Monthly archive

May 2017 fine-art market intelligence

22 headlines

22 headlines

Search and filter

Category: Fine art

Source-linked reporting

Headlines

22 headlines
Fine art

Christie’s New York evening sale yields strong results for Brancusi and Picasso

theartnewspaper.com

Christie’s New York Evening sale in May 2017, led by Brancusi’s La muse endormie which sold for 51 million dollars (57.4 million with fees) and a Picasso portrait of Dora Maar that sold for 40 million dollars (45 million with fees). The sale totaled 289,178,500 dollars with fees, near the upper end of the pre-sale estimate, and marked the house’s best result in seven years for the category.

Fine art

Christie’s Impressionist-Modern sale hits $289 million as Brancusi record falls to $57.4 million

artnews.com

The Christie’s New York Impressionist and Modern sale totaled $289 million, surpassing the low estimate of $207 million. Constantin Brancusi’s La muse endormie sold for $57.4 million, setting a new artist record, while Pablo Picasso’s Femme assise, robe bleue sold for $45 million. The auction did not match the market highs of recent years, with low in-room bidding and few works approaching eight- and nine-figure sums.

Fine art

Bidders move fast for Modern sculptures at Sotheby’s New York

theartnewspaper.com

Gives a neutral recap of the article about Sotheby’s New York sale where bidders quickly chased Modern sculptures, including works from the Finn collection, with notable results for Giorgio de Chirico, Morandi, and Giacometti-inspired pieces; the sale totaled $173.8 million with fees on 37 lots sold.

Fine art

Sotheby’s total $173.8 million at muted sale led by Malevich after Schiele withdrawal

artnews.com

Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematist Composition with Plane in Projection (1915) sold for $21.2 million. The sale totaled $173.8 million with 13 of 50 lots failing to sell; Schiele’s Danaë (1909) was withdrawn from bidding. Other highlights included artist records for Jean Arp, Germaine Richier, Diego Giacometti, and a sculpture record for Max Ernst; Alberto Giacometti’s Buste de Diego sold for $10.9 million.

Fine art

At $110.5 million, Basquiat painting becomes priciest work ever sold by a U.S. artist

thin.npr.org

Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1982 Untitled sold for $110.5 million at Sotheby's, becoming the priciest work ever sold by a U.S.-produced artist. The buyer was Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who announced the purchase publicly and plans to loan the piece to institutions and exhibitions before placing both Basquiat paintings in a museum in Chiba.

Fine art

$110 million Basquiat unseats Warhol as America’s most expensive artist at Sotheby’s sale

artsy.net

Artist information mentioned: Jean‑Michel Basquiat (Untitled, 1982) and Andy Warhol (Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster), 1963). Artwork names: Untitled (1982) by Basquiat; Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) by Warhol. $110.4 million with buyer’s premium; $98 million hammer; $60 million estimate/guarantee mentioned as uncharted territory by Sotheby’s; $105 million Warhol record; prior Basquiat purchases include $57.3 million.

Fine art

This US masterpiece sold for $110.5 million at auction setting a new record

thejournal.ie

The Basquiat painting Untitled, a skull-like head in oil-stick, acrylic and spray paint, sold for $110.5 million in New York, setting a new auction record for a 20th-century artist. The sale was led by Sotheby’s and bought by Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa, who had previously set the Basquiat auction record.

Fine art

Led by record-setting $28.8 million Doig, Phillips nets $110.3 million at contemporary evening auction

artnews.com

Peter Doig’s Rosedale (1991) presale estimate around $25 million and sold for $28.8 million with premium. The sale, at Phillips in New York, totaled $110.3 million across 37 lots with a 100-percent sell-through; top lot was Doig’s 1991 painting of a house in the wilderness selling for $28.8 million to Svetlana Marich on behalf of a client.

Fine art

Basquiat painting sells for record $110.5 million at auction

upi.com

Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1982 painting Untitled sold at Sotheby’s New York for $110.5 million, a record for the artist. The buyer was Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who purchased the work that first sold for $19,000 in 1984.

