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TAD SMITH IS NEW SOTHEBY’S CEO

Monday, March 16th, 2015

Tad Smith, new ceo at Sotheby’s.

Tad Smith has been named as new President and Chief Executive Officer at Sotheby’s. The 49 year old has been President of the Madison Square Garden Company – a leader in building sports, media and entertainment brands – since February 2014. In this role he oversaw strategy and day to day development at MSG Sports, MSG Media and MSG Entertainment. With a track record of driving revenue and profit growth the new President is said to have a passion for art and collectibles.

Smith replaces William Ruprecht, who served as ceo since 2000. Ruprecht had been under pressure from billionaire activist investor Daniel Loeb last year to cut costs and increase shareholder value. Record auction volumes which brought sales last year to $6.1 million have not returned higher profits, and expenses have increased.

Domenico De Sole, Sotheby’s lead independent director, is replacing Ruprecht as chairman of the board of directors. Smith will also join Sotheby’s board.

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KING WILLIAM AND QUEEN MARY TO RETURN TO HOLLAND

Thursday, February 26th, 2015

Queen Mary and King William.

The Gemeentemuseum in The Hague has acquired two Delft blue and white statues of King William and Queen Mary made around 1690 and displayed at The Winter Antiques Show in New York last month.

They were brought to New York by Aronson Antiquaire of Amsterdam, which had re-united the couple last year in a coup described by Robert Aronson as the most exciting event of his 25 years in the antiques business. The queen was found a year ago, the king surfaced last May in an auction house in France. The story of how they were re-united has already been reported on this website.

At the Winter Antiques Show the asking price was $950,000. Benno Temple of the Gemeentemuseum refused to say the amount paid, but added that there had been a museum discount. They will be displayed in a gallery devoted to Delft Wares at the Gemeentemuseum this spring.

(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for January 22, 2015)

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ALL THINGS IRISH AT CHICAGO’S ART INSTITUTE

Friday, February 20th, 2015

What promises to be a fascinating exhibition of all things Irish opens at the Art Institute of Chicago on St. Patrick’s Day. Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design 1690-1840 – billed as the first exhibition to explore the rich and complex art and culture of Ireland during the 18th century – runs from March 17 to June 7. The show will bring together an Irish selection drawn from right across North America.

The programme of events and lectures around the exhibition will include a concert at Fullerton Hall on March 22 where musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will perform chamber music works by composers who found inspiration in Irish folk tunes and travel in Ireland. Here is a tiny flavour of what is to come. (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for January 11, 2015).

Unknown maker. Armchair, c. 1750. Ireland. Private collection. Photo: Dara McGrath.

John Kirkhoffer. Secretary Cabinet, 1732. Dublin, Ireland. Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Robert Allerton.

Probably made by the Downshire Pottery,Belfast, Ireland. “Stag” Plate with Harp and Shamrock Border, c. 1800–06. Private collection. Photo: jamesfennell.com.

Adam Buck. The Artist and his Family, 1813. Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection.

Robert Woffington (movement). William Moore (probably, casework). Upright Piano, c. 1790. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Gift of the New England Conservatory of Music.

Thomas Roberts. The Sheet of Water at Carton, with the Duke and Duchess of Leinster about to Board a Rowing Boat, 1775–76. Private collection.

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SOTHEBY’S TAKES 25% STAKE IN RM AUCTIONS

Thursday, February 19th, 2015

This 1929 Duesenberg Model J Sport Sedan with coachwork by the Walter M. Murphy Co. made $792,000 at Hersey in Pennsylvania in 2012. Photo Credit Darin Schnabel Courtesy of RM Auctions.

Sotheby’s has taken a 25% stake in RM Auctions, the world’s foremost collector car auctioneer. It will be known as RM Sotheby’s. The investment comes as the more than $2 billion market for the finest automobiles continues to grow. The two companies have collaborated on a number of successful sales in both the United States and Europe.

The first RM Sotheby’s sale will take place in Amelia Island, Florida on March 14, and sales in Fort Worth, Texas, Lake Como, Italy, Monterey, California, London and New York among others scheduled this year.

“Sotheby’s is thrilled to join the clear market leader in this field,” commented Bill Ruprecht, Sotheby’s President, Chairman, and CEO. “RM has established a formidable position that will only be strengthened by this new phase in our relationship. Just last year, RM set a new benchmark for a collector car auction with their flagship Monterey sale totaling more than $140 million”. Rob Myers, chairman and founder of RM Auctions said: “The partnership that has been formed between RM Auctions and Sotheby’s is undoubtedly the most effective way for us to reach the ever-growing worldwide audience of collectors who take a keen interest in the collector car asset class”.

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KIERAN O’BOYLE BECOMES ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AT ADAMS

Tuesday, February 17th, 2015

Kieran O’Boyle.

Kieran O’Boyle has been appointed an associate director at Adams, the Irish art auctioneers and valuers. A graduate of UCD he holds an honours degree in History of Art and Information Studies and a graduate diploma in Business and Information Technology. He joined Adams in 2002 and has been involved in all aspects of the business. He oversees the annual History Sale and the Country House Collections sale at Slane Castle.

