The inaugural session of 20th century masterpieces from the Gourdon Collection at Christie’s in Paris brought in €24,293,400, with the top lot being a Ruhlmann chaise longue ‘on skis’ from 1929 that sold for €2,865,000. Eileen Gray’s works featured prominently, including the black-lacquered ‘Brick’ screen (circa 1922) at €1,353,000 and the ‘Bibendum’ armchair at €709,000. Several pieces surpassed €1 million and multiple world records were noted during the sale.
The National Gallery of Art has acquired Thomas Moran's 1881 landscape Green River Cliffs, Wyoming, adding the painting to its collection. The work was donated by Vern Milligan and his two children, after Milligan purchased it at auction in 1994 for $2.7 million.
Pablo Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust, which sold for $106.5 million at Christie's in New York, is on display at Tate Modern in London. The painting previously set a record, surpassing Giacometti's Walking Man 1, and was later eclipsed by a Klimt portrait sold for $135 million. The work is part of Picasso’s 1932 studies with muse Marie-Therese Walter and is currently exhibited in the new Pablo Picasso room at Tate Modern.
London contemporary art sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips de Pury & Company in February realized £187.4 million ($303.6 million), the fourth highest for a series of contemporary art sales in London. The period included a notable Kostalitz sale at Sotheby’s and highlighted performances across all three houses. Prices for artists such as Francis Bacon, Jeff Koons, Richard Prince, Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Gerhard Richter and Martial Raysse were mentioned with varying levels of strength.
Kay Saatchi, ex-wife of Charles Saatchi, sells part of her collection at Christie’s in London, aiming to raise up to £3.4 million. Highlights include Ron Mueck’s larger-than-life model “Big Baby,” Lucian Freud drawings, and Paula Rego’s painting “Looking Back.” The sale also includes 24 additional works in a June 29 day sale.
ArtNews reports Kay Saatchi, former wife of Charles Saatchi, is selling part of her collection at Christie’s in London, with highlights including Ron Mueck’s Big Baby, Lucian Freud drawings, and Paula Rego’s Looking Back; the sale is expected to raise up to 3.4 million pounds. The Mueck piece is titled Big Baby and dated 1996, estimated at 800,000–1.2 million pounds; five Freud drawings from the 1940s are estimated to fetch 770,000–1.2 million pounds combined. Christie’s states these are a significant group of works on paper by Freud arriving at auction.
Kay Saatchi, ex-wife of Charles Saatchi, is selling part of her collection at Christie’s in London, with an estimated total of up to 3.4 million pounds. The sale highlights include Ron Mueck’s sculpture Big Baby, estimated at 800,000-1.2 million pounds, five Lucian Freud drawings from the 1940s, and a Paula Rego painting titled Looking Back.
Joan Miró created a unique olive wood sculpture, Oiseau lunaire, about 30 cm high from 1945, which sold for $5 million to a private collector as TEFAF Maastricht opened. The sale occurred within hours of the fair’s opening, and the piece was part of a Miró-focused room organized by Landau Fine Art of Montreal; the sculpture had been out of sight in a private collection for nearly 40 years. Dealers reported solid sales across TEFAF, with strong performance in modern and contemporary art, antiquities, and Asian art; the fair’s preview drew over 10,000 invited guests.
The article reports that at Drouot Richelieu in Paris on March 21, 2011, a major Mexican Mayan seated deity from the Rio Bec or Chen region sold for 2,912,000 euros, the highest bid in a sale that totaled 7,452,914 euros including fees; the piece dates to the Classical Period (550-950 AD) and stands about 156 cm high.
Collector Sues Gagosian Gallery Over Two Contemporary Sales involves a British collector suing Gagosian in SDNY over two multimillion-dollar works, one by Mark Tansey titled The Innocent Eye Test and another by Richard Prince; the suit alleges fraud, breach of contract, and related claims regarding promised gifts and unsettled offers, with details about ownership and parties involved.
Joan Miró sculpture Oiseau lunaire sold for $5 million; Gerrit Berckheyde View of Haarlem (€4.5 million), Willem Claesz Heda Still Life with silver Tazza and a Roemer (€3 million), Ferry boat with the River Vecht (€2.5 million), Willem van de Velde the Younger A States Yacht and Other Vessels in Light Air (€3 million) sold by Noortman Master Paintings; a Roman marble ornamental urn sold for around €1 million to Mougins Museum of Classical Art; strong Japanese and Chinese buying activity with multiple pieces sold by Malcolm Fairley and Grace Tsumugi Fine Art. Preview attended by over 10,000; TEFAF ran until Sunday 27 March.
The article discusses a court ruling on Richard Prince's Canal Zone photographs, finding them infringing Cariou's Yes Rasta and potentially requiring destruction; the case centers on whether Prince's modifications constitute fair use, with the court concluding they are too derivative. It notes Cariou’s photos of Rastafarians in Jamaica and Prince’s collage/paint alterations, the $10.5 million in gallery sales, and injunctions against displaying the works.
David D'Arcy reports from the European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht where dealers show about €1 billion in art despite concerns over the Middle East and North Africa conflicts and the Japan disaster. Specific sales highlighted include El Anatsui's gold-vermilion tapestry sold by Axel Vervoordt for around €560,000 and Joan Miró's Oiseau Lunaire sold for €3.5 million at Landau Fine Art Inc.
The HuffPost Entertainment article reports that Patrick Cariou won a copyright lawsuit against Richard Prince and the Gagosian Gallery, with Manhattan federal judge Deborah Batts ruling against Prince and Gagosian over Prince's Canal Zone works that used Cariou’s photographs. The decision, cited as a significant precedent in fair use and appropriation cases, references Cariou’s Rastafarian photographs from Jamaica and the 2000 book Yes, Rasta, and notes that many of Prince’s works sold for substantial sums without Cariou’s permission.
Andy Warhol's Liz #5, a 1963 portrait of Elizabeth Taylor, is being offered by Phillips de Pury & Company in the Contemporary Art Part I auction on May 12, with an estimated price of $20,000,000 to $30,000,000. The quote from Michael McGinnis describes the work as a pristine Warhol with a perfect screen and glowing colors, highlighting its provenance and significance.
Monet Les Peupliers, the largest work from his Poplars series, is slated for sale at Christie's in New York on May 4 and is expected to reach as much as $30 million; the painting was purchased by an Asian collector in 2000 for just over $7 million.
Warhol painting Liz #5 (Elizabeth Taylor), created in 1963, is being offered by Phillips de Pury & Company in the Contemporary Art Part I auction on May 12, with an estimated price range of $20,000,000 to $30,000,000. The quote in the article is by Michael McGinnis, Senior Director and Worldwide Head, Contemporary Art, describing Liz #5 as a pristine Warhol with a perfect screen and impeccable provenance.
The 18th-century Chinese silk scroll painting of a military troop review sold in Toulouse for euro22,057,000 (about $30.8 million), the highest auction price for a Chinese work in France. The 24-meter-long scroll, painted around 1748 under Emperor Qianlong, was found in a Paris attic and is part of a series of four maneuvers. An anonymous Hong Kong collector purchased it after a bidding war, with one other scroll from the series in the Palace Museum of Beijing and another sold in 2008 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong for $67.86 million.