antiquesandartireland.com

Information about Art, Antiques and Auctions in Ireland and around the world
  • ABOUT
  • About Des
  • Contact
  • Posts Tagged ‘Christie’s’

    ANN GETTY COLLECTION OF JEWELS BY JAR AT CHRISTIE’S

    Thursday, May 5th, 2022
    Fleur de lys brooch by JAR courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2022

    Twelve jewels by JAR from the estate of Ann Getty will highlight Christie’s Magnificent Jewels live sale in New York on June 8. Ann Getty’s striking group of jewels by JAR is one of the largest and most important private collections of works by the visionary designer, Joel Arthur Rosenthal to appear at auction. The group is expected to achieve in the region of $1.5 million. JAR’s masterfully crafted jewels are beloved by collectors as sculptural works of art. Evocative of 18th and 19th century design, they draw inspiration from historic architecture, intricate textiles, art and nature, and are often defined by their exquisite palette of signature pavé stones. From the diamond and gem-set fleur-de-lys brooch reminiscent of a sublime medieval stained-glass window, to the carved agate Zebra brooch adorned with a royal headdress, Ann Getty’s collection of JAR jewellery perfectly captures the artist’s early years of design and exploration and includes stunning examples of his most important creative themes.

    MOST COMPLETE RAPTOR SKELETON EVER FOUND AT CHRISTIE’S

    Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022
    DEINONYCHUS ANTIRRHOPUS – MONTANA, USA. UPDATE: THIS MADE $12.4 MILLION

    The Raptor –  one of the most famous and rarest dinosaurs and the most complete skeleton of his species ever found – comes up at Christie’s in New York on May 12. Deinonychus is nearly 10 feet long with 126 fossil bones. Excavated from Wolf Canyon in Montana it dates to approximately 115-108 million year ago.

    Fifty million years before the reign of the dinosaurs ended in the age of Tyrannosaurus rex, a smaller, more agile, pack-hunting predator was the most feared—and smartest—animal of its time. Known for its swift gait, lethal sickle claws and potent kick housed in an elegant, compact frame, Deinonychus was an incredibly sophisticated dinosaur species of theropods (carnivorous animals that can walk on two legs).  This one is estimated at $4 – 6 million.

    WAYNE THIEBAUD’S ICE CREAM CONES AT CHRISTIE’S

    Sunday, May 1st, 2022
    WAYNE THIEBAUD (1920 – 2021) – Three Ice Cream Cones. UPDATE: THIS MADE $4.98 MILLION

    Wayne Thiebaud’s Three Ice Cream Cones ($2,500,000-3,500,000) from the private collection of Nina Van Rensselaer will lead Christie’s Post War and Contemporary Art day sale in New York on May 13. The work was acquired by Van Rensselaer directly from the artist and has been passed down in the same private collection for six decades. Highlights also include Helen Frankenthaler’s Crete ($1,500,000-2,000,000) and works from contemporary artists including Shara Hughes, Weeping Blur ($400,000-600,000).

    JACKSON POLLOCK DRIP PAINTING TO HIGHLIGHT CHRISTIE’S SALE

    Tuesday, April 19th, 2022
    JACKSON POLLOCK (1912-1956) – Number 31
    signed and dated ‘Jackson Pollock 49’ (upper left). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $54.2 MILLION

    A powerful example of Jackson Pollock’s celebrated drip paintings – Number 31, 1949 – will lead Christie’s 20th century evening sale in New York on May 12. Made of oil, enamel, aluminum paint and gesso on paper mounted on Masonite the estimate is in excess of $45 million. It has been featured in a number of important exhibitions, including the 1967 Jackson Pollock MoMA retrospective in addition to the 1998 retrospective mounted at MoMA and The Tate. Held in the same private collection for over two decades the work is fresh to market.

    Alex Rotter, Christie’s Chairman of 20th and 21st Century Art, said:  “In the late 1940s, Pollock’s drip paintings categorically redefined how we understand art. This moment saw the art world’s centre of gravity shift for the first time away from the museums and galleries of Paris and into the streets of New York. With his revolutionary new technique, Pollock effectively upended the existing framework of traditional painting practices. True drip paintings were—and still are—the ultimate in mid-century American avant-garde, and are rare to come across in the secondary market. Number 31 is a superb example. It is a fantastic, frenetic combination of rich hues—straight from the paint can.” 

    A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH BY BANKSY AT CHRISTIE’S

    Thursday, April 7th, 2022
    BANKSY Diamond In The Rough – spray paint on truck door – CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2022

    Banksy’s Diamond In The Rough, 2010 ($3,000,000 – 5,000,000) comes up as a highlight at Christie’s 21st Century evening sale in New York City next May. A brilliant combination of readymade surfaces and Banksy’s instantly recognisable style it leverages perceived notions of rebelliousness attached to street art. Its ingenuity lies both in the artist’s seemingly simple choice of subject matter and its ability to spark conversation about the art form as a whole. A cultural statement itself Diamond In The Rough stands as testament to the place of street art in the canon juxtaposed with society’s inability to completely extract it from its perceived history.

    Painted on a steel and glass truck door the artwork employs extant graffiti as the backdrop for a young girl rendered in Banksy’s signature stencil mode, positioned at the bottom of the frame. Her hand cradles a glowing gem with shine lines emanating on all sides, reminiscent of the playful compositions of Keith Haring. A direct predecessor of Banksy, Haring also famously engaged public transit as his canvas decades prior, prefiguring some of Banksy’s own work.

