Monthly archive
16 headlines
Source-linked reporting
wright20.com
117 is Frank Stella 1936–2024, Double Gray Scramble, a 1973 screenprint on Arches 88 paper, 29 h × 50½ w in (74 × 128 cm); estimate $20,000–30,000; result $50,000.
news.artnet.com
The article reports that the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in a California lawsuit over resale royalties brought by artists including Chuck Close and the estate of Sam Francis against Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and eBay. It notes the California Resale Royalties Act of 1976 requires a 5% royalty on art sold for more than $1,000, and that a California appellate court ruled the interstate portion unconstitutional. Reactions from Sotheby’s and supporters suggest the core act remains intact outside California, while critics point out the decision preserves California law without the out-of-state clause.
artforum.com
The article discusses dealer Larry Gagosian filing court documents asserting he owns Picasso’s Bust of a Woman, 1931, a plaster bust of Marie-Thérèse, rather than the Qatar royal family. Gagosian reportedly purchased the sculpture from Maya Widmaier-Picasso for about $106 million, and cites prior lawsuits involving Pelham, the family’s agent, and an agreement in 2014 to pay $42 million for the piece.
vanityfair.com
Pamela Romanowsky is commissioned by Sotheby’s to create a short film bringing Orazio Gentileschi’s baroque painting Danaë to life for an Old Master Paintings sale. The painting depicts Danaë with Zeus in a shower of gold, as interpreted on Gentileschi’s canvas; the film is tied to the auction lot of Danaë.
invaluable.com
The article features insights from Sandra Germain of Shannon’s Fine Art Auctioneers, John Schofield of Eldred’s Asian Arts, and Deric Torres on what is selling well and the forecast for 2016. Notable examples include Joan Miró (1942) sold for $264,000 and Wayne Thiebaud (1964) sold for $420,000; online bidding is expected to rise in 2016.
news.artnet.com
The article discusses a legal fight between Gagosian Gallery and Pelham Europe over discovery related to a $100 million-plus sale of a Picasso sculpture, with a Qatar royal family representative alleging purchase in 2014 for about $42 million. It mentions a mystery third-party buyer allegedly ready to acquire the work after a Picasso show at the Museum of Modern Art. The piece notes potential public disclosure if Pelham Europe’s request is granted and references comments from Gagosian and Pelham Europe’s legal representatives.
dw.com
German task force reports that five works in the Gurlitt trove have been confirmed as Nazi-looted items. The announcement followed a review of roughly 1,200 works found in Cornelius Gurlitt's Munich apartment and comes as the panel defends its slow progress on restitution claims. Henri Matisse's Seated Woman is mentioned as a notable work in the collection.
news.artnet.com
Lucian Freud’s Head of Esther (1983) and Head of Ib (1983–84) are heading to auction at Christie’s in London with a pre-sale estimate of £2.5 million–3.5 million ($3.5 million–5 million). The paintings depict Esther Freud and Isobel Boyt, and the article notes Freud’s prominence in the New Figuration movement and the various retrospectives where the works have been shown. The piece includes quotes from Christie’s Francis Outred and contextual biographical details about Freud’s family.
artslife.com
Chiara Faglia reports that New York hosts Old Master Week January 27–30, 2016, with Sotheby’s presenting six auctions of European paintings, drawings, and sculptures from the 14th to 19th centuries, including two private collections, The Road to Rome and Alfred Taubman’s collection. Highlights include works such as a painting by Thomas Gainsborough titled The Blue Page, and works by Raffaello Sanzio and Albrecht Dürer, with a major emphasis on Orazio Gentileschi’s Danaë estimated at 25–35 million USD that will be auctioned on January 28.
bostonglobe.com
The MFA has acquired Dos Mujeres (Salvadora y Herminia) by Frida Kahlo, one of just 12 Kahlo paintings in US museums, entering the MFA’s permanent collection. The painting, created in 1928, depicts two Mexican women and was previously in a private US collection for about 90 years before the MFA purchase.”
antiquesandthearts.com
Frida Kahlo painting Dos Mujeres (Salvadora y Herminia), 1928, was acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The work will be on view January 27 to March 1 in a special presentation, and after conservation it will be installed in the Art of the Americas Wing. It is Kahlo's first painting acquired by any museum in New England.
nytimes.com
Orazio Gentileschi’s 17th-century painting Danaë, a subject of the Baroque era, was purchased by the Getty Museum in a Sotheby’s New York sale. The work set an auction record for the artist at $30.5 million. Sotheby’s and the Getty announced the acquisition; the painting is part of a trio commissioned in 1621, with Getty already owning Lot and His Daughters since 1998.
elespanol.com
Gentileschi y la lluvia dorada de Zeus, Dánae, de Orazio Gentileschi, se vendió en Sotheby’s por 30,5 millones de dólares, adquirido por el museo J. Paul Getty en California. La obra superó el rango de estimación de 25 a 35 millones y fue la pieza destacada de una subasta que totalizó 53,47 millones de dólares, con otras obras de Jordaens, Rubens y Botticelli también en la puja.
news.artnet.com
Orazio Gentileschi's painting Danae sold for $30.5 million at Sotheby’s New York, exceeding the previous record of $4.1 million. The work was acquired by the J. Paul Getty Museum, with a pre-sale estimate up to $35 million, and had been on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The article notes other Gentileschi works sold in the past and mentions reactions by art writers.
aa.com.tr
The stolen Pablo Picasso painting Woman Dressing her Hair (1940) was recovered in Istanbul after an undercover sting, with negotiations over several weeks and arrests of two men in Fatih. The painting was reportedly stolen from a New York collector and valued at up to $8 million during negotiations, with proceeds aimed at selling for about $7 million.
latimes.com
Orazio Gentileschi’s Danaë was purchased by the J. Paul Getty Museum for $30.5 million at Sotheby’s in New York; the painting is the first of a three-work commission for Giovanni Antonio Sauli in 1621, with Lot and His Daughters already in Getty’s collection and the third panel in an unidentified New York private collection.