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  • Archive for November, 2010

    SOTHEBY’S MODIGLIANI MAKES RECORD $68.9 MILLION

    Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010

    Modigliani's La Belle Romaine made 68.9 million dollars at Sotheby's, a new record for the artist. (click on image to enlarge)

    Amedeo Modigliani’s Nu assis sur un divan (La Belle Romaine)  made $68,962,500 at Sotheby’s.  This is a new world record.  It was achieved at the sale of Impressionist and Modern Art in New York on November 2. The sale brought in  $227.6 million (€162 million).  This was within the pre-sale estimate of $195/266 million.

    The sale was led by Modigliani’s Nu assis sur un divan. This new record for Modigliani was over over four times the price realized when it was sold at Sotheby’s in 1999 for a then record $16.8 million. There was bidding from all over the world, including Asia, Europe, Russia and the United States.  It was chased by five different bidders and there were multiple bidders on most of the major lots.

    Four works were sold for more than $15 million and 38 sold for over $1 million.

    Le Bassin aux Nymphéa from Claude Monet’s water lilies series made $24,722,500 and Jeanne Hébuterne, one of the first portraits Amedeo Modigliani painted of his great love, sold for $19,122,500.  Both paintings were sold to benefit YoungArts, the Core Program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.

    WHYTE’S ROOSEVELT LETTER

    Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010

    Whyte’s history, literature and collectibles sale in Dublin on November 13 features an interesting collection of letters and ephemera relating to Frederick Wallingford Whitridge, American envoy to the wedding of King Alfonso and Princess Ena of Battenberg, a niece of King Edward VII of Great Britain, and granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

    It includes an official appointment document signed by President Theodore Roosevelt and dated April 25, 1906.  This nominates him as: “Ambassador Extraordinary of the United States of America on Special Mission as the representative of the United States government on the occasion of the wedding of King Alphonso XIII of Spain in June 1906″.

    Other documents include a letter by Secretary of State Elihu Root, transmitting the commission to Whitridge and referring to a letter from President Roosevelt to be presented to the King of Spain by Whitridge.
    There are two typed letters on White House notepaper dated April 9 and 26, 1906 respectively: a congratulatory letter and the second refers to the enclosure of two letters from Roosevelt to King Edward VII of England and the German Emperor; there is a report of the mission which includes details of an attempt to assassinate King Alfonso when a bomb was thrown as the Royal Carriage passed.  This refers to the numbers killed and wounded.
    The collection of 22 items is estimated at 1,000-1,500 euro.
    UPDATE:  IT WAS LEFT UNSOLD

    ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM AT MoMA

    Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

    Abstract Expressionist New York, at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) until April 25, 2011, is drawn  entirely from the Museum’s vast holdings. Abstract Expressionist New York underscores the achievements of a generation that catapulted New York City to the center of the international art world during the 1950s, and left as its legacy some of the twentieth century’s greatest masterpieces. Galleries on the fourth floor present Abstract Expressionist paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, films, and archival materials in a display subtitled The Big Picture, marking the first time in the history of the new Museum building that a full floor has been devoted to a single theme.  In this video, Ann Temkin, MoMA curator, takes us through the context.

    TITIAN MASTERWORK AT SOTHEBY’S

    Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

    Titian, A Sacra Conversazione to be sold at Sotheby's in New York in January 2011. (click on image to enlarge)

    A monumental Titian features at Sotheby’s sale of Important Old Master Paintings in New York on January 27, 2011.  A Sacra Conversazione:  The Madonna and Child with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria is one of only a handful of multi-figured compositions by the Venetian Renaissance master in private hands. Painted circa 1560 this is a mature work from a time when Titian was being courted by monarchs and emperors.

    Historically referred to as ‘The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine’, the present canvas’s subject lies within the more traditional representation of a ‘sacra conversazione’, a holy conversation between the Madonna and Child and the saints.  There is a remarkable provenance.  In nearly 500 years it has only changed hands five times moving from one illustrious private European collection to another and rarely appearing in public at exhibition or at auction. It has not been seen in public since the late 1970’s and Sotheby’s say it is the most important Titian to appear at auction since 1991.
    It is estimated to sell for  $15/20 million.
    UPDATE:  IT sold for $16,882,500

    CHRISTIE’S TO SELL YEATS FROM GRAHAM GREENE COLLECTION

    Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

    A horseman enters a town at night by Jack B. Yeats, owned by the novelist Graham Greene, will feature at Christie's sale of British and Irish art in London on November 11. UPDATE: IT MADE £349,250 AND WAS SOLD TO A EUROPEAN PRIVATE BUYER.

