling for $45.4 million and a Doig self-portrait near $17 million; Christie’s total nearly $169.9 million, with 12 of 75 works unsold.
Tracey Emin's 1998 work My Bed was sold at Christie’s in London for about $3.77 million. The piece, which features a distressed installation including dirty sheets and other personal items, previously sold to Charles Saatchi in 2000 for around $200,000, and helped establish Emin as part of the YBAs.
Claude Monet, Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sailboat (1874) is back on view at the National Gallery of Ireland after an 18-month restoration. The painting was damaged in June 2012 when a man punched through the canvas, with three tears totaling over a foot. The canvas is valued at €10 million and is now protected behind glass.
The article reports that Milwaukee Police arrested three suspects for the Jan. 27 theft of the Lipinski Stradivarius violin, valued at $5 million, which was recovered Feb. 5. Universal Allah pleaded guilty to participating in the robbery and, on July 24, was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison and extended supervision. Allah admitted providing Salahadyn, a felon, with the Taser used in the attack. The purported mastermind, Salah Salahadyn, had planned to plead guilty but that was postponed.