Zao Wou-Ki, Years 1957 and 1967 are discussed, with highlights on Temps Calme (1957) and 3.12.67 (1967) as key works; the article previews four paintings by Zao Wou-Ki offered at Sotheby’s Paris Art Contemporain, including Temps Calme and 3.12.67 with estimated price ranges in euros.
Christie’s documents the market development behind Spring auctions in Hong Kong total HK$2.55bn / US$327m. Its account reports that christie’s annual Hong Kong spring auctions, which spanned six days and 17 sales, saw a strong Asian interest in the largest offering of Western art to date.
The article discusses Salvator Mundi (ca. 1500), the painting attributed to Leonardo da Vinci that sold for a record $450 million at Christie’s New York in November 2017. Louvre curators suggest it could be by Leonardo’s workshop rather than the master himself, potentially affecting its attribution and value.
Zao Wou-Ki’s triptych from 1987-1988 leads Christie’s Hong Kong Spring Sale of Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art. The work, titled Triptych 1987-1988, is noted as the artist’s second-largest triptych; it references artists Monet and Matisse, with Matisse appearing in the title of the work. The piece was offered at Christie’s Hong Kong and has a history of collection and provenance tied to European private holdings.
The headline discusses the painting Triptych 1987-1988 by Zhao Wuji (赵无极), sold at Christie’s in Hong Kong for HK$178 million (US$22.8 million). The work was previously owned by a private European collection and acquired directly from the artist. The piece is described as a monumental abstraction in yellow and blue, reflecting admiration for Monet and Matisse, with a size of 200 x 486 cm, oil on canvas.
Stella Chen was awarded 1st prize at the 2019 Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition in Brussels. The article lists other prize recipients, including Timothy Chooi (2nd) and Stephen Kim (3rd), followed by prize winners Shannon Lee, Julia Pusker, and Ioana Cristina Goicea for 4th to 6th.
Dirck Francoisz Hals and Dirck van Delen, Banquet Scene with Musicians and Shuffle Board Players in an Interior (1628); Jan Davidsz de Heem, Still Life with Glass, Glass Stand and Musical Instruments (17th century); the Dutch Restitutions Committee recommended returning these two Golden Age paintings to the heirs of Jacob Lierens.
Amy Sherald’s portrait “Innocent You, Innocent Me” (2016) sold for $350,000 at Christie’s, marking her auction debut. Mickalene Thomas set a new artist record, and a painting by Stanley Whitney also established a new record during Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Afternoon Session in New York. The report also notes works by Basquiat, Bradford, Rashid Johnson, Mutu, Pendleton, Taylor, Whitten, and two Colescott paintings featured in the sale.
The article discusses a 1927 violin made by Riccardo Genovese in Lecco, sold for €32,500 at Il Ponte auction house in Milan on April 17, 2019. Genovese lived in Lecco during 1927–1928 and is noted for his construction methods and the Pressenda influence.
Texas A&M Central Texas researchers study prized violins and other string instruments at the molecular level to analyze wood, varnish, and adhesives that influence sound. The work involves Stradivari instruments and aims to decipher their construction methods using high-magnification electron microscopy.
Claude Monet’s Haystacks painting The Meules (Haystacks) (1890) sold for over $100 million at auction in New York, setting a world record for the artist and for an Impressionist work. The article also references a California court ruling on a Pissarro work and a Virginia court decision regarding Charlottesville’s Confederate statues.
Claude Monet’s Haystacks painting The Meules (1890) sold at auction in New York for a world-record price for the artist and for an Impressionist painting. The story collates related art-law headlines including a Spanish museum good title ruling on a Pissarro work, and Virginia court decisions about Confederate statues in Charlottesville.
Claude Monet, Meules, oil on canvas, 1890, is cited as the record for the artist and for any Impressionist work, with a price of $110,747,000. The article notes the record-breaking Haystacks painting leading Sotheby’s $350 million evening sale of Impressionist and Modern art, and lists other works by Gustave Caillebotte and Marc Chagall with their prices. Pablo Picasso’s Femme au chien, oil on canvas, 1962, is noted as an Auction Record for a 1960s Picasso at $54,936,000.
The Globe and Mail reports that the Steinberg art collection from Montreal, including mid-century abstract American colour-field paintings, sold at Sotheby’s in New York for over $45 million. The sale highlighted two Mark Rothko works, Untitled (Red and Burgundy Over Blue) at $10.5 million and Untitled (Red on Red) at $8.2 million, as part of a collection once loaned to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The Steinberg family faced multiple deaths that affected the collection’s disposition.
