Dmitry Kogan says the found Stradivarius-marked viola in a Moscow metro car likely will be resold for about 10,000 euros. The instrument was left in a Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya line car on November 20 between 11:30 and 11:45. Altist Kseniya Zhuleva of the Russian National Orchestra asked police to recover it but was refused. Experts believe it is a factory copy rather than an original Stradivarius, Guarneri, or Amati, and sales would depend on whether potential buyers know its provenance.
The Bunny Mellon collection at Sotheby’s achieved total sales of $228 million, far exceeding a $100 million presale estimate. The sale included a world record $32.6 million hammer price for a blue diamond and notable Rothko paintings that fetched $36.5 million and $40 million.
The Kunstmuseum Bern and the German government announced that the Swiss museum will accept the nearly 1,300 artworks bequeathed by Cornelius Gurlitt, including works by Matisse, Liebermann, Dix, and Chagall; many are suspected of being looted by the Nazis. The works will remain in Germany while provenance is resolved, with a task force continuing research into restitution and a full list of works to be published soon to aid heirs.
El Stradivarius del Vaticano, un cello creado por Nicolo Amati en 1620, llegará a México para ocupar sede en la Academia de Arte de Florencia en la Ciudad de México. El instrumento, que pasó por Antonio Stradivari y estuvo en manos de Philip Glass, será parte del acervo de la AAF.
Georgia O'Keeffe's white flower painting sold for $44.4m (£28.8m) at auction, setting a new record for a female artist. The work, Jimson Weed/White Flower No 1, had an estimated price of $15m (£9.5m) and was sold by the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, with proceeds supporting the museum's acquisitions funds.
Georgia O'Keeffe's Jimson Weed/ White Flower No 1 sold for $44.4 million at Sotheby's in New York, setting a new record for the work of a female artist. The prior female-artist record was $11.9 million by Joan Mitchell, which Jimson Weed surpassed by 273.1%. The painting was consigned by the O'Keeffe Museum. Another O'Keeffe work, On the Old Santa Road, sold for $5 million.
The Violin Channel interview with Jason Price, founder of Tarisio Fine Instruments and Bows, discusses the company’s 15th anniversary, Price’s background as a cellist and violin maker, and the origin of selling fine instruments online in 1999. The article notes Price’s education in Cremona and Williams College, his early work with a violin maker, and the formation of Tarisio with partners Dmitry Gindin and Christopher Reuning.
Georgia O'Keeffe's white blossom painting sold for $44.4m (£28.8m) at auction, setting a record for a work by a female artist. The piece surpassed Joan Mitchell's previous record of $11.9m (£7.5m). The sale was at Sotheby's in New York, with an estimated $15m (£9.5m) that was exceeded after bidding, and proceeds will support the O'Keeffe Museum's acquisitions funds.
Georgia O’Keeffe’s Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 sold for $44,405,000, setting an auction record for the artist and for any female artist. The sale took place at Sotheby’s and contributed to a total of $75.4 million for the auction, with multiple works from the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum on offer.
Georgia O’Keeffe’s Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 sold for $44.4 million at Sotheby’s, far exceeding its $10–15 million estimate and setting a new record for a work by a female artist. The sale contributed to a total of $75.4 million for the American art sale, with O’Keeffe’s three works for the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum acquisitions fund totaling $50.4 million.
Georgia O’Keeffe’s Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 (1932), oil on canvas, sold for $44,405,000 at Sotheby’s as part of an American Art auction, setting a record for the most expensive work by a female artist sold at auction. The sale benefited the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, which also offered two other works that day, including Untitled (Skunk Cabbage) and On the Old Santa Fe Road.
The Spectator article covers Velázquez’s portrait of his assistant Juan de Pareja, which became the first painting to sell for over a million pounds at Christie’s on 27 November 1970, surpassing the prior record and reaching £2,310,000 in the sale.
The J. Paul Getty Museum acquired Édouard Manet's 1881 painting Spring (Le Printemps) for more than $65 million and will be displayed on Nov. 25 in the Getty’s West Pavilion. The sale set a record for Manet, surpassing a previous high of $33.2 million for Self Portrait With a Palette. The acquisition adds Spring to a group of Manet works at the museum, alongside Portrait of Madame Brunet (1860-63), The Rue Mosnier With Flags (1878), Bullfight (1865), and Portrait of Julien de la Rochenoire (1882).
Christie’s contemporary art auction brought in a record total of $852.9 million, exceeding its high estimate of $836 million. Notable sales included Warhol’s Triple Elvis (Ferus Type) at $82 million, Four Marlons by Warhol at $69.6 million, De Kooning’s Clamdigger at $29.2 million, and an untitled work by Cy Twombly at $69.6 million.
Roy Lichtenstein’s Reflections on the Prom (1990) sold for an amount described as TK with an estimate around $15 million. Andy Warhol’s Triple Elvis (Ferus Type) (1963) sold for $81.9 million, with an estimated region around $70 million. The Christie’s sale totaled $852.9 million, exceeding its roughly $600 million estimate, with 15 artist records set and 75 of 80 lots sold. Warhol’s Elvis and Brando works accounted for $151.5 million of the total, each originally estimated around $70 million.
Christie’s contemporary art sale in New York grossed $852.9 million across 75 lots, setting an all-time auction record. Warhol’s Triple Elvis and Four Marlons led at $81.9 million and $69.6 million respectively, with Cy Twombly achieving a record untitled work at $69.6 million. Eleven artists set new records, and the sale achieved a 94 percent sell-through rate.
