antiquesandartireland.com

PRICES for Irish art at auction remain on the low side so there is plenty to tempt bargain hunters at Whyte’s first sale of 2012.  The catalogue for Whyte’s sale on March 12, which will take place  in Clyde Hall at the RDS, lists 271 lots.  On the Courthouse Steps by Jack B. Yeats shows a vagrant resting on the steps of Naas Courthouse in Co. Kildare, his casual appearance in marked contrast to the classical formality of the building.  The most expensively estimated lot in the sale is expected to make 90,000-120,000.

This is Whyte’s first sale of 2012.  It contains work by a broad cross section of Irish artists, north and south.  There is as well a work by Charles Edward Perugini, an Italian born British artist who married Charles Dickens daughter Kate in 1873.  His Lovers in a Garden is estimated at 50,000-70,000.  (UPDATE – IT MADE 48,000 in a sale that was over 70 per cent sold).  The catalogue for the sale is on-line. Here is a small selection:

Jack Butler Yeats RHA (1871-1957) ON THE COURTHOUSE STEPS, 1946 (90,000-120,000) in orginal hand carved Waddington frame. Click on image to enlarge. UPDATE: THIS MADE 88,000.

James Humbert Craig RHA RUA (1877-1944) OWEN CARA, COUNTY DONEGAL, c.1926 (3,000-5,000). Click on image to enlarge. UPDATE: THIS MADE 6,400.

Thomas Snagg (1746-1812) VIEW OF CLONTARF CASTLE, 1805 (5,000-7,000). Click on image to enlarge. UPDATE: THIS MADE 9,000.

Markey Robinson (1918-1999) THE GREEN DOOR, CONNEMARA (500-700). Click on image to enlarge. UPDATE: THIS MADE 700.

Zhang Daqian’s Self-Portrait in the Yellow Mountains made US$6 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong in October 2011. (Click on image to enlarge).

The most expensive painting sold at auction in 2011 was Qi Baishi's Eagle Standing on Pine Tree; Four-Character Couplet in Seal Script.

The year 2011 saw Zhang Daqian take the number one spot and the art market achieve an absolute record of  $11.5 billion dollars in global art auction revenue. Artprice’s global ranking of artist’s by auction revenue showed six of the top ten selling artists were Chinese. The best result of the year, $57.2 million, was achieved by Qi Baishi whose Eagle Standing on Pine Tree; Four-Character Couplet in Seal Script sold in Beijing last May.  Strong growth was sustained throughout 2011, a year in which art sold better than at any other time in history. This followed on a 2010 which produced the best performance of the decade.

The Chinese market grew 49 per cent in 2011 but leading European markets grew too: +24% in the UK ($2.24 billion in 2011 vs. $1.81 billion in 2010), +9% in France  ($521 million vs. $478 million in 2010) and +23% in Germany ($213.9 million vs. $174 in 2010). In the Top 5 market places,  only the USA contracted with a revenue total of $2.72B, down 3% vs. 2010.  Artprice figures showed the global art auction market generated 21% more than in 2010. Compared with 2010, Modern art added $1.2B, Post-war art added $372m, Contemporary art added $291m, Old Masters added $124 million and 19th century art posted an increase of $43 million.

The top ten selling artists at auction in 2011 were: 1. Zhang Daqian (1899-1983) – $550m; 2. Qi Baishi (1864-1957) – $510m; 3. Andy Warhol (1928-1987) – $325m; 4. Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) – $315m; 5. Xu Beihong (1895-1953) – $220m; 6. Wu Guanzhong (1919-2010) – $212m; 7. Fu Baoshi (1904-1965) – $198m; 8. Gerhard Richter (1932) – $175m; 9. Francis Bacon (1909-1992) – $129m and 10. Li Keran (1907-1989) – $115m.

(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for April 7, 2011)

Roy Lichtenstein Sleeping Girl 1964 at Sotheby's New York. UPDATE: IT sold for $44,882,500

Roy Lichtenstein’s Sleeping Girl from 1964  is a highlight of Sotheby’s sale of contemporary art in New York next May 9. The Pop Art masterpiece is one of the high points of the artist’s comic book inspired paintings and an icon of Post-War American art. Paintings from the series are in major museums around the world including MoMA, New York. This work has remained in the private hands for the past 48 years.

“Sleeping Girl is one of the great masterpieces of the 20th century, counting iconic depictions of women by Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brancusi and Amedeo Modigliani among its peers,” commented Tobias Meyer, Sotheby’s worldwide head of contemporary art. “Lichtenstein’s ‘girls’ are arguably his most desirable works today and Sleeping Girl has been coveted since it was acquired in 1964, the year it was painted.  It is astonishingly fresh and vibrant, as if it were painted yesterday.” Prior to auction it will be shown in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, London and New York and is estimated at $30/40 million.

It was purchased by noted West Coast collectors and philanthropists Beatrice and Phillip Gersh, from the Ferus Gallery in 1964. The Gershes were founding members of The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles (MOCA). Contemporary works by artists including Mark di Suvero, Susan Rothenberg, Tony Cragg and Kiki Smith will be offered from the Gersh collection at Sotheby’s this spring.