Sotheby’s documents the market development behind Bacon and Rothko Propel Contemporary Art Auction to $341.8 Million. Its account reports that he Contemporary Art Evening Auction totaled $341.8 million on the strength of outstanding prices for Mark Rothko's untitled masterwork and two paintings by Francis Bacon.
Christie’s reports that Jeff Koons’s Rabbit sold for $91,075,000, making Koons the world’s most expensive living artist at auction as the house’s seasonal Post-War and Contemporary Art sales reached $631,949,875.
Francis Bacon’s Study for a Head (1952) is highlighted as the evening’s top seller, with Sotheby’s contemporary sale totaling just under $342 million and multiple records for artists including Carl Andre, Lee Krasner, Kenneth Noland, Charles Gaines, Barkley L. Hendricks, Rashid Johnson, and Dana Schutz.
Robert Rauschenberg’s Buffalo II (1964) sold for $88.8 million at Christie’s, setting a new record that vastly exceeds his previous high. The article discusses how this sale fits into a broader, quieter market for Rauschenberg compared with contemporaries like Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, Mark Rothko, and Cy Twombly, and what it suggests about museums, the art market, and fame shaping an artist’s legacy and value.
Kevin Zhu, an 18-year-old VC Young Artist, has been granted long-term use of the 1722 Ex-Lord Wandsworth Stradivarius violin on loan from the Ryuji Ueno Foundation and Rare Violins In Consortium. The instrument was previously owned by Georges Chanot, Lord Sydney Stern Wandsworth, W.E. Hill & Sons, Karel Ondricek, and Edwin L. Wiegand.
Blake Pouliot, a VC Young Artist, is announced to replace Renaud Capuçon for a series with the Dallas Symphony due to Capuçon’s illness. Pouliot will debut with Brahms Violin Concerto on May 16–19 under conductor Pablo Heras-Casado. Pouliot is a Colburn School alumnus and former first prize winner at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Manulife Strings Competition; he currently performs on a 1729 Guarneri del Gesù loaned by the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank.
Jeff Koons’s Rabbit (1986) sold for $91.07 million with fees at Christie’s New York, surpassing David Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) (1972) which sold for $90.3 million; the buyer was art dealer Robert Mnuchin.
Jeff Koons' Rabbit sold for more than $91 million at Christie's in New York, setting a record for the most expensive work by a living artist at auction. The buyer was represented by Robert Mnuchin on behalf of a client. The name of the artwork is Rabbit, a stainless steel sculpture by Jeff Koons.
The Art Newspaper reports that Jeff Koons's Rabbit (1986) sold for $80m ($91m with fees) at Christie’s Post-war and contemporary evening sale in New York, restoring Koons as the world’s most expensive living artist. The sale also featured works from the Si Newhouse estate and included records for Louise Bourgeois and Jonas Wood.
Sotheby’s documents the market development behind Record-Breaking $110.7 Million Monet Leads Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale. Its account reports that claude Monet’s Meules was the evening’s undoubted winner, with a winning bid of $110,747,000.
The Monet painting Meules (Haystacks), 1890, sold for $110.7 million at Sotheby’s in New York, setting a record for an Impressionist work sold at auction. Claude Monet is the artist mentioned; the artwork is Meules (Haystacks), 1890. The sale price was 110.7 million USD.
Columbus Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Joanna Frankel will perform on the violin once owned by Niccolo Paganini, on loan from Genoa, during a Wednesday concert at the Ohio Theatre. The instrument, known as the Il Cannone, was removed and tuned by Bruce Carlson, conservator of the instrument, with Frankel rehearsing prior to the performance. Frankel will solo on five pieces, including Cantabile and Caprice No. 11, said Music Director Rossen Milanov.
Monet's Meules (1890) from his haystacks series sold for $97m at Sotheby’s New York, setting a world record for the artist. The sale total reached $300m ($349.9m with fees) with 91% of lots sold, and the report notes strong top-tier demand in Impressionist works; Picasso and Modigliani performances are also mentioned.
The Monet painting Meules, from the Haystacks series, sold at auction for $110.7 million, a record for an Impressionist work. Sotheby's handled the sale and noted it as the highest amount paid at auction for a Monet painting.
Claude Monet, Meules, 1890, sold for $110.7 million. The sale totaled $349.9 million with 55 lots offered and a 9.1 percent buy-in rate, setting records for an Impressionist work at auction.
Monet's Meules from the Haystacks series sold at Sotheby's Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale for $110,747,000, setting a new artist record for Claude Monet and the highest price for a Monet work. The piece is noted as the first time it had appeared at auction since 1986 and sold with a dramatic bidding contest.
