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December 2020 Market Intelligence

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Thief steals rare 1710 Amati violin from LA art dealer

robbreport.com

The piece concerns a rare 1710 Amati violin stolen from an Los Angeles art dealer. The instrument, valued at more than $700,000, belongs to Rowland Weinstein and was taken from his Los Feliz home in an unlocked Tesla; authorities have not identified suspects. The violin was crafted by Hieronymus Amati II and was previously bought for just over $500,000 in 2013 at Tarisio’s London sale.

Rare 18th century violin stolen from art dealer’s Los Feliz home: FBI

digital-stage.ktla.com

The article reports that the FBI released a photo of a rare 18th century violin missing from a Los Feliz residence on Dec. 8, 2020. The violin is an Amati from 1710, crafted by Hieronymus Amati II, and previously sold for just over $500,000 in 2013; its current value is likely over $700,000. The violin belongs to Rowland Weinstein, an art dealer who divides time between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Violins seized at Malpensa valued at 100 thousand euros; appraisal entrusted to Cacciatori dell'MdV

cremonaoggi.it

Cremonaoggi reports that valuables including two violins and four bows were seized at Malpensa airport from a Japanese national arriving from Helsinki, with a cash amount of 27,190 euros also found. Fausto Cacciatori of the Museo del Violino di Cremona was commissioned to assess authenticity and provide a rough valuation: a Gaetano Pollastri violin from 1951 estimated at 55,000 euros, a Giampaolo Savini violin from 2007 around 20,000 euros, and four bows valued at 16,000 euros; total estimated value just under 100,000 euros.

$5K reward offered for missing vintage violin from Lee County

walb.com

A $5,000 reward is offered for information leading to the recovery of a missing 1920s antique violin owned by Alexander Reshetnichenko in Lee County, Georgia. The violin, described as a work of art made by Alfredo Contino in 1920 with two bows by Hermann Richard Pfretzschner and a Coda carbon fiber bow, has been missing since July and is the sole item reported stolen.

Giapponese in viaggio con violini e archetti antichi per 91mila euro denunciato per contrabbando

comozero.it

The article reports that at Malpensa Airport, Italian authorities seized two violins and four bows valued at over 91,000 euros from a Japanese traveler coming from Japan via Helsinki. A violin labeled Gaetano Pollastri (1951) and another labeled Giampaolo Savini (2007), plus three bows labeled Paolo Martini Cremona and one bow labeled Victor Francois Fetique were found, along with 27,190 euros in cash. The cash sanction imposed was 2,578.5 euros. A conservator from the Cremona’s Museo del Violino confirmed the violins’ authenticity and estimated values of 55,000 euros for Pollastri and 20,000 euros for Savini, with bows valued at 16,000 euros in total. The traveler was reported for contrabbando.

Stolen violin alert: 1710 Girolamo Amati violin in Los Angeles

theviolinchannel.com

The Violin Channel reports a 1710 Girolamo Amati violin was stolen in Los Angeles, United States, on December 8, 2020. The instrument was taken from a vehicle in the Los Feliz area. The violin bears the label: "Hieronymus Amatus Cremonen., Nicolai Figlius fecit, 1710." A similar Amati by the maker sold at auction in 2018 for over US $900,000. A US $25,000 reward is offered for information leading to its recovery, and the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office can be contacted at (310) 477-6565.

Worlds factory of violin trains farmers into craftsmen, lifts region out of poverty

wahyoviolin.com

Shan Jie and Lu Yameng report for Global Times on Queshan’s violin industry, highlighting Wang Jintang, the so-called Antonio Stradivari of Zhugou village, and the village’s rise from poverty through a booming violin and cello production sector that now includes over 180 makers and 122 companies. The article notes annual output around 400,000 instruments and an output value of about 450 million yuan ($68 million), with sales domestically and internationally.

FBI investigates stolen Amati violin in Los Feliz

canyon-news.com

The Canyon News story reports that a 1710 Amati violin was stolen from a vehicle in Los Feliz on December 8. The FBI Los Angeles Field Office Art Crime Team is investigating and asks for public information, with a $25,000 reward for information leading to recovery. Contact details for the FBI Los Angeles Field Office (310) 477-6565 are provided, along with background on the Amati family and notes on the violin’s cultural significance.

Have you seen this violin made in 1757 goes missing at Toronto subway

cbc.ca

CBC News reports that a concert violin made by Lorenzo Carcassi in 1757, in a bright red BAM case, went missing after being left on a Toronto subway car. The owner traveled a route via College to Bloor-Yonge, then St. George and St. Clair West stations before noticing the violin missing; investigators from 13 Division are seeking information.

Fine art

Tech-savvy Sotheby’s $5bn global sales beat Christie’s $4.4bn in 2020

theartnewspaper.com

The Art Newspaper reports that Sotheby’s global sales surpassed Christie’s in 2020, reaching over $5bn versus Christie’s $4.4bn. The piece highlights Sotheby’s stronger digital and online sales performance, including over 400 online auctions totaling more than $570m, and cites Francis Bacon’s Triptych Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus (1981) as a top sale price of $84.5m.

