The article reports that the Qatari ruling family, Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Kalifa Al-Thani and his wife, purchased Rothko’s White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose) for $72.8 million and Francis Bacon’s Study from Innocent X for $52.7 million, with Damien Hirst’s Lullaby Spring selling for £9.7 million; purchases occurred through Sotheby’s in 2007, with further plans for museums and galleries in Doha and related Gulf region cultural expansions.
Edward Hicks is the artist of The Peaceable Kingdom with the Leopard of Serenity. The work is part of Sotheby’s American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture sale in New York on May 22, 2008, with an estimated price of $6 to $8 million.
The article reports that the buyer of Mark Rothko's White Center, sold at Sotheby's New York on May 15, 2007 for 72.8 million dollars including commission, was a Qatari sheikh. It also notes the same auction included Francis Bacon's The Theme of Pope Innocent X for 52.7 million dollars, and mentions Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani as a prior significant buyer.
Claude Monet’s painting Le Pont du chemin de fer a Argenteuil sold at Christie's for $41,481,000, setting a new auction record for the artist. The sale exceeded an estimated range of $35 million to $40 million and the buyer’s identity remains anonymous; the Nahmads were reported as possible sellers. A second Monet work from the Nympheas series sold for $11,689,000.
The article reports that Sotheby’s achieved record prices for Leger and Munch paintings during an evening auction, with Leger’s Study for the Woman in Blue selling for $39.2 million and Munch’s Girls On A Bridge selling for $30.8 million; Monet’s The Railroad Bridge at Argenteuil sold at Christie's New York for nearly $41.5 million. It notes mixed signals for the market and that nearly one in five lots failed to sell.
Lucian Freud’s life-size portrait Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, depicting Sue Tilley, sold at Christie’s in Manhattan for $33.64 million, a new record for a living artist. The painting was painted in 1995 and is part owned by Christie’s. The buyer was not disclosed.
Sarah Thornton at Christie's Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale; the article discusses the Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale and notes the sale of Tom Wesselmann’s Smoker #9 and Andy Warhol’s Double Marlon, including prices achieved.
Sarah Thornton at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale discusses the sale, including Takashi Murakami’s My Lonesome Cowboy (1998) which sold for $15.2 million, and Yves Klein’s MG9 from circa 1962 as part of the event that totaled $362 million.
Francis Bacon’s 1976 Triptych sold for $86.3 million at Sotheby’s, becoming the most expensive contemporary artwork sold at auction; the sale totaled $362 million with 83 works, and 18 artist records were set. The painting was sold by the Moueix family. Yves Klein and other artists such as Piero Manzoni, Tom Wesselmann, and Takashi Murakami were mentioned in relation to the auction.
Bacon’s Triptych, 1976, sold for $86.3m, surpassing the previous record of $52.7m for Study for Innocent X (1962). The three-panel work depicts a headless figure with three vultures and two disfigured portraits, and is linked to myths of Prometheus and The Orestia; the sale was at Sotheby’s and the seller was a private EU collector. The article also notes a separate record for a living artist by Lucian Freud, selling for $33.6m at Christie’s in New York.
Francis Bacon's Study for Head of George Dyer, 1967, is highlighted as an exceptionally rare portrait in Sotheby’s Evening Sale of Contemporary Art in London. The work was acquired by its current owner from Marlborough Gallery and has a pre-sale estimate in excess of £8 million. It references Bacon’s relationship with Dyer and Tate Britain’s retrospective of Bacon in 2008.
No usable Maegis blog-specific headline fields could be determined from this blue-chip news page. The article discusses spring art market sales totaling $1.57 billion across Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips, with breakdowns by contemporary, Impressionist, and modern art, but does not present Maegis blog headline fields.
Francis Bacon’s Triptych, 1976 sold for $86.3 million at Sotheby’s New York sale, setting a new record for Bacon and for a contemporary artwork at auction. Yves Klein works from the Helga and Walther Lauffs collection also performed strongly, with MG 9 selling for $23.6 million and IKB 1 selling for $17.4 million. The sale totaled $362 million for contemporary art, surpassing pre-sale estimates and Sotheby’s own previous contemporary art high.
Jeff Koons's Flower - balloon (Magenta) is slated for auction at Christie's in London on June 30, with experts suggesting bids could reach $23.5 million; the sale is tied to the Rachovski collection in Dallas. The article notes related Koons works and past auction records, including a 23.5 million sale for Hanging Heart and 11.8 million for Blue Diamond.
Christie’s announced seventeen Impressionist and Modern works from the J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Collection for its June London sale, expected to exceed £40 million. Monet’s 1919 Le bassin aux nymphéas led a group that also included Matisse, Bonnard, Chagall, Picasso, Kandinsky and Pissarro.
Christie’s New York reported $277.3 million from its Impressionist and Modern Art evening auction, its third-highest category total at the time. Monet’s Pont du chemin de fer à Argenteuil set a $41.48 million record, while works by Rodin, Giacometti and Miró also established new artist benchmarks.