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This painting – made and signed by all four Beatles – sold for $1,744,000 at Christie’s Exceptional Sale in New York. This is one of the highest sums ever paid for a piece of Beatles memorabilia. The sale of the best in decorative and applied arts, works of historic importance and iconic objects of pop culture brought in $6.7 million with bidding from around the globe. A 1965 Gretsch Chet Atkins country gentleman hollow body electric guitar once owned by Elvis Presley sold for $302,400.
An unknown masterpiece by Andre Derain and a pivotal work in the history of the Fauves movement comes up at Christie’s in Paris on April 9. Directly from the collection of Catalan painter Etienne Terrus, who hosted André Derain and Henri Matisse in Collioure during the summer of 1905, Matisse and Terrus marks the friendship between these three founding figures of Fauvism. The painting holds particular significance in Derain’s oeuvre from Collioure, for more than its portrayal of tripartite friendship. At the 1905 Salon d’Automne in Paris, its bold style and vivid fauvist palette were described as “an orgy of pure tones” giving official birth to one of the major modern art movements. Captivated by light and colors, Derain gradually eschews lines, and separates color from its descriptive, representational purpose, allowing it to exist on the canvas as an independent and focal element. These thick, sweeping strokes of pure pigment, filled with sensual vitality epitomize the breakthrough towards modernity. Estimated at €2 – €3 million it will highlight the ART IMPRESSIONISTE & MODERNE – ŒUVRES CHOISIES sale.
The Mark Knopfler guitar collection brought in £8,840,160 at Christie’s in London last night. Bidders registered from 61 countries, new auction records were set and the top lot was his vintage 1959 Les Paul Standard which realised £693,000 setting a new world auction record for the model. The collection of the celebrated singer-songwriter, guitar hero and frontman of the iconic British band, Dire Straits aroused phenomenal competition and the 122 lot auction lasted over six hours and was 100% sold. A total of 25% of the total hammer price will be divided equally and donated to charities that Mark Knopfler has supported for many years: The British Red Cross, Tusk and Brave Hearts of the North East. 100% of the funds raised from the final lot are being donated to Teenage Cancer Trust. In addition, Christie’s is contributing a further £50,000 to each of the four charities.
A pen-and-brown-ink diagram of a block of marble drawn by Michelangelo with an estimate of $6,000-8,000 will come up at Christie’s in New York on April 17 as part of A Park Avenue Collection. This sale will comprise French furniture, Old Master paintings, drawings and Chinese works of art, representing more than 40 years of passionate collecting. This small work depicts a block of marble, with the word ‘simile,” or ‘similar’ in English. It comes attached to a letter by Michelangelo’s descendant. The diagram was known in the literature, but recently identified by Christie’s Old Master Drawings Department, who found the letter and diagram attached to the back of a different drawing that had been in a private collection for decades. When Christie’s specialists saw the letter last year they immediately realised the small drawing on the back was by Michelangelo. Subsequent research has confirmed that attribution. The diagram and letter will be offered as a single lot.
A tiny number of works by Michelangelo remain in private hands; perhaps fewer than 10. The current piece is one of a group of diagrams of marble blocks in Michelangelo’s hand, most of which are housed in the Casa Buonarroti in Florence, founded by Michelangelo’s last direct male descendent, Cosimo Buonarroti, who died in 1858. It was was given in 1836 to an English tourist, the future governor of Hong Kong, Sir John Bowring. It is likely that Cosimo Buonarroti would occasionally be moved to cut these diagrams from a larger sheet of such drawings for presentation to honored guests.
David Hockney’s California (1965) will be a highlight of Christie’s 20th / 21st Century evening sale in London on March 7. One of his first pool paintings and the first to include figures it has been Held in the same European private collection since 1968. It stands amonghis first great swimming pool paintings and has been unseen in public for more than 40 years. Christie’s estimate it in the region of £16 million.
California is the largest and finest in the extraordinary group of early pool paintings created in London after Hockney’s first visit to Los Angeles in 1964. The art historians Paul Melia and Ulrich Luckhardt have noted that ‘Hockney considers it to be one of his most important pool paintings’. The paintings that followed have come to be synonymous with his oeuvre, combining dazzling technical virtuosity with strains of fantasy, desire and longing.
