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    SOTHEBY’S CONTEMPORARY ART TOTALS $222,454,500

    Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

    Sotheby’s November 9 evening sale of Contemporary Art in New York totaled $222,454,500, well ahead of the high estimate of $214 million. There were five new artist records. Highlights were Coca-Cola [4] Large Coca-Cola by Andy Warhol, which made $35,362,500 (estimate $20/25 million), and Mark Rothko’s Untitled from 1955, which made $22,482,500. Six works sold for more than $10 million and almost half the works sold achieved prices in excess of the high estimate. This was a very strong result for the market.

    HONE MINIATURE OF MRS. SIDDONS AT BONHAMS

    Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

    Horace Hone's miniature of Mrs. Siddons

    A portrait miniature by the Irish artist Horace Hone of Sarah Siddons the best known tragedienne of the 18th century will be offered by Bonhams in the Fine Portrait Miniature sale taking place in Knightsbridge on November 24. The portrait miniature by Horace Hone (1756-1825) was painted at the height of her career on Drury Lane. A member of the famous Dublin family of artists Horace Hone received his early training from his father Nathaniel Hone the Elder.

    According to Bonhams this miniature can be compared with another portrait by Hone of the previous year now in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland. Painted during Siddons’ second visit to Dublin, it is one of the earliest known portraits of the tragic actress and one of the most recognisable, having subsequently been engraved by Francesco Bartolozzi. The Mrs. Siddons portrait is estimated to make £6,000 – 8,000.

    UPDATE:  It sold for £12,600.

    MATISSE BRONZE LEADS AT CHRISTIE’S

    Thursday, November 4th, 2010

    Matisse’s monumental bronze sculpture of a woman’s back made $48.8 million at Christie’s in New York on November 3 well above its $35 million high estimate.  This was a new record for the artist.

    It was bought by dealer Larry Gagosian for a client he did not name.

    The sale, strongest for quality items, brought $231.4 million against an estimate of $199 million to $287 million. Of the 84 works on offer, 67 sold.

    A 1913 Cublist painting by Juan Gris, “Violin and Guitar.” made $28.6 million, a record auction price.

    See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for October 5 and November 1.


    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.

    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.


    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.

    BANK OF IRELAND ART AT GLUCKSMAN

    Sunday, October 31st, 2010

    This is a video of highlights from the Bank of Ireland art collection to be sold at James Adam in Dublin on November 24 on view at the Glucksman Gallery in Cork in late October.  See antiquesandartireland.com posts for October 20 and October 13.

    CHRISTIE’S MUSEUM QUALITY ART TO BRING IN $240 million

    Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
    Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary art evening sale in New York on November 10 includes acclaimed masterpieces by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jeff Koons and Mark Rothko as well as one of the finest examples from Gerhard Richter’s revered Candle Paintings Series. Christie’s will sell  the major estates on offer this season —the collections of computing pioneer Max Palevsky, actor Dennis Hopper, gallerist and taste-maker Robert Shapazian and philanthropic art collector Nancy Epstein. This auction is estimated to realize upwards of $240 million.
    “This sale contains the high quality, rarity and provenance that creates fireworks at auction,”  Robert Manley of Christie’s New York remarked.
    “Collectors are vying for the best works by the major artists of the last sixty years and Christie’s evening sale is loaded with museum masterpieces.”