Justin Sun, the Hong Kong-based crypto entrepreneur, filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court against David Geffen over the Giacometti sculpture Le Nez, claiming it was stolen by a former employee and sold to Geffen. Sun says he bought the piece at Sotheby’s New York in November 2021 for $78.4 million and alleges a scheme to steal and profit from it; Giacometti Committee has confirmed authenticity. Sun also claimed he did not donate or transfer Le Nez to APENFT, though APENFT previously displayed it in blockchain-related exhibitions.
Justin Sun sues megacollector David Geffen over the ownership of Alberto Giacometti’s Le Nez (1947), a $78.4 million sculpture, with Sun claiming rightful ownership. The suit, filed in New York, centers on whether Sun or Geffen owns the work that Sun previously donated or exhibited virtually through ApeNFT and involves Sun’s allegation that the sculpture was misrepresented and transferred without his consent.
The Art Newspaper reports that New York Old Masters auctions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s posted results that were better year over year but below pre-sale expectations. Christie’s New York achieved $19.5 million (or $24.4 million with fees) against a revised pre-sale estimate of $22.2–33.2 million; highlights included Cranach the Elder works and by Pieter Claesz, with notable price outcomes such as Portrait of George the Bearded, Duke of Saxony at $260,000 and Adam and Eve at $1.65 million. A Cranach the Elder piece, Hercules and Omphale, sold for $1.5 million against a $1–2 million estimate.
The Art Institute of Chicago receives a large gift of French art from Jeffrey and Carol Horvitz, including works by François Boucher, Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Théodore Géricault, and Charles Le Brun, along with pieces by women artists such as Marie-Gabrielle Capet, Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, Anne Vallayer Coster, and Élisabeth Vigée Lebrun. The collection spans from the 1500s to the 1800s and includes nearly 2,000 drawings, 200 paintings, and 50 sculptures, with financial support to aid care, accessibility, and programming across the museum’s French holdings.
Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 owns Banksy’s Crude Oil (Vettriano), which is being sold by Sotheby’s in London with an estimate up to £5 million ($6.3 million); some proceeds will aid victims of the Los Angeles wildfires. The work is based on The Singing Butler by Jack Vettriano and is part of a 2005 series that satirizes famous paintings.
Egon Schiele’s Knabe in Matrosenanzug (Boy in a Sailor Suit), 1914, is offered at Christie’s London Evening Sale as a highlight of the 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale on 5 March 2025, with an estimate of £1,000,000 – 1,500,000. The work is part of the Fritz Grünbaum collection and is being offered following a restitution agreement.
Len Riggio’s collection heads to auction in New York with an estimated value over $200 million. Christie’s has won the sale featuring top works by Piet Mondrian, René Magritte, and Pablo Picasso, driven by the collector’s widow Louise Riggio. The collection is tied to the Dia Art Foundation founder and Barnes & Noble founder Len Riggio, who died last year.
Egon Schiele's Häuser Mit Bunter Wäsche (Vorstadt II) Houses With Laundry (Suburb II) (1914) sold for $39.62m (£24.68m) at Sotheby's in London on June 22, 2011, setting a new auction record for Schiele. The painting had previously traded multiple times, and a prior Schiele record was $20m achieved at Christie's in New York in 2006 for Einzelne Häuser (Häuser Mit Bergen) (recto); Mönch I (fragment; Verso).
Egon Schiele watercolor Boy in a Sailor Suit (1914) is set to be sold at Christie’s in London with a low estimate of $1.3 million as part of the 20th and 21st centuries auctions, following a settlement related to Fritz Grünbaum’s heirs. The Schiele work is among roughly 80 pieces from Grünbaum’s collection that were seized by the Nazis; Grünbaum was killed in Dachau in 1941 and his wife in 1942. Timothy Reif and David Fraenkel have pursued restitution for Sturm’s looted collection, leading to settlements with several institutions, while the Art Institute of Chicago disputes ownership claims to another Schiele work in its collection.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art repatriated a 7th-century bronze head donated by a former trustee to Greece after reviewing provenance records. The piece, likely illegally removed from Olympia, was officially handed to Greece’s Culture Minister Lina Mendoni in New York, with a loan agreement allowing the head to be exhibited at the Met next year.
