Christie’s examines YOSHITOMO NARA’S PINKY HEADLINES PHILLIPS’ MODERN & CONTEMPORARY ART EVENING SALE IN HONG KONG THIS FALL and its significance for artists, collectors, institutions, or the art market.
Christie’s examines Soundbites from the Christie’s 2025 Art + Tech Summit and its significance for artists, collectors, institutions, or the art market.
M. C. Escher, Bond of Union (1956) is pictured courtesy Christie’s. The article reports a $7.8 million haul for a cache of Escher drawings at Christie’s, part of the sale titled the Art of Infinity, which included 65 lots and saw works surpassing the prior Escher record in the medium.
Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida's Isabelita and Thor (1893) is listed among the acquisitions. Notable works by Jules Breton, Richard Hunt, Graciela Iturbide, Nicolas Party, Kay WalkingStick, William T. Williams, and others are highlighted. The press release notes over 200 new works added through gifts and purchases to broaden the National Gallery of Art's collection.
The Strad article reports that a Guarneri del Gesù violin from 1736 sold for €3.3 million (£2.85 million) in Paris at a Claude Aguttes sale on June 3, and a 1714 Stradivari violin, known as the da Vinci, ex-Seidel, sold at Tarisio for $15.34 million (£12.29 million) on June 9.
The Strad article discusses a remarkable violin examined by Balthazar Soulier, noted for displaying hallmarks of both Guarneri del Gesù and Montagnana. The piece references Fridolin Hamma’s Meisterwerke Italienischer Geigenbaukunst (1931) and reports on ongoing research by Michael A. Baumgartner and Jan Röhrmann to document surviving del Gesù violins.
The 1709 Mendelssohn Stradivarius, once owned by Lili von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, resurfaced in Tokyo decades after it disappeared during the Nazi era. The violin’s provenance was confirmed through matching historical photographs and research by Carla Shapreau and Jason Price, with prior identification by Bernard Sabatier and Charles Beare.
Phillips details PHILLIPS’ SUMMER ON PARK AUCTIONS ACHIEVE A COMBINED TOTAL OF $3.5 MILLION, including the artists, works, estimates, and sale context documented in the release.
Christie’s examines Marwan: A Soul in Exile, Christie's Arab art summer exhibition and its significance for artists, collectors, institutions, or the art market.
The Metropolitan Police arrested a man in connection with the theft of an 18th-century violin believed to be worth £150,000 from the Marquess Tavern in north London. The instrument, made in Florence in 1740, belonged to a Philharmonia Orchestra member, David Lopez Ibanez, who was dining there after rehearsal when it was taken; three bows and a cotton bag were also stolen.
BBC News reports that a 43-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of stealing a violin worth more than £150,000 from The Marquess Tavern in Islington. The instrument, made in Florence in 1740 and owned by David Lopez Ibanez, has not been recovered. Ibanez described the violin as his voice.
The violin, an 18th-century instrument valued at more than £150,000, was stolen from The Marquess Tavern in Canonbury Street, Islington. A 43-year-old man was arrested on June 25 on suspicion of theft and later released on bail; the violin has not been recovered. The owner, David Lopez Ibanez, said the instrument, made in Florence in 1740, was his voice and priceless to him.
The article identifies a 1709 Stradivarius known as the Mendelssohn violin as the same instrument as the 1707 Stella Stradivari, traced after disappearance during World War II. The claim is supported by Carla Shapreau of the Lost Music Project and auction house founder Jason Price of Tarisio.
The 1709 Stradivarius known as the Mendelssohn has resurfaced in Tokyo after being stolen in Nazi-era Germany. Researchers Carla Shapreau and Jason Price discuss its history, including ownership by Lilli von Mendelssohn-Bohnke, the Mendelssohn & Co bank, postwar movements through Paris and London, and its 2005 acquisition by Japanese violinist Eijin Nimura under the name Stella.
Christie’s examines Explore Jenny Saville: The Anatomy of Painting on show in London and its significance for artists, collectors, institutions, or the art market.
Phillips details PHILLIPS PRESENTS THE 2025 SUMMER ON PARK SERIES, including the artists, works, estimates, and sale context documented in the release.
Canaletto's The Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day, formerly in Sir Robert Walpole's collection, sold for €37,236,210 setting a new world auction record for the artist. The sale occurred during Christie's Classic Week London events, with totals reported for the Old Masters Evening Sale and Exceptional Sale.
