The article discusses Swiss art dealer Alain Dreyfus seeking reimbursement from Christie’s for Alfred Sisley’s Premier jour de printemps à Moret (1889), bought in 2008 and later identified as Nazi-looted art. Mondex flagged the work as looted in 1940, with Hermann Göring’s initials appearing on an ERR index card; the painting is sequestered by Swiss police and remains in Dreyfus’s storage, with him seeking repayment from Christie’s after alleging failure to conduct proper provenance research.
Stephi Wild reports that the Santa Barbara Symphony, conducted by Carolyn Kuan, will perform John Corigliano's score for The Red Violin with François Girard's film at the Granada Theatre on June 16 and 17, featuring soloist Lara St. John. Tickets are available at granadasb.org or by calling 805-899-2222; prices start at $29.
The Culture Type article reports that the sale Creating Space at Sotheby’s New York raised $20.2 million and set 24 artist records, benefiting the Studio Museum in Harlem’s new building fund. Five works by Mark Bradford, Julie Mehretu, Glenn Ligon, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye accounted for a large portion of the total, with additional works contributing on the following day. Thelma Golden, director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem, is quoted expressing gratitude for the artists’ generous participation in supporting the museum’s new home.
The article discusses Sotheby’s 22 May sale in New York, led by six paintings by William Bouguereau that totaled $4.6 million. It notes a 15th-century triptych by Sano di Pietro selling for $1.6 million, marking a record for the artist, and mentions other notable works including Camille Corot, Émile Renouf, Frederick Arthur Bridgman, and Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Master Paintings also performed strongly, with Sano di Pietro’s portable triptych achieving more than four-and-a-half times its high estimate and benefiting The Met’s European Paintings Acquisitions Fund.
The study investigates how 16th to 18th century Italian luthiers, including Andrea Amati and members of the Stradivari family, crafted violins that imitate human vocal ranges. Researchers tested 15 antique instruments and analyzed voices of eight men and eight women, noting Amati and Gasparo da Salò violins mimicked male voices while Stradivari violins aligned more with female voices; the study was published in PNAS.
The Phillips contemporary sale in New York brought in $131.6 million, a 20 percent increase from the previous year, after withdrawals of major works. Highlights included world records for Cory Arcangel and Pat Steir, and a top lot by Jean-Michel Basquiat from the artist’s estate, with a final result impacted by withdrawals of works by Sigmar Polke, David Hammons, and Zeng Fanzhi.
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Flexible (1984) sold for $45.3 million at Phillips’s sale, leading a $131.6 million total for 20th-century and contemporary art. Robert Motherwell’s At Five in the Afternoon (1971) brought $12.7 million with premium, setting a new artist record, while Pat Steir and Cory Arcangel also set records with their pieces.
The Christie’s postwar and contemporary sale realized $397 million, surpassing estimates but not last year’s $448 million. A number of artists set auction records, including David Wojnarowicz, Joan Mitchell, Robert Gober, Morris Louis, George Condo, Richard Diebenkorn, and Nicolas de Staël.
The Christie’s Impressionist and Modern sale totaled $416 million with fees, supported by strong top-end demand. Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematist Composition (1916) led at $86 million, setting a new artist record, with a rough estimate around $70 million. Constantin Brancusi’s La jeune fille sophistiquée (Portrait de Nancy Cunard) sold for $71 million, among other notable results.
Kerry James Marshall’s 1997 painting Past Times sold for $21.1 million at Sotheby’s, four times the previous auction high for the artist. The work, an acrylic and collage on canvas, drew four bidders and was bought by a telephone bidder. The auction result highlights a shift in the market away from traditional blue-chip names.
Benjamin Schmid's new album 'Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto & Dvořák Romance' was announced by Oehms Classics. The recording features Schmid on violin with Tibor Bogányi conducting the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra, performing Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto and Dvořák's Romance in F minor; release date May 11, 2018.
Constantin Brancusi’s La jeune fille sophistiquée (Portrait de Nancy Cunard) (1932) sold for $71 million at Christie’s Impressionist and Modern sale in New York, a record-setting price that helped the overall sale of $415.8 million. The sale total missed pre-sale expectations of about $437.8 million but achieved two world auction records and an 89 percent sell-through rate; Picasso’s Le Marin (1943) and two of Steve Wynn’s Picasso works were withdrawn, while several lots received guarantees.
David Hockney’s works set two new auction records: Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Monica sold for $28,453,000, and Piscine de Medianoche (Paper Pool 30) sold for $11,743,800; both reported by Sotheby’s in May 2018.
Kazimir Malevich, Suprematist Composition (1916), sold at Christie’s for $85.8 million with fees, establishing a new record for Russian art. The hammer price was $76 million, beating the pre-sale estimate of $70 million. The work was purchased by Brett Gorvy of Lévy Gorvy after a Christie’s event; the Nahmad family previously consigned it, with the work tracing back to Malevich’s heirs and a restitution settlement involving the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.