    SEMINAL 1977 DE KOONING AT CHRISTIE’S

    Tuesday, April 5th, 2022
    WILLEM DE KOONING (1904-1997) – Untitled XXI. UPDATE: THIS MADE $25 MILLION

    Willem de Kooning’s Untitled XXI will come up as a highlight at Christie’s 20th century evening sale in New York in May. Estimated in in excess of $20 million the painting is fresh to the market and has been in the same private collection for more than 30 years. It was painted in de Kooning’s studio in East Hampton in 1977, a year when he turned out a group of radiant, large-scale abstractions that had a new level of mastery about them. Art historians regard 1977 as a highpoint of his career, his annus mirabilis, or “miraculous year,” as the British critic David Sylvester wrote. The art market has confirmed that view: three of de Kooning’s top four highest prices achieved at auction were for paintings from 1977.

    MONET, ROTHKO, DEGAS FROM BASS COLLECTION AT CHRISTIE’S

    Monday, April 4th, 2022
    Interior of Anne H. Bass’s New York City Home
    From left to right: Rothko, Untitled (Shades of Red), Monet, Le Parlement, soleil couchant,  Rothko, No. 1
    © 2022 Visko Hatfield 

    The Collection of Anne H. Bass featuring a selection of 12 magnificent artworks by leading 19th and 20th century artists including Degas, Monet, and Rothko will come up at Christie’s in New York during Marquee Week in May. The most important American collection to arrive on the market this season comes to Christie’s directly from the interior of Mrs. Bass’s impeccably designed New York City home. These 12 works form a singularly compelling narrative that speaks to both the power of connoisseurship and the enduring relevance and radicality that characterize the greatest works of art. Presented as a dedicated single-owner evening sale, The Collection of Anne H. Bass is expected to exceed $250 million.

    CLAUDE MONET (1840-1926) – Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, automne ($30-50 million)

    THE LARGEST WHITE DIAMOND EVER AT AUCTION

    Friday, March 25th, 2022
    Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s International Head of Jewellery, with The Rock. UPDATE: THIS MADE CHF21,681,000 / $21,894,082 / €20,722,133

    The Rock, the largest white diamond ever to appear at auction, will come up at Christie’s in Geneva on May 11. Mined and polished in South Africa over two decades ago the 228.31 carat pear-shaped diamond is estimated at $20-30 million. Graded by the Gemmological Institute of America as G colour, VS1 clarity, The Rock is accompanied by a letter from the GIA stating that it is the largest existing D-Z colour pear-shaped diamond ever graded by the laboratory. The previous auction record for the largest white diamond was a 163.41 carat gem, which sold at Christie’s Geneva in November 2017 for US$ 33,701,000.

    Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s International Head of Jewellery said: “The Rock will join the very best of legendary gemstones which have passed through Christie’s global salerooms since 1766. The market for diamonds is particularly vibrant and we are confident that this sensational gemstone will capture the attention of collectors across the globe this Spring season.”

    NEW WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR LAVERY AT CHRISTIE’S

    Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022
    Sir John Lavery – The Croquet Party 

    There was a new world record for Sir John Lavery at Christie’s Modern British and Irish Art evening sale in London last night. The Croquet Party, which was making its auction debut, sold for £2,922,000. The auction achieved £25.5 million and attracted registered bidders from 14 countries across three continents. According to Christie’s this demonstrates continued growth in the international collector base for the category.

    Bridget Riley’s Gala from the curving colour series was the top lot. It made £4,362,000, a new world auction record for the artist. No less than 60% of lots sold above the top estimate.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for March 8, 2022)

    WILL THIS BE THE MOST EXPENSIVE 20TH CENTURY ARTWORK EVER?

    Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022
    ANDY WARHOL (1928-1987) – Shot Sage Blue Marilyn. UPDATE: THIS MADE $195 MILLION TO BECOME THE MOST EXPENSIVE 20TH CENTURY ARTWORK EVER SOLD AT AUCTION

    Poised to be the most expensive 20th century artwork ever at auction Shot Sage Blue Marilyn by Andy Warhol wilL lead Christie’s marquee week sales in New York in May. The estimate is in the region of $200 million. Shot Sage Blue Marilyn is a definitive work. Warhol first began creating silkscreens of Marilyn Monroe following her death in August 1962. He would create reproductions of her visage multiple times in bright colours, often with the features somewhat askew. In 1964, he developed a more refined and time-intensive screen printing technique, antithetical to the mass production he was best known for, and created a limited number of portraits of the Hollywood legend. This technique was so difficult that he never returned to it again. The artwork has been exhibited widely at leading institutions including the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, Tate Modern in London, Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, Royal Academy of Arts in London, Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, the Netherland’s, Stedelijk van Abbemuseum, Fondation Beyeler, Riehen and the Pasadena Art Museum.

    Shot Sage Blue Marilyn is from the Thomas and Doris Ammann Foundation Zurich. All proceeds will benefit the foundation which is dedicated to improving the lives of children the world over by establishing support systems centred on providing healthcare and educational programs. This single painting will constitute the highest grossing philanthropic auction since The Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller in 2018.