Hockney incorporated a swimming pool in the 1964 painting California Art Collector but it was not until he returned to London for Christmas that year that he made his first full pool painting: a figureless composition entitled Picture of a Hollywood Swimming Pool (1964). California followed shortly afterwards, along with the closely related painting Two Boys in a Pool, Hollywood (1965). California anticipates many of the achievements that followed in Hockney’s subsequent masterpieces. Its kaleidoscopic depiction of moving water lays the foundations for the techniques explored in A Bigger Splash (1967, Tate, London) and Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) (1972). Its naked figures foreshadow the sensuous male nudes of Sunbather (1966, Museum Ludwig, Cologne) and Peter Getting Out of Nick’s Pool (1966, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool). So essential did Hockney consider the painting to his oeuvre that, when unable to include it in his 1988 retrospective at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, he made his own copy, now held in the museum’s permanent collection.
Where does Elton’s future lie? Let’s not go there. Suffice to say it is beyond Peachtree Road. The rock star is saying goodbye to his Atlanta condo at Park Place on Peachtree – acquired in 1992 – and Christie’s New York will sell the contents in a series of eight live and online sales beginning on February 21.He began collecting photographs in the 1990’s and there is work by pioneers like Andy Warhol, Helmut Newton, Robert Mapplethorpe, Peter Beard, Herb Ritts, Richard Avedon and more.Damien Hirst’s Your Song, signed and inscribed to Elton and David is estimated at $350,000-$450,000 (€319,850-€411,230) and a portrait of Elton John by Julian Schnabel is estimated at $200,000-$300,000 (€182,770-€274,150). There is fashion from his stage wardrobes including an ivory and gold piece designed by Annie Reavey c1971 and vintage Gianni Versace shirts and upholstery. The sale will offer tableware, decor, a grand piano, art glass, antiques and artefacts from his global travels. Live day sales will continue on February 22 and 23 and online sales open for bidding on February 9 and run to February 27 and 28.
Art mirrors life and the life it is currently mirroring is one of censorship and intolerable attacks on freedom of expression. The art world has not been immune as the Israeli-Hamas war has spawned a new wave of hidden and not so hidden persuaders who move to stifle anything other than total support for hardliners against humanity. Against this background of global uncertainty there is a pipeline of interesting international sales coming up in 2024. On offer already are a variety of covetable lots as diverse as the contents of a sumptuous Venetian palace on the Grand Canal to Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Archive to a Royal portrait by Velazquez and property from the life and career of Marilyn Monroe. We must assume that all this will be okay once there is nothing in these auctions – such as seeking a ceasefire in Gaza – that can be construed as anti-semitic.
Sotheby’s will offer 200 lots from Palazzo Volpi in Venice at an auction in Paris on February 28. The collection will include palatial Roman tables, ballroom banquettes, art panels in the style of Jacopo Sansovino, Wagner sofas and Venetian mirrors. Julien’s will offer contents from the Playboy archives and from Marilyn Monroe at a three day sale in Los Angeles on March 28, 29 and 30. Highlights will include a Playboy Bunny silkscreen by Andy Warhol and a black and cellophane effect evening gown worn by Monroe in The Seven Year Itch. The Velazquez portrait of Isabel de Borbon is at Sotheby’s in New York on February 1.
Elvis Presley’s Gretsch guitar from his Las Vegas residency is among the lots at Christie’s Exceptional Sale in New York on the same day along with a pair of c1800 tabourets or stools delivered to the Empress Josephine at Chateau de St. Cloud.
It has the potential to be an exciting year with many records being broken at home and abroad. Yet in 2024 there are well founded accusations of censorship in an art world that has never been noted for its lack of freedom of expression. In New York board members and many art writers withdrew in protest after the editor of the prestigious Artforum magazine, David Valasco, was abruptly fired when a letter supporting Palestinian liberation was published which omitted to mention the victims of the Hamas attack on October 7. Advertisers like gallerist David Zwirner and the Chanel culture fund threatened to withdraw.The Saarland Museum in Germany cancelled an exhibition by Candice Breitz, who is Jewish and has condemned Hamas, saying they would not show works by anyone who does not recognise Hamas terror as a rupture of civilisation. The entire selection panel for the next curator of Documenta, a global art exhibition in 2027, resigned after disputes with administrators about the war. This mirrors the wider environment. Think of resignations like that of Harvard President Claudine Gay in a campaign led by the Wall Street Jewish financier Bill Ackman whose wife is a former member of the IDF. You do not need to be a soothsayer to know there will be more resignations. UPDATE: The first American retrospective of Samia Halaby (87), regarded as one of the most important living Palestinian artists, has been cancelled by officials at Indiana University.