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum deaccessions are the basis of Sotheby’s autumn American Art sale in New York on 20 November 2014, led by Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 (est. $10/15 million) with two additional works On the Old Santa Fe Road (est. $2/3 million) and Untitled (Skunk Cabbage) (est. $500/750,000).
Jasper Johns’sFlag refers to Jasper Johns’ work Flag, which sold for $36,005,000 at Sotheby’s. The sale set a new record for Johns at auction. The result was led by Mark Rothko’s No. 21 (Red, Brown, Black and Orange) from The Schlumberger Collection, which sold for $44,965,000, and Jean Dubuffet’s Cité Fantoche, which sold for $7,445,000, all noted during Sotheby’s contemporary art evening sale in New York.
Spring (La Primavera) by Eduard Manet sold for $ 65.13 million at Christie’s in New York, setting a record for French Impressionist works. The painting depicts actress Jeanne Demarsy during a summer walk with an umbrella and was estimated at $25-30 million prior to the sale.
Steve A. Cohen purchased Alberto Giacometti’s Chariot for $101 million at Sotheby’s, a sale reported by Artnet News and linked to by The New York Times. The bid was placed on Cohen’s behalf by David Norman of Sotheby’s. The sale followed a prior record-setting context involving Giacometti’s Walking Man I and Manet’s Le Printemps at Christie’s.
The article reports Sotheby’s sold the Rachel “Bunny” Mellon collection for $158.7 million, well above the $82.9–120.1 million estimate, with all 43 lots sold in a white-glove sale. Notable works included Mark Rothko paintings; Alex Branczik purchased Untitled (1970) for $35.5 million (with premium $40 million), and Untitled (Yellow, Orange, Yellow, Light Orange) (1955) sold for $32.5 million after a late bid by the Nahmad family.
The story concerns Salah Salahadyn, who admitted using a stun gun to attack Frank Almond, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concertmaster, and steal a Stradivarius valued at $5 million. A judge sentenced Salahadyn to seven years in prison after rejecting his Robin Hood defense.
The article reports that Salah Salahadin, a Wisconsin resident, was sentenced to seven years in prison for stealing a Stradivari violin. His accomplice had previously been sentenced to three years. The violin, valued at about 5 million dollars, was recovered nine days after the theft. The piece also references a notable 2010 Stradivari theft and other high-profile instrument seizures.
Ivan Hewett discusses whether stringed instruments can be a better financial bet than shares, gold or property, taking a behind-the-scenes look at Beares auction house.
Edouard Manet’s Le Printemps (1881) sold for $65.1 million at Christie’s, with a hammer price of $58 million. The work was purchased by Otto Naumann on behalf of the J. Paul Getty, with the event part of Christie’s impressionist and modern sale totaling $165.6 million.
Manet’s Le Printemps (1881) sold for $65.1 million, record for the artist, at Christie’s Impressionist and Modern auction. Christie’s total was $165.64 million, with 4 of 39 lots unsold and 20 above estimates; the night’s star was Manet’s Le Printemps, bought by Otto Naumann with Brooke Lampley on the phone as underbidder.
The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles announced it paid a record $65.1 million for Edouard Manet’s Spring, a portrait of actress Jeanne Demarsy, auctioned at Christie’s in New York. The work, painted in 1881, joins other Manet pieces at the Getty and was intended to be part of four seasonal portraits. The sale proceeds will benefit an American foundation supporting environmental and public health causes.
Edouard Manet’s M. Gauthier-Lathuille fils (1879) and Pablo Picasso’s Tete (Head of Fernande) (1909) are among the works highlighted in a bequest to LACMA from Jerry Perenchio. The donation, totaling over $500 million with at least 47 works, accompanies plans for a new building project designed by Peter Zumthor, funded partly by public coffers, and will be showcased in spring 2015.
Edouard Manet's Spring, depicting Jeanne Demarsy, sold at Christie’s in New York for $65 million (£40.6m), setting a new auction record for the artist. The buyer was the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. The sale total exceeded the $33.2 million previous record for a Manet and the Christie’s sale overall was valued at over $165 million.
Industry veteran Jerrold “Jerry” Perenchio donates a large art collection to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, including paintings by Monet, Cezanne, Degas and other masters. The gift coincides with a $125 million contribution from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors toward LACMA’s new central building designed by Peter Zumthor.
Vincent van Gogh, Still Life, Vase with Daisies and Poppies (1890) is reported to have been bought by Wang Zhongjun of Huayi Brothers at Sotheby’s New York for $61.8 million, with a pre-sale estimate of $50 million. The painting is noted as one of the early Van Gogh works to reach the United States market, and the article mentions related sales and the record for Van Gogh’s Portrait of Dr. Gachet at $82 million.
Edouard Manet’s Le Printemps (Springtime) sold for $65,125,000 at Christie’s New York, setting a new auction record for the artist. Proceeds from the sale benefit a private American foundation. The sale was led by Manet’s Le Printemps, with strong sell-through and global participation reported.
Giacometti and Van Gogh are among the artists discussed in the Sotheby’s auction coverage. The works included a Giacometti sculpture that sold for over $100 million and a Van Gogh still-life that sold for almost $62 million; Modigliani also sold for more than $70 million. The article notes the auction topped $422 million in total.
Giacometti bronze sculpture Chariot (1950) sold for $100 million, contributing to Sotheby’s record $422.1 million sale; works by Modigliani and van Gogh also featured with $70.7 million and $61.8 million respectively.
The article discusses Canadian violinist James Ehnes performing with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, featuring his 1715 Marsick Stradivarius violin and a loaned viola finished by Carlo Bergonzi. The program includes Berlioz Harold in Italy with viola solo, Berlioz Caprice and Reverie for violin and orchestra, and Beethoven's seventh symphony.