Monthly archive
20 headlines
Source-linked reporting
linzistoppard.co.uk
Linzi Stoppard and her electric violin band FUSE debuted 24 carat gold plated violins created with Theo Fennell. The news highlights Linzi Stoppard’s international performances and the collaboration that produced the gold violins adorned with rubies, diamonds and sapphires.
vice.com
The article discusses the theft of a 1715 Stradivarius violin from Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Frank Almond after he was tasered. It notes the violin’s value at $5 million, the surrounding suspects including Salah Salahadyn and Universal Knowledge Allah, and the involvement of a Tasers’ serial-number tags in the investigation.
cnn.com
The CNN article reports that 12 paintings stolen in an Los Angeles home burglary were recovered, including works by Marc Chagall and Diego Rivera, with a total value around $12 million; the investigation involved the FBI and LAPD, and a reward was offered.
vulture.com
The Miami Market Report a sales recap discusses how art dealers fared at Art Basel Miami Beach, noting celebrities shopping for art and strong sales of works on paper. It mentions a Frank Stella painting bought for just under $1 million, a Pablo Picasso fresco reportedly sold for around $1 million, and sales of Christopher Wool and Sigmar Polke works on paper for $1.5 million and $1 million respectively.
news.artnet.com
Paul Cézanne La Montagne Sainte-Victoire vue du bosquet du Château Noir (1904) reportedly sold for $100 million; the buyer was an anonymous private collector believed to be Qatar, per Artnet News. The sale was through the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan, and proceeds were designated to create an endowment for preservation and restoration of the Ford House collection.
detroitnews.com
Paul Cézanne, La Montagne Sainte-Victoire vue du bosquet du Château Noir, sold for $100 million to a private buyer. The Ford House says the sale was kept quiet to avoid issues with the Detroit Institute of Arts during bankruptcy proceedings. The painting was bought by Edsel and Eleanor Ford, who originally paid $242,000.
web.archive.org
Paul Cézanne's La Montagne Sainte-Victoire vue du bosquet du Château Noir (1904) sold for $100 million, as reported in artnet News by Sarah Cascone on December 19, 2014. The sale was tied to the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in Michigan, and details were reported in the Detroit Free Press during Detroit's bankruptcy context.
news.artnet.com
Coline Milliard reports that the Los Angeles Police Department and the FBI recovered nine paintings worth about $10 million that were stolen from a collector’s Encino home in 2008. The paintings, which include works by Chaïm Soutine, Emil Nolde, Marc Chagall, and Diego Rivera, were being sold after an undercover sting in West Los Angeles in which a man identified as Raul Espinoza was arrested and charged with receiving stolen property.
6abc.com
The prized viola stolen from Philadelphia musician Nancy Drye was found smashed in a vacant lot on Haverford Avenue in West Philadelphia. The instrument, possibly made in Paris in 1790 and last appraised in 2008 for $9,000, belonged to Drye, who plays in the University of Pennsylvania Orchestra, and she describes it as an irreplaceable family member.
artnews.com
Paul Cézanne, Vue sur L’Estaque et Le Château d’If, 1883-85, will be sold at Christie’s London in the Impressionist and modern evening sale on February 4. The work previously belonged to Samuel Courtauld and was purchased in 1936, after which it remained in his private collection; the painting carries an estimate of £8 million to £12 million ($12.5 million to $18.7 million).
artatlaw.com
Rothko Revisited discusses a claim by Dallas art collector Marguerite Hoffman against L&M Arts, Studio Capital, and David Martinez over a confidential sales contract for a 1961 Mark Rothko painting titled Untitled. The case centers on a confidentiality clause and Hoffman’s loss of potential auction proceeds, with the painting later selling at Sotheby’s for $31,442,500 in 2010 and Hoffman receiving $1.2 million in damages. The defendants moved for judgment as a matter of law after the jury verdict.
cremonaoggi.it
The event announces three musical masterpieces arriving from the Glinka National Museum Consortium of Musical Culture in Moscow to Cremona: a rare 1715 Stradivari viola, a 1742 Guarneri del Gesù violin, and a 1611 Amati brothers viola da gamba. They will be exhibited from December 18 after a preview on December 17 in Cremona, with comments from local officials and experts including Paolo Bodini and Bruno Giuranna.
thinkns.com
The article discusses Ned Steinberger, known for designing electric guitars for Sting, Peter Gabriel, and Eddie Van Halen, and now electric violins, a viola, and a cello. It notes the DaPonte String Quartet incorporating Steinberger’s electric instruments into performances and mentions holiday concert venues in Winter Harbor, Boothbay Harbor, and Newcastle.
news.artnet.com
The Italian retiree Nicolo, a Fiat factory worker, purchased Paul Gauguin’s Fruits sur une table ou nature au petit chien (1889) and Bonnard’s La femme aux deux fauteuils, which were stolen in 1970. He has been awarded ownership of the paintings, which are valued at about €35 million ($43.5 million) and €600,000 ($747,000) respectively, after authorities confirmed their possession by him and efforts to return them to the rightful owner.
theviolinchannel.com
The Violin Channel reports a stolen viola, labeled Giovanni Grancino, Milan, 1696, taken from a Philadelphia home on Hamilton Street, Powelton. The instrument was made in Paris in 1790 and bore the label Giovanni Grancino, Milan, 1696; three laptops were also stolen. The owner has possession of the viola since 1978 and the instrument case was found discarded the next day.
press.christies.com
Christie’s press release discusses the Abbott-Guggenheim Collection, a Renaissance and Baroque sculpture, clocks and works of art collection to be sold during Christie’s Old Masters Week in January 2015. The collection was built by Dr. Peter Guggenheim and Dr. John Abbott, with provenance linking to institutions and notable collectors; approximately 120 lots are expected to exceed $11 million.
classicfm.com
The story concerns the LGT Young Soloists, led by artistic director Alexander Gilman, who were denied boarding by Singapore Airlines over the checking of Stradivarius violins; Lufthansa later transported the group back to Zurich. Singapore Airlines issued a statement about an internal review of the incident at Hong Kong airport on December 6.
mk.ru
The article reports that a Stradivarius violin, one of the few remaining from the maker, was stolen from American musician Roman Tottenberg in 1980 and has been found in the United States. Tottenberg died in 2012, and his family plans to auction the instrument under the condition that it be sold to a buyer rather than a collector.
suomenkuvalehti.fi
The article discusses Pekka Kuusisto, an internationally successful Finnish classical musician, and his access to a unique Cremonese violin made by Guarneri del Gesù, a violin believed to be about 100+ years missing. It mentions a secret audition in Helsinki’s Musiikkitalo and comparisons with other high-profile instruments such as Elina Vähälä’s Amati, Jukka-Pekka Saraste’s Napolitan Ferdinand Gagliano, Jaakko Kuusisto’s Venetians Goffriller, and Kuusisto’s own Guadagnini.
latimes.com
J.M.W. Turner painting goes for record $47.5 million at auction reports that an 1835 Turner landscape sold for $47.5 million at Sotheby’s in London, setting an auction record for the artist.