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latimes.com
An unsigned painting of a peasant woman, valued at $83 days earlier by a Japanese art house, was identified as a previously unknown work by Vincent van Gogh. The piece, a dark profile of a middle-aged woman in a white bonnet, is now valued at at least $25,000 and was deemed a Van Gogh by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam two days before an anticipated auction in Tokyo.
nytimes.com
Carol Vogel reports that Vivendi Universal chose Christie's to sell the Seagram Building art collection, with Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg handling about 700 photographs; Sotheby’s withdrew after being denied access to works. Estimated collection value is about $15 million, including a 1957 painting by Rothko valued at $8 million to $10 million, a Miró, works by Larry Rivers, drawings by minimalist artists, and a 22-foot Picasso curtain from 1919 for Diaghilev's Le Tricorne.
latimes.com
Vincent Van Gogh is identified as the artist of an unsigned painting in Tokyo, initially thought to be worth under $100. The work, a portrait of a heavy-set peasant woman in a white cap, sold for $550,800 to a broker on behalf of Toshio Nakamoto, head of a museum in western Japan.
latimes.com
Pivotal artworks and photographs from Vivendi Universal, including works by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, and Mark Rothko, are slated for sale by Christie’s and Phillips de Pury and Luxembourg to help reduce the company’s debt. The Picasso curtain from 1919 for Diaghilev’s Le Tricorne is the best-known piece, hanging in the Seagram Building on Park Avenue. The sales are organized by Christie’s (modern art) and Phillips (photographs) with dates to be announced and April 25-26 respectively.
independent.co.uk
Sandro Botticelli is believed to have created St Francis with Musical Angels, which was housed in the National Gallery vaults for over 150 years and is now valued at up to £10m; the work was reattributed after infrared analysis and cleaning, and is expected to go on public view.
thetimes.com
Richard Brooks reports that a deal to keep Titian’s Venus in Britain coincides with the National Gallery exhibition in London; the Venus Arising, housed at the National Gallery of Scotland, was identified as the painting to be saved with about £13 million raised, largely from the Heritage Lottery Fund, to keep it in Britain.
forbes.com
Vincent van Gogh was identified as the painter of a portrait once labeled simply as “Portrait of a woman,” which sold for ¥66 million ($548,000) after a preliminary value of ¥10,000 to ¥20,000. The work was later attributed to Van Gogh and attributed date between November 1884 and May 1885, with restoration history noted.