The Art Newspaper reports that in 1973 the Tate considered purchasing Brancusi’s black marble Bird in Space, but ultimately did not because trustees believed it had been smuggled out of India. The sculpture ended up in Australia, and newly released Tate Archive documents recount the fate of Brancusi’s Birds in Space from the Maharajah of Indore’s Temple of Love and Peace project. New details involve New York dealer Richard Feigen and the Maharajah Yeshwant Rao Holkar, who commissioned three Birds in Space in bronze, black marble, and white marble.
Suzanne Muchnic writes about the Getty Museum reportedly paying a high price for Titian’s Portrait of Alfonso d’Avalos, Marchese del Vasto. Sources suggested a market value of $50 million, while a Telegraph report claimed $70 million was paid; the painting would be among the most expensive Old Master works sold, following Rubens’s Massacre of the Innocents at $76.7 million.
The National Gallery in London bought Raphael’s Madonna of the pinks from the Duke of Northumberland for £22 million, £1 million more than the gallery’s earlier offer. The Getty Museum had offered £34.9 million, with tax concessions leading to a suggested UK price of £29 million. After government involvement and talks, the National Gallery raised the extra £1 million with a major donation from Sir Christopher Ondaatje, plus funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and other donors including the National Art Collections Fund.
Ed Ruscha photographs were acquired by the Whitney Museum of American Art with the support of The Leonard and Evelyn Lauder Foundation, Tom and Diane Tuft, and a gift of unique early works. The collection encompasses 456 objects, including prints from Twentysix Gasoline Stations, Various Small Fires and Milk, Some Los Angeles Apartments, Thirty-Four Parking Lots in Los Angeles, Royal Road Test, Babycakes with Weights, and Real Estate Opportunities, plus over 300 vintage photographs from a 1961 Europe tour.
NRC Handelsblad reports that part of the Koenigs collection, including 139 drawings and 3 prints by German masters such as Hans Holbein the Younger, Altdorfer and Hirschvogel, is returning from Kiev to the Netherlands for an exhibition at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. The Koenigs collection, once owned by Franz Koenigs, was dispersed during and after World War II and is now being returned and loaned to the Dutch state.
Franse zakenman François Pinault is genoemd as eigenaar van Christie’s veilinghuis; Mark Rothko wordt besproken met zijn werk uit 1958 en 1963, en de top 10 kavels bestaan uit werken van Amadeo Modigliani, Fernand Léger, Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Piet Mondriaan en Pablo Picasso. Christie’s behaalde wereldwijd 1,2 miljard pond omzet uit 136 kavels boven de 1 miljoen dollar, met 1,1 miljard pond veilingomzet en 90 miljoen pond private sales.
The article discusses extensive testing of a Vermeer painting that was dismissed as fake, purportedly uncovering the artist’s 'specific extravagance'. The artwork and the tests are central to the piece, with Vermeer mentioned as the painter of the work under scrutiny.
Ely Sakhai, owner of Art Collection and Exclusive Art near Union Square, was released on $1 million bail while facing forgery allegations. The complaint alleges he bought paintings by Chagall and Renoir, forged them, sold the forgeries, then sold the genuine works at public auction, effectively profiting twice. Notable cases cited include Chagall La nappe mauve and a Gauguin Vase de fleurs (lilas), with involvement at Christie’s London and Sotheby’s, and a later Paul Klee work "Palaste" linked to the forgery scheme.
A Vermeer painting, Young Woman Seated at the Virginal, authenticated after extensive study, will be offered for sale at Sotheby’s in London, marking the first Vermeer sale in over eighty years.
The Times reports that a painting attributed to Johannes Vermeer, Young Woman Seated at the Virginals, is confirmed as Vermeer after scientific testing by University College London, and is the only Vermeer not in a museum, expected to fetch millions at auction with an opening estimate around £3 million.
Christie’s announced a second sale from Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey’s archive, following a 2003 auction that set a photography record. The 89-image offering ranged from £1,800 to £150,000 and included early views of Damascus, Cairo, Jerusalem, Athens and Rome.