Fine art

Barbra Streisand buys Van Gogh painting once owned by Penthouse founder Bob Guccione for $4.5 million

theartnewspaper.com

Barbra Streisand purchased Vincent van Gogh’s Peasant Woman with Child on her Lap (1885) at Christie’s New York on 6 October for $4,470,000, above its estimate. The work was once owned by Penthouse founder Bob Guccione, who bought it around 1979 and later sold it in 2002; Guccione died in 2010. The painting had been lent to the San Diego Museum of Art from 2018 to March this year.

Fine art

Sotheby’s Market Update: Sotheby’s Adapts and Innovates in a Year of Unprecedented Change And Delivers Industry Leading Sales Totals | Press Release

Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s documents the market development behind Sotheby’s Adapts and Innovates in a Year of Unprecedented Change And Delivers Industry Leading Sales Totals | Press Release. Its account reports that with several auctions still to go before the close of 2020, Sotheby’s consolidated sales thus far this year now stand at over $5 billion.

Fine art

Salman Toor leads Phillips 30.9 million London New Now sale

artnews.com

Salman Toor’s Liberty Porcelain (2012) led Phillips New Now London sale with a premium price of £378,000 ($505,688). The event total was £3.8 million ($5.1 million) across 172 lots, with a 76.6 percent sell-through. Other notable lot included Banksy’s Girl with Balloon (2004) selling for £189,000 ($252,800).

Fine art

Rediscovered Ghirlandaio Outperforms at Christie’s Old Masters Sale

artnews.com

Domenico Ghirlandaio, Salvator Mundi, is featured on Christie’s Old Masters evening sale, which brought in £18.7 million on the hammer (£22.8 million with buyers’ fees, $30.9 million) across 38 lots. The sale set artist records for new-to-market works and achieved an 86 percent sell-through rate, with Bernadino Luini’s The Nativity, with the Journey to Egypt, withdrawn prior to the sale.

Fine art

Dutch court refuses to return painting to Jewish heirs

apnews.com

The Hague court rejected a restitution case brought by heirs of a Jewish family for a Kandinsky painting, upholding a 2018 ruling that the artwork titled Painting With Houses from Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum does not have to be returned. The Lewenstein family and their lawyers expressed disappointment and said they will appeal.

Fine art

Stedelijk Museum will keep contested Kandinsky painting

artnews.com

The Dutch court ruled that the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam may keep Wassily Kandinsky's 1909 painting Painting with Houses, ending one of the most prominent restitution suits. The painting belonged to Robert Lewenstein, who fled the Netherlands in 1940, and his heirs alleged bias in the Restitutions Commission, though the court found no such bias. The work was sold to the museum by Fredrik Muller in 1940 at a reduced price, after Lewenstein’s father had paid in 1923.

Fine art

In a surprise ruling, a Dutch court said the Stedelijk can keep a Kandinsky that a Jewish family says was sold under duress in 1940

news.artnet.com

Wassily Kandinsky’s Bild mit Häusern (1909) is kept by the Stedelijk Museum after a Dutch court ruled it can remain in the collection. The heirs of the prewar owner claimed the work was sold under duress; the Restitutions Committee had rejected the claim in 2018. The court noted the binding nature of the committee’s recommendation and found no serious defects in its provenance investigation.

Fine art

Christie’s Market Update: RESULTS: Christie's Latest X Greatest Online Sale Series Achieves $4.7million - Christie's

Christie’s

Christie’s documents the market development behind RESULTS: Christie's Latest X Greatest Online Sale Series Achieves $4.7million - Christie's. Its account reports that new York – Christie’s sale series Latest x Greatest, achieved a combined total of $4,679,875 across three online-only sales spanning post-war and contemporary art, prints and luxury categories.

Fine art

Art Market Monitor rediscovered and restituted artwork bring Sotheby’s London auction to $14 m

mondexcorp.com

Sotheby’s London old masters sale brought £10.6 million ($14.2 million) across 23 lots with a 72.4 percent sell-through. The top lot was David Teniers the Younger’s The Wine Harvest, selling for £3.6 million ($4.87 million). Sandro Botticelli’s Christ on the Cross adored by Saints Monica, Augustine, Mary Magdalene, Jerome and Bridget of Sweden sold for £1 million ($1.4 million) with a guarantee.

Fine art

Record for Barkley Hendricks and $18.2m Calder at otherwise unremarkable Sotheby’s sale

theartnewspaper.com

Barkley Hendricks's Mr. Johnson (Sammy from Miami) and Alexander Calder’s Mariposa (1951) headline Sotheby’s sale, with Mariposa selling for $15.6 million ($18.2 million with fees) and Barkley Hendricks’s record-setting $3.3 million ($4 million with fees) for Mr. Johnson (Sammy from Miami). The sale totalled $63.3 million (with fees) against a high estimate of $58.6 million, driven by strong results across Impressionist, Modern and contemporary works, and an 83% sell-through rate.