Amedeo Modigliani’s Nu couche (sur la cote gauche), 1917, sold for $157.2 million at Sotheby’s evening sale of Impressionist and modern art, making it the highest price for any lot in Sotheby’s history and contributing to a total haul of $318.3 million for the sale. The piece brought in one bid of $139 million on the phone, with fees pushing the final price to $157.2 million.
Christie’s documents the market development behind $86 million Malevich leads the way in New York. Its account reports that christie’s 20th Century season got off to a strong start on 15 May, as the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in New York achieved $415,852,500/ £307,355,876.
Sotheby’s documents the market development behind At $157.2 Million, Modigliani's Greatest Nude Is Also the Most Expensive Painting Ever Sold at Sotheby's. Its account reports that donovan Mitchell Was ON FIRE!
Picasso’s Young Girl With Basket of Flowers, sold for $115 million at a New York auction, will be loaned to the Musee d’Orsay in Paris for a Picasso exhibit opening in September; the sale was part of Christie’s auction of the David Rockefeller collection.
Picasso’s 1905 painting Young Girl With Basket of Flowers, sold for $115 million at a New York auction, will be loaned to Paris’s Musee d’Orsay for a Picasso exhibit opening in September. The sale was part of Christie’s auction of the David Rockefeller collection. The exhibit is organized with the Picasso Museum-Paris and runs September 18, 2018 to January 6, 2019, later moving to the Beyeler Foundation near Basel.
Amedeo Modigliani’s Nu couché (sur le côté gauche) (1917) sold at Sotheby’s New York for $157.2 million with premium, after an auction that began with an unpublished estimate above $150 million. The painting, from Modigliani’s reclining nude series, hails from John Magnier’s collection and was previously consigned by Steve Wynn; it had been exhibited at Tate Modern and is among nine remaining works in private hands.
Amedeo Modigliani, Nu couché (sur le côté gauche), 1917 is discussed in relation to Sotheby’s forthcoming auction of the reclining nude, Nu couché (sur le côté gauche) (1917), which carries the highest pre-sale estimate ever placed on a single work of art at $150 million.
Willem de Kooning Untitled XIX (1982) is highlighted as one of the top lots in Christie’s Rockefeller sale, which realized $106 million. The sale set seven new artist records, including Gilbert Stuart, Charles Sheeler, and Diego Rivera, and marked the highest total for an American art auction. Christie’s had guaranteed the entire Rockefeller collection, with all 41 lots finding buyers.
The anonymous donor agreed to cover a penalty incurred by the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa after it rushed the deaccession of Marc Chagall’s La tour Eiffel (1929) to fund the purchase of Jacques-Louis David’s Saint Jerome Hears the Trumpet of the Last Judgment (1779). The sale was intended for Christie’s auction and sparked criticism from over 750 critics, artists and curators; the incident raised questions about public funding and museum stewardship.
Pablo Picasso's Fillette à la corbeille fleurie (1905) sold for $115.1 million at Christie's as part of the Rockefeller estate sale, achieving a white-glove result that contributed to a total of $646.1 million for 44 lots of 19th- and 20th-century art. The sale, attended by MoMA director Glenn Lowry and dealer Larry Gagosian, surpassed presale expectations of over $490 million.
Claude Monet, Nymphéas en fleur (circa 1914–17) is mentioned as a top bidder’s target; the work is attributed to Claude Monet. The Christie’s auction set seven new records and the Rockefeller collection totaled $646.1 million, the highest single-owner auction total, with all 44 lots selling. The bidding fight for Monet’s work involved Francis Outred and Xin Li.
Henri Matisse’s Odalisque couchée aux magnolias (1923) sold for $80.8 million at Christie’s Rockefeller sale. The price included buyer’s premium and set a new record for a Matisse at auction. The work previously had a lower estimate and was acquired by the Rockefellers in 1958.
Claude Monet’s Nymphéas en fleur (ca. 1914–17) sold for $84.7 million at Christie’s in New York, setting a new record for the Impressionist category from Peggy and David Rockefeller’s collection. The sale price was $84.7 million with an estimated value of at least $50 million.
Christie’s documents the market development behind Records set for Monet and Matisse in first Rockefeller evening sale. Its account reports that rose Period Picasso leads as treasures from The Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller total $646.1 million in the first evening sale of the series.
The page discusses a five-day exhibit titled The Viola: An Exhibition of Sound, Form and Beauty, hosted by Reuning & Son Violins and Benning Violins in Los Angeles from June 12 to June 16, 2018, coinciding with the Primrose International Viola Competition. The exhibit features fine Italian violas by Amati, Maggini, Tononi, Scarampella, Guadagnini and bows by Henry, Sartory and other makers.
Thomastik-Infeld announced the international launch of the Versum Solo G & C cello strings at Messe Frankfurt 2018. The article quotes Thomastik-Infeld Marketing Director Nina Haberlehner and notes prior release of the Solo A & D strings in 2017 and positive feedback on the new G & C strings.