Monthly archive
30 headlines
Source-linked reporting
standard.co.uk
The London Evening Standard reports detectives are seeking a man pictured in CCTV in connection with a May 1 theft of a century-old violin from a train between Barnehurst and Dartford. The instrument, made around 1920, was later recovered and returned to its owner.
dw.com
Rodin's rediscovered Andromede sculpture sold for nearly 3.7 million euros (about $4.1 million) at an Artcurial auction in Madrid, following a long period of being kept within a diplomat’s family. The work, created by Auguste Rodin in 1886-87, had been rediscovered and was expected to fetch around 1.2 million euros before selling for over three times that amount.
nytimes.com
Motoko Rich and Robin Pogrebin report that Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa bid on Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1982 skull painting at Sotheby’s in New York, culminating in a $110.5 million purchase which set a new record for an American artist at auction. Maezawa explained, “I decided to go for it” as bidding intensified, while Basquiat’s sister Jeanine Basquiat learned of the sale from New Jersey.
tumblr.com
Art dealer Perry Rubenstein and two counts of grand theft by embezzlement were addressed in court, with a six-month prison sentence, three years of probation, and over $1.1 million repaid to former clients Michael Ovitz and Michael Salke. The case references past gallery activity in Manhattan and later Los Angeles, including a 2012 sale proceeds dispute and a 2014 bankruptcy with $5.4 million in debts.
theartnewspaper.com
Jean Paul Riopelle abstract canvas Vent du nord (1952-53) sold for a record-setting C$7.4m at Heffel’s Spring sale in Toronto. The painting surpassed its high estimate and became the second most expensive work by a Canadian artist sold at auction. Lawren Harris’s Mountain Forms previously topped Riopelle’s result with C$11.2m.
newswire.ca
Jean Paul Riopelle's Vent du nord sold for 7,438,750 CAD, a world record for Riopelle. Lawren Harris works led by Mountain Sketch XLI and Lynx Mountain; the Toronto live auction total was 21.18 million CAD.
newyorklatinculture.com
Phillips May auction of Latin American Art, described as a pillar of New York City’s Latin American art scene, features artists such as Carmen Herrera, Rufino Tamayo, Lygia Pape, Leonora Carrington, Gabriel Orozco, Alfredo Volpi and Wifredo Lam. The event benefits FLORA ars+natura, a Bogotá-based non-profit foundation; works by Maria Fernanda Cardoso are also noted.
hamhigh.co.uk
Carol Slater, who organises the Belsize Music Festival with her husband Ian Jewel, was reunited with her Matteo Goffriller violin, stolen on a Gatwick Express luggage rack, ahead of the festival. The instrument, worth about £180,000, was recovered after police traced it to a North-West London address.
beinfushi.com
The page describes an outstanding violin by Andrea Guarneri of Cremona, circa 1663, nicknamed Fritz Hirt. It notes Guarneri’s apprenticeship with Nicolo Amati, his family workshop Casa Guarneri, and mentions that the instrument was formerly owned by Swiss violinist Fritz Hirt (1888–1970) who was concertmaster of the Basel Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Basel String Quartet.
antiquesandthearts.com
Basquiat breaks $100 million barrier: Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work was purchased for $110,487,500 by Yusaku Maezawa, with the overall Sotheby’s sale totaling $319,199,000. The event set artist records and the painting is planned for Maezawa’s museum in Chiba, Japan.
artnews.com
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (1982) sold for $110.5 million at Sotheby’s Postwar and Contemporary Evening Sale, becoming the most expensive American artist at auction. The sale contributed $319.2 million to the total, with the Basquiat work fetching $110.5 million and the piece bought by Yusaku Maezawa.
artnews.com
Jean-Michel Basquiat Untitled (1982) sold for $110.5 million at Sotheby’s, setting a world auction record for the artist. The buyer was Yusaku Maezawa, founder of Start Today and ZOZOTOWN, with the painting destined for a museum in Maezawa’s hometown of Chiba, Japan.
prnewswire.com
The article reports Basquiat's 1982 Untitled painting selling for US$110 million, setting a new record and highlighting Basquiat as one of seven artists to surpass the $100 million auction threshold. It notes previous record of US$57.3 million from the prior year and provides context about Artprice's indices and Basquiat's career relative to the art market as a global indicator.
upi.com
Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1982 painting Untitled sold at Sotheby’s New York for $110.5 million, a record for the artist. The buyer was Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who purchased the work that first sold for $19,000 in 1984.
artnews.com
Peter Doig’s Rosedale (1991) presale estimate around $25 million and sold for $28.8 million with premium. The sale, at Phillips in New York, totaled $110.3 million across 37 lots with a 100-percent sell-through; top lot was Doig’s 1991 painting of a house in the wilderness selling for $28.8 million to Svetlana Marich on behalf of a client.