Paul Cezanne’s still life “Bouilloire et Fruits” sold for a near-record $59 million at auction. The painting was stolen from the Stockbridge home of Michael Bakwin in 1978 and remained hidden for decades before auction at Christie’s, where its hammer price was $52 million against a $59 million final price.
The Christie’s Impressionist and Modern evening sale totaled $399 million, with hammer total at $343.4 million and buyer’s premium included. Two artist records were set, including works by Balthus and Bonnard.
The article reports that customs officials at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport seized an 18th century violin from violinist Nikolai Managazze, who planned to compete in the Tchaikovsky Competition. The instrument, on loan from a Swiss foundation, prompted questions about whether it is part of Russia’s national heritage. Managazze, born in Moscow and based in Dubai, was detained for several hours.
The historic Niccolo Paganini II Cannone Violin will be displayed at the Columbus Museum of Art in Columbus, Ohio for 10 days. The instrument was constructed in 1743 and is highlighted by local officials and museum staff as a significant cultural asset.
A Paganini violin, a renowned instrument from Genoa, Italy, is arriving in Columbus and will be played and displayed. The violin is valued at 35 million dollars, with guards ensuring security during transit and display.
Sotheby’s documents the market development behind Record-Breaking Kusama Leads Historical Contemporary Art Season in Asia. Its account reports that this Spring, Sotheby’s Hong Kong Contemporary Art sales realized HK$802 million / US$102 million, achieving the highest totaling series of Contemporary Art sales ever staged in Asia.
Sotheby’s documents the market development behind The David Teiger Collection Returns to Auction. Its account reports that featuring works by Jenny Saville, Mark Grotjahn, Jeff Koons and more, the Collection of David Teiger returns to auction in New York the week of 13 May in the Contemporary Art Evening and Day Auctions and the Art of Africa, Oceania and the Americas Auction.
The article reports that Samuel Kane, a violinist from Loughgall, County Armagh, has been named the Leader of the Ulster Youth Orchestra and was presented with the Milton Violin, a 239-year-old instrument made by Joseph Gagliano, by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. The violin was donated to the Arts Council by Professor Alan Milton in 1980.
The article discusses the 18th-century Guarnerius del Gesù violin nicknamed “Il Cannone,” owned by Niccolò Paganini, visiting Columbus and to be displayed at the Columbus Museum of Art from May 11–19. Joanna Frankel, concertmaster of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, will perform as soloist with the orchestra on May 15 at 8 p.m. in the Ohio Theatre, conducted by Rossen Milanov, with pieces by Saint-Saëns, Massenet, Tchaikovsky, and Paganini.
The Globe and Mail reports that the estate of Arnold and Blema Steinberg from Montreal is dispersing at international auctions, including two Mark Rothko paintings valued in the tens of millions, with sales in New York starting May 14 and Canadian works by Jean-Paul Riopelle offered in Toronto on May 29. The piece notes the collection’s significance in Canada and the potential renewal of debates over keeping important art in Canada; it mentions permits allowing international touring and references ARTNews’s 2013 list of the Steinbergs as prominent collectors.
The Global News article by Kaylen Small covers a University of Lethbridge Conservatory of Music fundraiser where Alberta artists painted seven violins and one cello from the conservatory’s collection. The project, meant to support youth music programs, features artists such as Kari Lehr, Karen Tamminga-Paton, and Tony Partridge. The fundraiser is scheduled for May 11.
Sotheby’s documents the market development behind Masterworks of Contemporary Art Come to Auction. Its account reports that he most important collection of Color Field paintings ever to appear at auction will highlight our Contemporary Art auctions this spring, emerging from the triumphant collection of Blema & H.
The Violin Channel reports that American violinist Charles Castleman donates his 1748 Joannes Baptista Guadagnini violin, valued at over $1 million, to the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. The article notes Castleman’s lineage as a student of renowned teachers and his past competition prizes, and mentions a second donation of a rare early 18th century Guarneri violin by the Miller family.
Sotheby’s documents the market development behind Krasner, Bacon, Rothko & More Blue-Chip Contemporary Artists Come to Auction. Its account reports that masterworks by the biggest names in Contemporary Art highlight the upcoming Contemporary Art Auctions in New York on 16–17 May.
Camille Pissarro painting Rue St.-Honore, Apres-Midi, Effet de Pluie was ruled to be legally owned by the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid by U.S. District Judge John F. Walter, rather than the survivors of Lilly Cassirer; the decision cites Spanish law and notes the painting’s looted history during the Nazi era, with commentary on due diligence and moral implications.