Monthly archive
22 headlines
Source-linked reporting
wandsworthguardian.co.uk
Amanda Feilding, Countess of Wemyss and March, and James Charteris, Earl of Wemyss and March, were involved in a High Court case against Simon C Dickinson Limited over a painting attributed to Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin. Judge Simon Gleeson ruled there was no negligence in the handling of the sale, which had secured £1 million initially and was later resold for millions more.
usaartnews.com
The first evening sale of 20th-century and contemporary art held under Phillips and Yongle achieved HK$262 million ($33.6 million, including fees). The sale was led by Gerhard Richter, followed by Yoshitomo Nara and Yayoi Kusama; four artist records were set. The session had a high sell-through rate compared with Christie’s Hong Kong, but overall presale estimates and prior auction totals provide context for performance.
upi.com
Poland’s Ministry of Culture and Natural Heritage said it will pursue legal action to recover Wassily Kandinsky's watercolor Composition, which was believed stolen from Warsaw’s National Museum and sold at the Grisebach auction for $408,328.
news.artnet.com
The High Court cleared London art dealer Simon Dickinson of negligence after an aristocratic family alleged he sold their 18th-century Chardin painting for less than its resale value months later. The painting involved is Le Bénédicité (Saying Grace) by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, with several known versions; Dickinson previously sold the work to Verner Amell in 2014 for £1.15 million, and it later resold to Michel David-Weill in 2015 for significantly more.
seegreatart.art
Luca Giordano, Italian, 1634-1705, The Triumph of Galatea, about 1675. Oil on canvas, 98 7/8 × 118 7/8 in., Dallas Museum of Art, Marguerite and Robert Hoffman Fund, 2022.67.
news.artnet.com
François-Xavier Lalanne, 'Âne Planté' (2000) is highlighted as the top lot at Christie's December 7 sale in Rockefeller Center, raising $8,405,000 for that piece and contributing to a total sale of $77,043,008. The event, Sculpting Paradise: The Collection of Marie Lalanne, was the first dedicated Lalanne sale in the United States, featuring works by Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne.
artworldnotes.com
Paul Cezanne's La Montagne Sainte-Victoire sold for $138 million (including fees) at Christie’s New York in an auction of works from Paul Allen’s collection. The painting, created circa 1888–1890, was offered with a guarantee and hammered at $120 million, selling to a sole telephone bidder for $138 million with fees.
usaartnews.com
Sotheby’s reported that art and luxury sales reached $6.4 billion as of December 14, 2022, down seven percent from the previous year. The house projects a total near $8 billion for 2022 and notes anticipated gains from RM Sotheby’s and Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions, plus $120 million in luxury sales before year end; private sales were higher in 2021 at about $1.3 billion.
hauserwirth.com
The Met receives a 220-work promised gift from Musa Mayer, including works by Philip Guston, with 96 paintings and 124 drawings spanning 1930 to 1980. The gift positions the Met as the largest repository of Guston works and includes a $10 million gift from Musa and Thomas Mayer.
usaartnews.com
The descendants of Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy sue Sompo Holdings over Sunflowers (1888) by Vincent van Gogh, alleging it was acquired under Nazi coercion; Sompo disputes the claims and says Sunflowers has been displayed in its Tokyo museum since purchase in 1987 for $39.9 million. The heirs’ complaint describes the transfer as coerced under Nazi threats and economic pressure.
salonprivemag.com
The Christie’s sale Sculpting Paradise: The Collection of Marie Lalanne achieved $77,043,008, with 18 works selling for over $1 million. The top lot was Ané Planté selling for $8,405,000, followed by Les Trois Grands Moutons de Peter at $6,300,000 and Grand Requin, La Grande Ourse at $3,660,000.
news.artnet.com
Vincent van Gogh’s 1889 painting La cueillette des olives (Olive Picking) is at the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation in Athens after being sold in 1972. The heirs of Hedwig Stern allege the Met Museum of Art in New York and the Goulandris Foundation should return the work, asserting it was looted by the Nazis; the lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of California.