Fine art

Christie’s Market Update: Christie’s Hong Kong Modern and Contemporary Art auction series achieves HK$1.73 billion, the highest total for any auction house in Asia this year

Christie’s

Christie’s documents the market development behind Christie’s Hong Kong Modern and Contemporary Art auction series achieves HK$1.73 billion, the highest total for any auction house in Asia this year. Its account reports that works sold in Hong Kong realised a total of HK$1.73 billion / US$224.7 million, the highest sale total for any auction house in Asia this year.

Fine art

Led by Neiman Marcus’s estimate-smashing Calder mobile, Sotheby’s latest hybrid evening sale pulled in $63.4 million

news.artnet.com

Alexander Calder, Mariposa (1951) led the sale, hammering at $16.6 million and total with fees $18.2 million. Pablo Picasso, Buste de femme assise (1962) was another eight-figure lot. The hybrid evening sale at Sotheby’s, covering Impressionist, Modern and contemporary art, totaled $63.4 million with a 92 percent sell-through.

Fine art

Phillips's New York auction achieves 135 million dollars and sets records for Black artists and midcareer figures

news.artnet.com

The article reports on Phillips's evening sale in New York which raised 135 million dollars, setting new auction records for Black artists Amy Sherald, Vaughn Spann, Jadé Fadojutimi, Kehinde Wiley, and Mickalene Thomas, as well as for Ghanaian painter Amoako Boafo and Canadian artist Matthew Wong. The sale included works by notable artists such as Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell, Henri Magritte, Pablo Picasso, and Norman Rockwell.

Fine art

Union League of Chicago approves sale of prized Monet painting

artnews.com

The article discusses the Union League Club of Chicago considering liquidating part of its private art collection to address pandemic-related financial strain, including a Monet painting. It notes prior financial actions, confirmation of the plan by the club’s board, and mentions potential other works and the painting’s provenance and estimated value.

Putin's money courier spends $6.5 million on pedigree Italian violins

slippedisc.com

Article discusses cellist Sergei Roldugin, alleged Putin money launderer, spending $6.5 million on four 18th century violins credited to Giuseppe Guarneri, Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, Tommaso Balestrieri and Gaetano Pasta. The instruments were purchased from Edwulstrad rmic ltd, a Swiss company belonging to Eduard Wolfson.

Fund of Sergei Roldugin bought antique violins for 6.5 million euros

classicalmusicnews.ru

The Sergei Roldugin Foundation “Revival of Traditions” purchased four XVIII century violins for 6.5 million USD according to Import Genius. The Guarneri violin bought by the foundation is valued at 2.6 million euros and was made in 1719. The Giovanni Battista Guadagnini violin (1783) also cost 2.6 million euros. The oldest purchase, a 1715 Giacchino Pasti violin, cost 0.4 million euros with the Balestieri family instrument valued at 906 thousand euros. All violins were bought from the Swiss company Edwulstrad rmic ltd, owned by Edward Wolfson. The foundation’s registration as “Revival of Traditions” dates to 2017, with a prior 2018 antique purchase from the same supplier.

Fine art

Amoako Boafo, Dana Schutz, and Nicolas Party achieve new auction records at Christie’s hybrid sale

artsy.net

Amoako Boafo, Dana Schutz, and Nicolas Party achieved new auction records at Christie’s hybrid sale. The auction included works by Boafo, Schutz, and Party, among others, with Boafo’s Baba Diop selling for HK$8.8 million (US$1.1 million), Party’s Still Life selling for HK$10.4 million (US$1.3 million), and Schutz’s 2017 canvas selling for HK$50 million (US$6.4 million). Christie’s reported total sales of $119.2 million and a 90% sell-through rate across locations in Hong Kong and New York.

Fine art

Toulouse-Lautrec leads Christie’s $119.3 million Hong Kong–New York sale

artnews.com

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierreuse, 1889 by Toulouse-Lautrec is highlighted as the star lot in Christie’s Hong Kong–New York sale that realized $119.3 million, with sale prices including buyers’ premiums. The event featured a mix of Impressionist, modern, and contemporary Western and Asian art, conducted in Hong Kong and New York, and involved 31 lots in New York and 19 in Hong Kong.

Fine art

Christie’s Market Update: RESULTS: Christie's Hong Kong to New York Auction Achieves USD$119.3 million/ HKD$920.4 million - Christie's

Christie’s

Christie’s documents the market development behind RESULTS: Christie's Hong Kong to New York Auction Achieves USD$119.3 million/ HKD$920.4 million - Christie's. Its account reports that alex Rotter, Chairman, 20th and 21st Century Art, Christie’s: “This week’s sale series in both Hong Kong and New York are a fitting coda to an innovative and re-imagined fall sale season for 20th and 21st Century Art, which started in New York in early October with a $387.2 million sale series,…

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