Victor Gordon’s painting Fantasize, Go All The Way (1986–1989) was acquired by the Apartheid Museum, donated jointly by the artist and his niece Dr Julie Kimber, for permanent display. The work joins other anti-Apartheid works by William Kentridge, Diane Victor, Paul Stopforth and Gavin Younge; the museum notes it as a significant piece in its collection.
Christie’s with Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity presents BUILD IT, BEAT IT, a charitable arts initiative featuring 29 artworks by 28 artists, to be auctioned at the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale on 6 March 2025 to raise funds for a new Children’s Cancer Centre at GOSH.
Rene Magritte, L’empire des lumières (1949) is discussed in relation to a new work from the same series consigned by Louise Riggio. The piece previously sold for $34.9 million in 2023 and is expected to fetch over $30 million at Christie’s in the upcoming May sale. The article notes Magritte’s market position, including a 2024-2025 peak with a $121.2 million Magritte record and related sales.
Joan Mitchell's untitled oil painting sold for nearly $4 million at Sotheby’s mid-season Contemporary Curated sale in New York on February 26, with the overall result of $19.88 million including fees. The sale had 101 lots, 21 unsold, and six withdrawals, for a sell-through rate of 73.3 percent, down from the previous year’s 276 lots and $25.7 million with fees; bids came from more than 40 countries.
The Art Newspaper reports that Van Gogh’s drawing of the Public Garden in Arles will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in London on 4 March with an estimate of £2m-£3m. The work includes what is believed to be the artist's fingerprint in the lower-right corner and a pencil inscription on the reverse referencing a 1894 lending. The article attributes the fingerprint to Van Gogh and discusses provenance details from Sotheby’s catalogue and subsequent examination.
Sotheby’s reports on The Saunders Collection – First Ever $100m Collection of Old Masters to Come to Auction | Press Release. Its source account states that the Saunders Collection – First Ever $100m Collection of Old Masters to Come to Auction | Press Release | Sotheby’s.
Christie’s examines PHILLIPS PRESENTS A SERIES OF AUCTIONS AND SELLING EXHIBITIONS DURING HONG KONG ART WEEK IN MARCH and its significance for artists, collectors, institutions, or the art market.
From a René Lalique chandelier to iconic lamps by Tiffany Studios, these works by celebrated designers will illuminate, and elevate, any room. Offered in Christie’s Modern Collector sale this month
Works by leading figures of Modernism and Post-War art exist in a rich dialogue that spans movements and media in this panoramic and personal collection. Leonard & Louise Riggio: Collected Works comes to Christie’s New York as a single owner evening sale as part of the 20th and 21st Century Art auction series in May
Christie’s examines PHILLIPS TO OFFER COLOR VISION: MASTER PRINTS FROM GUY STRICHERZ AND IRENE MALLI, INCLUDING THE MOST DEFINITIVE GROUP OF WILLIAM EGGLESTON’S WORK TO APPEAR AT AUCTION and its significance for artists, collectors, institutions, or the art market.
One of the most creatively fulfilling relationships of Magritte’s life was with his fellow Belgian Surrealist, dubbed ‘the Don Juan of words’. This 1933 painting of a small man floating on an orb is part metaphysical enquiry and part testimony to a bond that was destined to fracture all too soon
The French designer is a master of creating striking pieces that complement collectors’ art and objects without overpowering them. A selection of magnificent pieces come to Christie’s New York this February
Sotheby’s reports on Sotheby’s Inaugural Auction in Diriyah Achieves $17M | Contemporary Art. Its source account states that sotheby’s Inaugural Auction in Diriyah Achieves $17M | Contemporary Art | Sotheby’s.