He has been Fine Art Department manager at James Adam since 2007 and is an associate member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland.

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BE MINE – SOTHEBY’S UNVEILS THE ULTIMATE DIAMOND

Friday, February 13th, 2015

The 100-carat perfect diamond in a classic emerald-cut UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR $22.1 MILLION.

AN extraordinary 100-carat perfect diamond in a classic emerald-cut was unveiled at Sotheby’s in London today. The remarkable 100.20-carat, D color, Internally Flawless, Type IIa stone will highlight Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auction in New York on April 21. It is estimated at US$19-25 million. Diamonds of this exceptional quality are incredibly rare and considered to be “perfect”. Just five comparable quality diamonds over 100 carats have ever been sold at auction.

This particular example is the largest perfect diamond with a classic Emerald cut ever to be offered at auction. The original rough, weighing over 200 carats, was mined by De Beers in Southern Africa. Gary Schuler, Head of Sotheby’s Jewellery Department in New York, said: “The colour is whiter than white. It is free of any internal imperfections and so transparent that I can only compare it to a pool of icy water. It is the first true emerald cut diamond of over 100 carats to be offered at auction – the most classic of cuts, quietly elegant and very contemporary”.

Since 1990, when Sotheby’s sold the first 100 carat perfect diamond at auction, until the most recent example in 2013, the price per carat has increased from $125,000 to $260,000. The low estimate of $19 million on this stone represents a price per carat of $190,000.

UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR $22.1 MILLION.

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ANTIQUESANDARTIRELAND.COM CONTINUES TO GROW

Thursday, February 5th, 2015

A huge thank you to all our readers. This website continues to go from strength to strength with regular readers from Ireland, the UK, the US, France, the rest of Europe and right around the world. According to Google’s Webmaster Tools the number of hits recorded by antiquesandartireland.com in the month to February 5 exceeded 1.3 million.

Online buying at auction is a global phenomenon which continues to grow. There were bidders from all continents at the record breaking Impressionist and Modern Art sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s in London this week. It is not only art. Everything sells on the internet. eCommerce jewellery grew significantly at Christie’s worldwide in 2014 with over twice as many sales as 2013. Overall Christie’s sold $754.7 million dollars worth of jewellery in 2014, the highest annual result for jewellery at any auction house, with over 430 jewels sold online.

The graphic which illustrates our figures from January 6, 2015 to February 5 2015 is on the left. You can click on the image to enlarge it.

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SOTHEBY’S SCULPTURE SPECIALIST VISITING IRELAND

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2015

THIS Spanish or South French Corpus Christi from a collection in Dublin sold for £278,500.

In Ireland things tend to crop up. “That is an experience that I had personally and Sotheby’s has had over the last few decades” said Sotheby’s specialist Christopher Mason who will be in Dublin on February 4 and 5 to appraise European sculptures and works of art. Sculptures sourced in Ireland achieved strong results at Sotheby’s last year. A life sized masterpiece of a mother and child in terracotta by 19th century French artist Aime-Jules Dalou from Westport House sold for £362,500 and went to the National Gallery in Ottowa; a previously unrecorded marble bust of Homer by Francis Harwood from a private collection here made £242,500 and a late 12th/early 13th century Spanish-South French Corpus Christi from a Dublin private collection sold for £278,500 over a top estimate of £15,000.

Mr. Mason notes a growing eclecticism in the taste of collectors. “Nowadays some of the most exciting collections are formed by a diverse range of objects, with everything from European bronzes to Tribal art. People are drawn to interesting and unusual things in the market, objects of quality and age. Sculpture offers something for everyone”.

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SOLITAIRE DIAMONDS AT O’REILLY’S, FRANCIS ST.

Friday, January 23rd, 2015

The opening sale of 2015 at O’Reilly’s of Francis St. in Dublin features a good selection of diamond solitaire rings and other jewellery, as well as silver and art. The auction will be held on January 28. The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:

An emerald and diamond cluster ring (5,500-6,500).

A Piaget diamond set bangle (2,400-2,800).

A 6.05 carat brilliant cut diamond solitaire ring (60,000-65,000).

An emerald cut 3.31 carat F colour diamond solitaire ring (65,000-75,000).

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IRISH ART AND CULTURE AT ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

Sunday, January 11th, 2015

An exhibition on Irish art and culture during the 18th century is in preparation at the Art Institute of Chicago. Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design 1690-1840, opens on St. Patrick’s Day. It will present 300 objects drawn from public and private collections across North America and will include furniture, decorative arts, paintings, sculpture, architecture, bookbindings, ceramics, glass, furniture, metalwork, musical instruments and textiles.

Organised thematically throughout six galleries – from portraiture to landscapes, from Dublin to the Irish country house – the exhibition will celebrate the Irish as artists, collectors and patrons. It will open on March 17 and run to June 7.

Robert Fagan. Portrait of a Lady as Hibernia, c. 1801. Private Collection. Courtesy Art Institute of Chicago.

John Egan. Portable Harp, c. 1820. The O’Brien Collection. Courtesy Art Institute of Chicago.

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