theartnewspaper.com
The Art Newspaper reports that Christie’s achieved $8.4bn in sales for 2022, including $7.2bn in auction sales and $1.2bn in private sales, driven by single-owner collections and a growing millennial buyer base. Notable highlights include the Paul G. Allen Collection sale reaching $1.6bn and a 21% rise in 20th and 21st century art sales to $6.2bn.
theartnewspaper.com
The heirs of Hedwig Stern sue the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation over Vincent van Gogh, La cueillette des olives (1889), alleging provenance issues and concealment of its acquisition history. The painting was allegedly acquired by the Met in 1956 and deaccessioned in 1972, with further questions raised by the Goulandris Foundation's provenance records.
artnews.com
The article reports that the heirs of Hedwig Stern, a Jewish collector, are suing the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation in Athens over Vincent van Gogh's 1889 painting Olive Picking (La cueillette des olives), which is allegedly Nazi-looted and was sold around 1972 without Stern’s knowledge. The painting is currently on view at the Athens museum operated by the Goulandris Foundation. The suit details that the work was confiscated by the Third Reich and later sold, with the Met purchasing it from Knoedler Gallery in 1956.
usaartnews.com
The heirs of Hedwig Stern sue the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation over a Vincent van Gogh painting, La cueillette des olives (The Olive Picking, 1889). The suit claims the Met acquired the work in 1956 and secretly deaccessioned and sold it in 1972 to avoid restitution claims; the painting is now at the Goulandris Foundation in Athens. The plaintiffs assert provenance problems and allege Nazi-era dispossession, with the painting valued by the complaint at more than $75,000.
news.artnet.com
Artnet News reports that MoMA in New York and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in California are facing lawsuits from heirs of Fritz Grünbaum, a Holocaust victim, seeking the return of Schiele works including Prostitute (1912) at MoMA and Portrait of the Artist’s Wife (1915) at SBMA; the lawsuits allege Nazi-era seizures and coercive transfers tied to Grünbaum’s assets, with prior restitution attempts noted.
usaartnews.com
Egon Schiele artworks are being sought for restitution by heirs Timothy Reif and David Fraenkel, targeting MoMA in New York and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in California. The lawsuits concern Schiele works Prostitute (1912) at MoMA and Portrait of the Artist’s Wife (1915) at SBMA, tied to Fritz Grünbaum’s Nazi-era confiscation and the accompanying ownership documents.
artnews.com
Art collector and gallery owner Cliff Schorer might own a genuine Rembrandt head study titled Bredius 262, last seen in 1935, potentially worth $10 million or more. Schorer purchased the painting for $288,000 and is pursuing authentication, provenance, and expert consensus to prove ownership.
businessjournaldaily.com
Pierre Soulages is the artist behind the mural. The mural, previously at The Medici Museum of Art in Howland, is to be moved to The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown after the Ohio Supreme Court declined to hear Medici's appeal. The decision ends the ownership dispute and the mural will be transported and displayed at its new location later this year.
Christie’s
Christie’s documents the market development behind ["CHRISTIE’S GLOBAL SALES REACH $8.4B IN 2022 HIGHEST ANNUAL SALES TOTAL IN ART MARKET HISTORY - Christie's", 'CHRISTIE’S GLOBAL SALES REACH $8.4B IN 2022 HIGHEST ANNUAL SALES TOTAL IN ART MARKET HISTORY']. Its account reports that “In 2022, despite a challenging macro-environment, Christie’s has achieved our highest ever global sales.
Christie’s
Christie’s documents the market development behind ["ANNUAL TOTAL FOR THE 20TH / 21ST CENTURY ART CATEGORY IN ASIA: HK$3,391,274,680 / US$436,175,574 - Christie's", 'ANNUAL TOTAL FOR THE 20TH / 21ST CENTURY ART CATEGORY IN ASIA: HK$3,391,274,680 / US$436,175,574']. Its account reports that the top lot of Christie’s Hong Kong Autumn Auctions, Untitled by American female artist Joan Mitchell, achieved HK$83,350,000 / US$10,720,227, and marked the first time the artist was presented at auction at Christie’s Asia.