Iconic property from Elton John’s former Atlanta home is to be sold in a series of landmark sales at Christie’s in New York. Beginning with an evening sale on February 21 the series will comprise of eight sales both live and online. The city of Atlanta played a crucial role in John’s life, becoming the hub he would return to throughout his numerous tours within the United States. He solidified this connection to Atlanta in 1992 when he acquired the condominium in Park Place, on Peachtree Road. His unexpected choice of Atlanta as a residence was driven by personal reasons. After becoming sober in 1990, he found solace and support in the warm community and recovery facilities of the city, such as the Triangle Club, which played a critical part in his recovery.
Over the years, Elton John assembled a distinctive collection of works of art, objects and memorabilia, many of them crafted specifically for his home on Peachtree Road. Fans will discover an in-depth look at Elton John’s deep passion for photographs, which he began collecting avidly in the 1990s. Creating a gallery-like atmosphere, he adorned the walls of his Atlanta residence with pieces by pioneering artists, such as Andy Warhol, Helmut Newton, Robert Mapplethorpe, Peter Beard, Herb Ritts, Richard Avedon and more. Also included are highly intimate artworks crafted personally for Elton John and his husband David Furnish. Among them is Damien Hirst’s “Your Song” signed and inscribed ‘xxx for Elton + David love Damien Thank You,’ with an estimated value of $350,000-450,000; as well as a portrait of Elton John by Julian Schnabel. There are fashion pieces from the iconic performer’s dazzling stage wardrobe, including a noteworthy Ivory and Gold Ensemble designed by Annie Reavey in circa 1971. This ensemble (estimate $8,000 – 12,000) holds historical significance as one of the initial sets of stage attire crafted exclusively for Elton John.
A testament to Elton John’s eclectic tastes, his Atlanta apartment featured elaborate Versace upholstery—a nod to John’s longstanding friendship with the Versace family. Included in the sale is an incredible group of Versace items including a selection of vintage Gianni Versace shirts estimated at $4,000-6,000, in addition to tableware and home décor. The condo served as a personal sanctuary with a grand piano (estimate $30,000-50,000) art glass collections, antiques, and artifacts from his global travels.
Memo to all Sultans of Swing. In a sale that will attract collectors from around the globe more than 120 guitars and amps from the personal collection of singer songwriter and Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler will come under the hammer at Christie’s in London on January 31. It spans the 50 year career of one of the most influential musicians in the world and chronicles the array of guitars Knopfler used to write, record and perform with Dire Straits. “Wherever I go I’m still crossing streets to look at guitars in the windows of music shops. I’ve done that since I was a little kid” he said. With an estimate range of £500-£500,000 (€582-€582,000) there are opportunities for fans to participate at all levels. Renowned for his virtuoso finger picking style he chose each instrument for its individual tone. The archive includes names like Fender, Gibson, Gretsch and Martin and custom built models by Rudy Pensa and John Suhr. A total of 25% of the hammer price will be donated to charities he has supported for many years, the British Red Cross, Tusk and Brave Hearts of the North East. His 1959 vintage Gibson Les Paul Standard, used on the Sailing to Philadelphia tour in 2001 and the Kill To Get Crimson tour in 2008 is the top lot, estimated at £300,000-£500,000 (€349,000-€582,000).
UPDATE: THE COLLECTION WAS 100% SOLD AND BROUGHT IN £8,840,160
The erudite collection of Philip Hewat-Jaboor (1953-2022), chairman of the Masterpiece Fair in London, at Christie’s next February 8 will offer objects of antiquity, antique furniture and important collectibles. An old style connoisseur he had a particular passion for porphyry and the auction will offer a notable collection headed by early 19th century neoclassical vases. He collected work from legendary British patrons and collectors William Beckford (1760-1844) and Thomas Hope (1769-1831) like a pair of c1815 Roman giltwood armchairs probably purchased by Beckford from Cardinal Fesch in Paris in 1816 (£30,000-£50,000)(€34,960-€58,270). Joseph Fesch was Napoleon’s half uncle and one of the most famous art collectors of his period. Hewat-Jaboor’s collection of antiquities includes a 2nd century AD Roman marble bust of Bacchus (£70,000-£100,000) (€81,570-€116,530). The 200 works in the collection are expected to realise more than £1.5 million (€1.75 million) and estimates range from £700 to £120,000 (€815-€139,840).
