Lucy Hicks Beach reports that Mark Meng, a California man who pretended to be an instrument collector to steal over $300,000 worth of violins and bows, has been sentenced to 46 months in prison. Meng also robbed a bank in Irvine after the thefts, and he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of bank robbery; the most valuable instrument was an 1823 Lorenzo Ventapane violin valued at $175,000.
Art Basel Hong Kong 2025 concluded with strong sales across sectors and acquisitions of works by Pacita Abad, Michaël Borremans, Louise Bourgeois, Tracey Emin, Zeng Fanzhi, Yayoi Kusama, Betty Muffler, Yu Peng, Christina Quarles, Pinaree Sanpitak, Park Seo-bo, Félix González-Torres, Zhi Wei, and Lu Yang.
Klimt painted a portrait of Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuon, a member of the Ga (Osu) people, which resurfaced at the European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht, exhibited by Wienerroither and Kohlbacher. The painting, dating to 1897, was rediscovered in 2023 and is linked to Klimt's decorative turn and early Vienna Secession context, as well as a dark colonial history tied to ethnographic showcases.
Matt Stevens reports for The New York Times from Los Angeles about a California man, Mark Meng, 58, of Irvine, who used a musician persona to obtain violins on trial from a Virginia shop, including an 1823 violin valued at $175,000, a 1903 violin valued at $55,000, and three bows worth $5,000; after bouncing a $235,234 check and selling one violin for far less than its value, he also robbed a bank nearby.
The article reports that an Irvine, California man, Mark Meng, was sentenced to four years in federal prison for robbing a bank and orchestrating a scheme that stole about $350,000 worth of high‑end violins. Violins stolen included 19th and early 20th century instruments, with one from 1823 valued at $175,000. Meng posed as a violin collector, deceived shop owners, and resold some instruments; he carried out the scheme from August 2020 to April 2023 and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter after pleading guilty to wire fraud and bank robbery.
The Onzea-Govaerts Collection curated by Axel Vervoordt totals €10M| $10.8M; the sale highlighted works by Rik Wouters including a portrait of his wife and muse Nel, Reflets, 1912, acquired for €2,460,000, establishing a world record for the artist, and notable pieces such as a Concetto Spaziale, Attese by Lucio Fontana and an Egyptian granite head of Sekhmet.
Christie’s examines PHILLIPS UNVEILS HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE LONDON NEW NOW: MODERN & CONTEMPORARY ART SALE and its significance for artists, collectors, institutions, or the art market.
How a burning passion for English country-house style, nurtured from childhood, propelled the London-based dealer to create one of Britain’s most influential antique and reproduction furniture businesses
This KTLA article reports that Mark Meng, 58, an Irvine man who orchestrated a scheme to steal high-value violins and later robbed a bank, has been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison. The DOJ notes Meng admitted to one count of wire fraud and one count of bank robbery related to the thefts and the ensuing robbery, with multiple valuable violins involved including an 1823 Lorenzo Ventapane valued at $175,000 and an 1870 Gand & Bernardel valued at $60,000.
The Hungarian maker of ‘pictures that attack the eye’ channelled Einstein and Heisenberg to push the boundaries of geometric abstraction — but found equal inspiration in the canvases of Malevich and Mondrian. An important group of his works is offered in Paris on 8 April
The article discusses Olympias, a Manchester music charity, organizing a weekend at Manchester Museum to repair violas and cellos for its Olympias Recycled Orchestra programme, which provides up to 100 free instruments to low-income young people. The initiative is funded by Oglesby Charitable Trust and involves instrument makers, luthiers, and Newark School of Violin Making students; repairs are performed March 22–23, 2025.
Gustav Klimt’s 1897 portrait of Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona, a Ga prince from what is now Ghana, rediscovered and on display at Wienerroither & Kohlbacher at TEFAF Maastricht for about €15 million (roughly $16.3 million). The work, thought lost since the 1930s, was authenticated after restoration and a restitution settlement with the Klein heirs; it was painted during Klimt’s Vienna era and previously exhibited in 1928.