The article discusses Hauser and Wirth leaving the U.K. amid a wealth exodus and includes additional market updates from Artnet News, such as record sale results at Christie’s Old Masters, a Sotheby’s Old Masters sale with new records including Diana de Rosa, a Man Ray watercolor auction hint, and news that Blum gallery plans to cut staff and cease brick‑and‑mortar operations.
Jason Price reports on the rediscovery of the 1709 Mendelssohn Stradivari, a violin once owned by the Mendelssohn family of Berlin and missing for nearly eighty years. The piece discusses the instrument’s provenance, its connection to Lilli von Mendelssohn-Bohnke, and the broader changes in the violin industry and due diligence in certification and selling.
The article discusses a 316-year-old Stradivarius violin, the Mendelssohn, reportedly resurfacing in Japan after being placed in a Berlin bank by a Jewish assets-seizing family during Nazi Germany, with photos from a 2018 Tokyo exhibition suggesting it is the instrument Stella (1707) and provenance tracing to Japanese violinist Eijin Nimura around 2005.
The article reports on Sotheby’s Old Master sale in London, noting a Turner painting bought for £500 last year now selling for nearly £2 million. It also mentions the sale total of £14.5m for the evening, led by a £2.7m result for Lorenzo di Credi.
Canaletto's Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day sold for £31.9 million including fees at Christie's London. The result set an auction record for the artist and accounted for more than half of the Old Masters evening sale total.
Sotheby’s reports on Sotheby's to Offer Rediscovered Old Masters, Renaissance Bronzes, Silver, Maiolica & More from the Davidson Collection | Press Release. Its source account states that sotheby's to Offer Rediscovered Old Masters, Renaissance Bronzes, Silver, Maiolica & More from the Davidson Collection | Press Release | Sotheby’s.
Canaletto, Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day (circa 1732), sold for £31.9 million with fees ($43.7 million) at Christie’s Old Masters sale in London, setting a new Canaletto record. The painting’s estimate was £20 million and it was initially guaranteed, then backed by a third-party guarantee; it sold to an anonymous phone bidder via Christie’s director Alice de Roquemaurel. The work measures 86 by 13 cm and had previously not sold at auction since 1993.
Canaletto's Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day, circa 1732, was sold to an anonymous bidder for £27.5m (£31.9m with fees) at Christie’s in London, setting a new auction record for the artist; the work previously hung at Number 10 Downing Street during Sir Robert Walpole’s tenure. The painting’s provenance and its notable past sale in 1993 and the earlier pendant work by Canaletto were also noted in the report.
Canaletto's Venice Ascension Day painting The Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day sold for £31.9 million at Christie’s, setting a new auction record. The work, painted around 1732, was previously part of Robert Walpole’s offices and has a well-documented provenance, including early ownership at 10 Downing Street. The sale underscores Canaletto’s prominence in 18th-century view painting.
Sarah Cascone reports that the Netherlands returned 119 Benin Bronzes to the Nigerian government, and a week later the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston transferred two Benin works to the Oba of Benin. The keynote is the dispute over whether returns should go to the Nigerian state or to the Oba, with ceremonies in Lagos and New York City.
Canaletto's Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day sold for £27.5m (£31.9m with fees) at Christie’s in London, setting a new auction record for the artist. The painting, dated around 1732, measures 86 by 138 cm and was previously associated with Robert Walpole; the pendant Grand Canal from Palazzo Balbi to the Rialto sold for £18.6m in 2005 at Sotheby’s. The work’s sale occurred in Christie’s Old Masters evening sale on Tuesday (1 July).
Canaletto’s Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day sold for £31.9 million ($43.9 million) at Christie’s Old Masters in London, setting a new auction record for the artist. The work measures 34 by 54 inches and is noted for its remarkable preservation and pivotal point in Canaletto’s career; its provenance includes Robert Walpole, Britain’s first prime minister. The prior Canaletto record was the Grand Canal from Palazzo Balbi to the Rialto, sold at Sotheby’s London in 2005 for £18.6 million ($24.6 million).
Canaletto’s Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day led the sale with £31,935,000 ($43,910,625) (€37,236,210); the overall Old Masters Evening Sale and The Exceptional Sale totalled £60,844,240 ($83,660,830) (€70,944,384). Other highlights included Jan Davidsz. De Heem’s still life sold for £3,670,000 ($5,046,250) (€4,279,220) and Titian’s Portrait of a nobleman sold for £3,428,000 ($4,713,500) (€3,997,048).
Canaletto, Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day, around 1732, sold for £27.5m (£31.9m with fees) at Christie’s in London. The painting had been owned by Britain’s first prime minister, Robert Walpole, and was previously sold at Ader Tajan in Paris in 1993 for 66m French francs (£7.5m).