Monthly archive
17 headlines
Source-linked reporting
Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s documents the market development behind Looking Back . . . a 2019 Market Analysis. Its account reports that more works of art were sold in 2019 than the previous year, but they collectively sold for less because there were fewer works offered and sold at the higher end.
news.artnet.com
Ronald Perelman, owner of Revlon, is reportedly selling hundreds of millions of dollars worth of art from his collection. Sotheby’s is said to broker the sales, with many transactions private, and the proceeds expected to pay down a Citigroup loan; artists mentioned include Miró, Matisse, Richard Serra, Cy Twombly, Alberto Giacometti, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, and Jeff Koons.
Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s documents the market development behind Sotheby’s to PresentDEAR KEITHAn Online Auction of Works from the Personal Collection of Artist & Activist Keith Haring,On Offer from the Keith Haring Foundation. Its account reports that dear Keith will present 140+ works of art and objects from Haring's personal collection, all on offer from the Keith Haring Foundation – an organization established by the artist shortly before his death in 1990 from HIV/AIDS-related causes.
theartnewspaper.com
Viktor Babariko, a prominent Belarusian art collector and former chairman of Belgazprombank, was jailed on charges of laundering $430 million, a move seen as politically motivated ahead of elections. He has purchased works by Marc Chagall and Chaïm Soutine through Sotheby’s, Christie’s and MacDougall’s.
theviolinchannel.com
The Violin Channel reports a theft alert for a 2013 Douglas Cox violin labeled Opus 810, stolen in Memphis, Tennessee on August 13, 2020. The instrument, patterned after the Guarneri del Gesu Doyen, is valued at approximately US$22,000. Contact Cox Violins or Memphis Police for information.
jewishnews.co.uk
The article reports that Madrid's Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum may retain a Pissarro painting looted during the Nazi era, according to a US appeals court ruling. The artwork was acquired by the museum in 1992. The piece is connected to the broader history of Nazi-looted art and restitution debates.
news.artnet.com
The article reports that US authorities returned 10 looted antiquities valued at a combined $1.15 million (rounded to $1.2 million in some lines) to India in a ceremony at the Indian Consulate in New York on August 14. The objects were seized in 2015–2016 from Christie’s Rockefeller Center, Nancy Weiner Gallery, and Maitreya Gallery, and involve items such as a 10th-century sandstone stele and a marble apsara ceiling panel.
timesofsandiego.com
Camille Pissarro’s Rue Saint-Honore: Afternoon, Rain Effect, valued at over $30 million and housed at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, was at issue in a case involving the heir of Lilly Cassirer and the Nazi-looted painting. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the museum could keep the artwork, affirming a 2019 federal judge’s decision.
artnews.com
The Ninth Circuit ruled that the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation owns Camille Pissarro’s 1897 Rue Saint-Honoré, Après-midi, Effet de Pluie, which it purchased in 1993; the court found the foundation did not have actual knowledge it was stolen when acquired. The decision followed a 2019 ruling that the foundation conducted due diligence and did not know of the Nazi theft history. The case references Lily Cassirer Neubauer heirs and the Baron's sale history, including a 1976 purchase from Stephen Hahn Gallery.
click2houston.com
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Camille Pissarro painting traded to the Nazis in 1939 and later acquired by a Spanish museum may remain the property of that museum. The oil-on-canvas work, titled La Rue St. Honoré, effet de Soleil, Après-Midi, 1898, has an estimated value of $30 million.
apnews.com
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules that a Camille Pissarro painting traded to the Nazis may remain with Spain's Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum; the case concerns provenance and whether any looting occurred, with the artwork valued around $30 million. The painting, La Rue St. Honoré, effet de Soleil, Après-Midi, 1898, was bought by the baron in 1976 and later acquired by the Madrid museum in 1992, despite ongoing litigation by Lilly Cassirer’s heirs.
usaartnews.com
Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Nets (1993) is mentioned among works sold at China Guardian's August auction in Hong Kong, which achieved $1 million and a 94% sell-through. The sale included works by Yayoi Kusama and Daido Moriyama, with Kusama's Endless Networks piece selling for $242,000, and Daido Moriyama's photograph achieving multiple bidding steps, underscoring a strong market and record-level activity for certain lots.
news.artnet.com
The article discusses a long-running legal battle over Camille Pissarro's Rue Saint-Honoré in the Afternoon, Effect of Rain (1897), looted by Nazis from Lilly Cassirer in 1939. An appeals court in Pasadena upheld a district court ruling that the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection owns the painting and that it will remain on display in Spain; the case has involved multiple lawsuits and probate across Spain and California, with Cassirer heirs pursuing recovery.
businessinsider.com
The article discusses Cremona, Italy's luthiers, their methods, and the threat from cheaper Chinese-made violins flooding global markets. It notes Cremona’s long изготовления times, prices starting around $28,000 for master-level instruments, and the vast disparity in export figures between China and Italy in 2019.
susanlambcook.com
Susan Lamb Cook and Friends perform works by Beethoven, Bach and Kodály in a virtual performance with violinist Nancy Wu and violinist Dagenais Smiley. The concert features Cassandra Lynne Richburg on viola.
news.artnet.com
The article discusses a legal dispute over ownership of the Jean-Michel Basquiat painting Humidity (1982) tied to Inigo Philbrick's fraud. Sasha Pesko and Satfinance filed a motion in federal court claiming ownership and proceeds rights tied to the Basquiat, which Philbrick transferred to Boxwood Green and collateralized with Athena Art Finance for a nearly $14 million loan. Athena later claimed the painting from the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, and the work is now stored in New York with aims to sell to recover losses.
Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s documents the market development behind INNOVATION & ADAPTATION DRIVE SOTHEBY’S YEAR-TO-DATE SALES IN 2020 TO $2.5 BILLION. Its account reports that “We are proud to conclude the first seven months of the year with $2.5 billion in sales, and I would like to thank our clients and employees for their extraordinary support during the pandemic.