Livia Pereira reports that the New England Conservatory’s students will benefit from an endowment funded by an $11 million sale of the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius. The instrument, created by Antonio Stradivari in 1714, was previously owned by Joseph Joachim and Si-Hon Ma. Sotheby’s New York partnered on the auction, with a final price of $11.3 million, below pre-sale estimates of $12–$18 million. Proceeds establish the Conservatory’s largest ever scholarship endowment for its students.
Gustav Klimt painted Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona (1897), a portrait of an Osu prince now offered by W&K – Wienerroither & Kohlbacher Gallery at TEFAF Maastricht for €15 million. The painting, lost after World War II, was identified by Alfred Weidinger as a portrait of an Osu prince from the region now called Ghana, with provenance hinting at its original display at ethnographic exhibitions in Vienna.
A leading highlight of the 20th/21st Century Evening Sale in Hong Kong this March, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Sabado por la Noche captures his signature style and marks a defining moment in his career
The 1715 Baron Knoop Stradivarius, crafted during Stradivari’s golden period, sold for $23 million (£17.8 million), setting a new record for the most expensive violin. The previous owner was US collector David L. Fulton, who bought it in February 1993 for $2.75 million.
The article reports that the 1715 Baro n Knoop Stradivari violin sold for $23 million to an anonymous buyer, surpassing the prior record held by the 1741 Vieuxtemps Guarneri del Gesù, which sold for over $16 million in 2013 and is on loan to Anne Akiko Meyers.
The page discusses a viola by Alessandro Tossani (Cremona, 2024) measuring 41.7 cm, priced at £25,000 - £50,000. It notes Tossani’s background and the shop’s familiarity with him.
The great tastemaker describes how he brought ‘harmony’ and ‘positive energy’ to a group of objects ranging from Chinese ritual vessels to Japanese screens via Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Lucio Fontana and sculpture from Borneo
Christie’s examines PHILLIPS UNVEILS HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE INAUGURAL EDITIONS AUCTION IN HONG KONG AMID STRONG MARKET DEMAND and its significance for artists, collectors, institutions, or the art market.
The article reports a new world record price for a Stradivari violin, the 1715 “Baron Knoop,” which sold for $23 million. It notes the previous record was the 1721 “Lady Blunt” at just under $16 million in 2011, and mentions the buyer is an anonymous American collector.
The article in The Strad December 2025 focuses on Giovanni Maria del Bussetto, discussing his elusive biography, rarity of his violins, and lack of surviving violas or cellos, with contemporary makers including Girolamo Amati II, Andrea Guarneri, Rugeri family, and Antonio Stradivari mentioned for context.
The article reports that a 1715 Stradivari violin known as the Bar on Knoop sold for a world-record US$23 million to an anonymous buyer, surpassing the previous record of US$16 million set by the 1721 Lady Blunt Stradivari in 2011.
The article reports on a 130-year-old Holocaust-surviving violin that has been given to Agam Berger, a freed Hamas hostage and IDF observer, who played the instrument for the first time. The violin was gifted to Berger by Tzachi Beck, who restored it, and its origins trace back to a Jewish musician murdered by the Nazis; the piece is tied to the broader survivor narrative through Yitzhak Bering and Motel Bering.
René Magritte’s La reconnaissance infinie led the London Evening Sales with a £10.3 million result, while Michael Andrews established a new auction record for the School of London painter. Across both London Evening Sale and The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale, Christie’s reported totals of £130,251,700 / $166,591,924 / €156,302,040, with 94% sold by lot and 97% by value.
94 per cent sold by lot, 97 per cent sold by value and 43 per cent of lots sold above the high estimate across both evening sales, which were led by René Magritte’s La reconnaissance infinie at £10.3 million, and saw a new auction record for School of London painter Michael Andrews
A seminal painting by Sayed Haider Raza, magnificent 18th-century ‘dragon’ dish and rare Buddhist heads spanning centuries are amongst the top lots selected by Christie’s Specialists this spring