thejournal.ie
The Basquiat painting Untitled, a skull-like head in oil-stick, acrylic and spray paint, sold for $110.5 million in New York, setting a new auction record for a 20th-century artist. The sale was led by Sotheby’s and bought by Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa, who had previously set the Basquiat auction record.
artsy.net
Artist information mentioned: Jean‑Michel Basquiat (Untitled, 1982) and Andy Warhol (Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster), 1963). Artwork names: Untitled (1982) by Basquiat; Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) by Warhol. $110.4 million with buyer’s premium; $98 million hammer; $60 million estimate/guarantee mentioned as uncharted territory by Sotheby’s; $105 million Warhol record; prior Basquiat purchases include $57.3 million.
thin.npr.org
Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1982 Untitled sold for $110.5 million at Sotheby's, becoming the priciest work ever sold by a U.S.-produced artist. The buyer was Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who announced the purchase publicly and plans to loan the piece to institutions and exhibitions before placing both Basquiat paintings in a museum in Chiba.
artnews.com
Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematist Composition with Plane in Projection (1915) sold for $21.2 million. The sale totaled $173.8 million with 13 of 50 lots failing to sell; Schiele’s Danaë (1909) was withdrawn from bidding. Other highlights included artist records for Jean Arp, Germaine Richier, Diego Giacometti, and a sculpture record for Max Ernst; Alberto Giacometti’s Buste de Diego sold for $10.9 million.
theartnewspaper.com
Gives a neutral recap of the article about Sotheby’s New York sale where bidders quickly chased Modern sculptures, including works from the Finn collection, with notable results for Giorgio de Chirico, Morandi, and Giacometti-inspired pieces; the sale totaled $173.8 million with fees on 37 lots sold.
artnews.com
The Christie’s New York Impressionist and Modern sale totaled $289 million, surpassing the low estimate of $207 million. Constantin Brancusi’s La muse endormie sold for $57.4 million, setting a new artist record, while Pablo Picasso’s Femme assise, robe bleue sold for $45 million. The auction did not match the market highs of recent years, with low in-room bidding and few works approaching eight- and nine-figure sums.
artnews.conteart.com
Pablo Picasso’s Femme assise, robe bleue (1939) was sold for $45 million from a Christie’s sale that totaled $289 million. Constantin Bancusi’s La muse endormie (1909–10) sold for $57.4 million, setting a new record for the artist. The sale took place at Christie’s Rockefeller Center in New York.
theartnewspaper.com
Christie’s New York Evening sale in May 2017, led by Brancusi’s La muse endormie which sold for 51 million dollars (57.4 million with fees) and a Picasso portrait of Dora Maar that sold for 40 million dollars (45 million with fees). The sale totaled 289,178,500 dollars with fees, near the upper end of the pre-sale estimate, and marked the house’s best result in seven years for the category.
mylondon.news
The article reports that a 317-year-old Matteo Goffriller violin, about 317 years old, was stolen from a Gatwick Express train and later recovered in north west London and returned to the owner. A 51-year-old woman from London was reported for theft in relation to the incident.
standard.co.uk
Carol Slater, a musician, was reunited with her 317-year-old Matteo Goffriller violin after it was stolen from a Gatwick Express service. The instrument, worth about £180,000 and one of 20 remaining, was recovered by British Transport Police and returned to Slater, who planned to perform with her husband, violist Ian Jewel, at the Belsize Music Festival.
laprovinciapavese.gelocal.it
The article reports that two Mortara-based musicologists, Roberto Allegro and Vittoria Aicardi, concluded that the violin donated to Benito Mussolini and attributed to Antonio Vivaldi is the Nicola Amati violin of 1646. The investigation references historical sources and an article in La Stampa from 1930 and mentions past owners and auction history including a 2014 Bonhams sale in London.
Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s announced a multi-sale dispersal of works from Robert Motherwell and Renate Ponsold Motherwell, beginning with a Max Ernst in the May evening sale and continuing through Modern and Contemporary auctions into the fall.
www-s1.npr.org
The NPR Health Shots article discusses a study that tested whether Stradivarius violins project sound better. It references a prior blind study by Claudia Fritz showing no clear difference between old Italian violins (Stradivari and Guarneri) and new ones, and reports a follow-up focusing on audience experience.
Sotheby’s
Ahead of its inaugural Modern and Contemporary African Art sale, Sotheby’s convened dealers, a collector, an artist and a fair founder to assess market growth, international recognition and the need for stronger collecting infrastructure in Africa.
afr.com
The Amati cello, about 400 years old, made by an Italian luthier, will debut with Timo-Veikko Valve of the Australian Chamber Orchestra in Wollongong. The instrument was acquired by the Australian Chamber Orchestra Instrument Fund for US$1 million (A$1.4 million) from J&A Beare in London.