Fine art

Basquiat breaks auction record at US$110 million, a true economic indicator for the art market

prnewswire.com

The article reports Basquiat's 1982 Untitled painting selling for US$110 million, setting a new record and highlighting Basquiat as one of seven artists to surpass the $100 million auction threshold. It notes previous record of US$57.3 million from the prior year and provides context about Artprice's indices and Basquiat's career relative to the art market as a global indicator.

Fine art

Basquiat breaks $100 million barrier

antiquesandthearts.com

Basquiat breaks $100 million barrier: Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work was purchased for $110,487,500 by Yusaku Maezawa, with the overall Sotheby’s sale totaling $319,199,000. The event set artist records and the painting is planned for Maezawa’s museum in Chiba, Japan.

Fine art

Phillips May auction of Latin American art gets modern

newyorklatinculture.com

Phillips May auction of Latin American Art, described as a pillar of New York City’s Latin American art scene, features artists such as Carmen Herrera, Rufino Tamayo, Lygia Pape, Leonora Carrington, Gabriel Orozco, Alfredo Volpi and Wifredo Lam. The event benefits FLORA ars+natura, a Bogotá-based non-profit foundation; works by Maria Fernanda Cardoso are also noted.

Fine art

Jean Paul Riopelle abstract canvas sells for a record-setting C$7.4m

theartnewspaper.com

Jean Paul Riopelle abstract canvas Vent du nord (1952-53) sold for a record-setting C$7.4m at Heffel’s Spring sale in Toronto. The painting surpassed its high estimate and became the second most expensive work by a Canadian artist sold at auction. Lawren Harris’s Mountain Forms previously topped Riopelle’s result with C$11.2m.

Fine art

Art dealer Perry Rubenstein sentenced to six months in prison for embezzlement

tumblr.com

Art dealer Perry Rubenstein and two counts of grand theft by embezzlement were addressed in court, with a six-month prison sentence, three years of probation, and over $1.1 million repaid to former clients Michael Ovitz and Michael Salke. The case references past gallery activity in Manhattan and later Los Angeles, including a 2012 sale proceeds dispute and a 2014 bankruptcy with $5.4 million in debts.

Fine art

Why Spend $110 Million on a Basquiat? ‘I Decided to Go for It,’ Japanese Billionaire Explains

nytimes.com

Motoko Rich and Robin Pogrebin report that Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa bid on Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1982 skull painting at Sotheby’s in New York, culminating in a $110.5 million purchase which set a new record for an American artist at auction. Maezawa explained, “I decided to go for it” as bidding intensified, while Basquiat’s sister Jeanine Basquiat learned of the sale from New Jersey.

Fine art

Rodin's rediscovered Andromede sculpture sells for over 4 million

dw.com

Rodin's rediscovered Andromede sculpture sold for nearly 3.7 million euros (about $4.1 million) at an Artcurial auction in Madrid, following a long period of being kept within a diplomat’s family. The work, created by Auguste Rodin in 1886-87, had been rediscovered and was expected to fetch around 1.2 million euros before selling for over three times that amount.

Fine art

Motherwell Collection Spans Four Sotheby’s Sales

Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s announced a multi-sale dispersal of works from Robert Motherwell and Renate Ponsold Motherwell, beginning with a Max Ernst in the May evening sale and continuing through Modern and Contemporary auctions into the fall.

Fine art

Sotheby’s Launches African Art Sale Amid Market Expansion Debate

Sotheby’s

Ahead of its inaugural Modern and Contemporary African Art sale, Sotheby’s convened dealers, a collector, an artist and a fair founder to assess market growth, international recognition and the need for stronger collecting infrastructure in Africa.

Fine Art

Looking for a particular work?

Share the artist, period, medium, budget, and timing that define your acquisition or sale objective.

Discuss Fine Art