Monthly archive
17 headlines
Source-linked reporting
artforum.com
Fifteen stolen paintings and drawings by Georg Baselitz, totaling about $2.9 million, were recovered from a man arrested in Germany after he attempted to sell the works following a trip abroad. The names of the three men involved have not been released due to German privacy laws; prosecutors said they were employed in the shipping industry.
press.christies.com
Francis Bacon’s Head with Raised Arm (1955) with an estimated £7,000,000 – £10,000,000 is unveiled for the first time in over 50 years as part of Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction during Frieze Week in London. The work last exhibited in 1962 in Turin and is connected to Pope Pius XII portraits within Bacon’s oeuvre.
news.artnet.com
Georg Baselitz paintings worth €2.5 million ($2.97 million) were recovered by German authorities in Munich. A 39-year-old man from Düsseldorf is accused of stealing the works between June 2015 and March 2016; two additional suspects, a 51-year-old man and his 26-year-old son, are accused of attempting to sell the pieces.
theguardian.com
Jean-Michel Basquiat is the focus of a Guardian article titled Race, power, money – the art of Jean-Michel Basquiat. The piece discusses Basquiat’s rise from graffiti artist SAMO to a marketable art star, his background, and the enduring relevance of his work, including references to his private and public personas and the collectors who elevated his profile.
artnews.com
Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani is listed as a top collector from Doha, Qatar, with philanthropy as chairperson of Qatar Museums. The profile notes her acquisitions focus on Western modern and contemporary art, with mentions of Damien Hirst, Richard Serra, Jeff Koons, and Andy Warhol, and cites notable purchases including Cézanne’s The Card Players (2012), Mark Rothko’s White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender) (2007), and Andy Warhol’s The Men in Her Life (2010). It also references the Qatar Museums Authority and institutions like Mathaf and the Islamic Museum of Art.
einpresswire.com
Artworks attributed to Jean Dubuffet and Vincent van Gogh are highlighted in Woodshed Art Auctions' Prestige Collection sale, ending September 20. The pieces include an oil on Masonite attributed to Dubuffet titled Le Voyageur and a pen and brown ink drawing by Van Gogh titled Landscape with Haystacks, each with estimated prices of $80,000-$120,000 and $80,000-$100,000 respectively.
artnews.com
Maezawa’s World mentions Yusaku Maezawa purchasing Jean-Michel Basquiat for over $110 million at Sotheby’s on May 18, 2017, setting an auction record for Basquiat. It notes Maezawa’s rise in the collecting world and references his Instagram post and shared ethos with Basquiat, including mutual admiration of their identities and lifestyles.
auctionpublicity.com
Two artworks are highlighted: an oil on Masonite attributed to Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985) titled Le Voyageur, with an estimated 80,000-120,000 USD, and a pen and brown ink drawing attributed to Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) titled Landscape with Haystacks, estimated 80,000-100,000 USD. The sale is Woodshed Art Auctions’ online Prestige Collection ending September 20, with bidding online via Invaluable and viewing at woodshedartauctions.com.
theartnewspaper.com
The Art Newspaper reports that the UK government will extend its Nazi-era spoliation powers indefinitely by introducing new legislation, likely next year, allowing national museums to restitute looted or forced-sale objects from 1933-45. The current temporary power under the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009 expires in 2019. The conference at the National Gallery announced the change, with involvement of bodies handling 1933-45 claims and the Commission for Looted Art in Europe; notable cases include Constable’s Beaching a Boat, Brighton (1824), restituted by Tate in 2015 and later sold at Christie’s for £665,000.
straitstimes.com
Zao Wou-ki's painting "24.12.2002 - Diptyque" sold for 33.6 million yuan at Christie’s Shanghai, part of a nearly 20 million dollar art sale. The work is by Zao Wou-ki, a Chinese-French painter who was born in Beijing, moved to Paris in 1948, and died in 2013 at age 93.
telegraph.co.uk
Elvis Presley’s publisher Julian Abrahams (spelled in page incorrectly as likely) is the source behind treasures by Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso that are going up for auction; the article is on The Telegraph’s Luxury/Lifestyle section. No specific monetary amounts are stated in the provided text excerpt.
news.artnet.com
Eileen Kinsella reports that the Manhattan District Attorney argues the 2,300-year-old bull head on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art should be returned to Lebanon, with Matthew Bogdanos submitting a 68-page filing to the New York State Supreme Court. The Beierwaltes, who sold the head to Michael Steinhardt, are contesting ownership, claiming title and clean hands.
press.christies.com
René Magritte’s L’empire des lumières, 1949 is highlighted in Christie’s November Evening Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art with an estimated range of $14-18 million. The work, from a private collection and first owned by Nelson A. Rockefeller, will be offered at auction and will be on public view at Christie’s Hong Kong from 28 September to 3 October.
bloomberg.com
Jean-Michel Basquiat artwork from Yoko Ono’s collection, titled Cabra, may fetch as much as $12 million at Sotheby’s in New York on November 16.
theartnewspaper.com
Matisse’s heirs claim two cut-outs, White Palm on Red and Green Snail on Blue, worth a combined $4.5m, disappeared while in storage. The case, brought by a Hong Kong- and Panama-based company against Matisse’s family, involves Sotheby’s and questions provenance and market integrity.
Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s set more than 250 works from Jerome and Ellen Stern for auctions running from November 2017 to March 2018, led by David Smith’s Voltri Bolton X at $6–8 million and Marlene Dumas’s Magdalena at $3–4 million.
Christie’s
Christie’s scheduled more than 560 lots from Paul F. Walter across two live sales and an online auction, with works on paper, early photography, prints and furniture expected to exceed $4.5 million.