    The Christie’s sale of British and Irish art at King St. in London on November 11 features two works

    Man in a room thinking by Jack B. Yeats from the Christie's sale in London on November 11. UPDATE: IT MADE 77,560 Euro

    by Jack B. Yeats from the collection of the novelist Graham Greene. The estimate for A horseman enters a town at night is, at £300,00-£500,000, perhaps a little on the ambitious side.  It is a dark work painted in 1948, the year after the death of the artists wife Cottie.  A horseman enters a town at night shows a weary traveller, slumped on his steed, walking through an empty street perhaps in search of an inn before continuing his journey in the morning. It was sold through Leo Smith in 1949 to Graham Greene in Paris.

    The second Yeats work in the sale, Man in a Room Thinking, dates from 1947. It is estimated at £30,000-£50,000.  According to a note in Christie’s catalogue the Model Museum, Sligo, requests that the purchaser of this work allow its inclusion in a major exhibition of the artist’s work to take place between February and April 2011.

    The 143 lot sale, headlined by works by L.S. Lowry, a much loved British artist whose parents were Irish, features works by Augustus John, William Scott, Sean Scully, Markey Robinson, Sir John Lavery and George Campbell.

    The sale realised £9,897,625 and was 93% sold by value and 79% sold by lot.  The top lot was a 1928 work by L.S. Lowry which realised £713,250.


    MARSHS SALE FEATURES UNUSUAL LOTS

    Monday, November 1st, 2010

    A pair of cast metal Chinese lions to be sold at Marshs estimated at 1,000-2,000. (click to enlarge) UPDATE: SOLD FOR 1,000

    A pair of Fereghan horses to be sold at Marshs, Cork on November 6. (click on image to enlarge) UPDATE: SOLD FOR 1,400

    The Marshs antique and art auction in Cork on Saturday November 6 at 12 noon

    A view of the Middle Lake, Killarney by Patrick Duffy (5,000-6,000) at Marshs on November 6. (click to enlarge) UPDATE; IT WAS UNSOLD

    will feature contents from the estate of the late Denis and Hilda Cullinane of Verdon House, Summerhill, Cork. There is a rare oil on canvas of the River Lee and Carrigrohane Castle signed W.H. Brennan and dated 1900  (3,000-4,000), a 1780 Cork clock by John Montjoy (5,000-6,000), a view of the Middle Lake, Killarney by Patrick Duffy (5,000-6,000).

    Among the more unusual lots on offer at this sale are a pair of five foot high Blackamoor figures, a pair of cast metal Chinese lions, a pair of painted metal figures of Renaissance style men carrying lamps, each 5’6″ tall, a pair of Chinese Fereghan horses (1,500-2,000) and a 40″ high figure of Napoleon which auctioneer Hugh McPhillips reckons will make 300-500.

    These painted metal figures in the Renaissance style, each 5'6" tall, feature in the Marshs sale in Cork on November 6. UPDATE; SOLD FOR 1,000

    A 40" high figure of Napoleon, estimated at 300-500. UPDATE. SOLD FOR 400

    This pair of Blackamoor figures is estimated at 800-1,000. UPDATE SOLD FOR 1,000

    CHRISTIE’S SPECTACULAR NEW YORK ART LINE UP

    Monday, November 1st, 2010

    Christie’s expects to achieve more than $500 million in a series of sales in New York in the first fortnight of November.  A total of 850 works will be offered in Impressionist, Modern, Post-War and Contemporary art in a spectacular line up of sales that includes museum quality works from the greatest artists.

    Auctions get underway with the evening sale of 85 works of Impressionist and Modern Art on Wednesday, November 3.  The global art market has exhibited depth and resilience.  Huge competition is expected for important works from masters including Juan Gris, Henri Matisse, Fernand Léger, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol  and Gerhard Richter.