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BASQUIAT BREAKS $100 MILLION BARRIER

Friday, May 19th, 2017

Untitled by Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled from 1982 sold for $110.5 million at Sotheby’s in New York last night. This was an auction record for a work by an American artist. It was purchased by Yusaku Maezawa, founder of e-commerce giant Start Today and ZOZOTOWN, the virtual mall on Japan’s largest fashion e-commerce site. The painting will eventually be housed in a museum based in Mr. Maezawa’s hometown of Chiba, Japan. It was the highest ever price for an artwork created post 1980, the 2nd highest price for any contemporary artwork at auction and the sixth highest price for any artwork ever sold at auction.

“Tonight, Jean-Michel Basquiat entered the pantheon of artists whose works have commanded prices over $100 million, including Picasso, Giacometti, Bacon, and Warhol,” Grégoire Billault, Head of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Department in New York commented. “This extraordinary canvas from 1982 has broken so many benchmarks – a record for any American artist at auction and for a work of art created post-1980, to name just two – but those of us lucky enough to have been in its presence will only remember it’s awesome power. To think that it was created by a virtually-unknown 21-year old is humbling. We are thrilled that it was purchased by Yusaku Maezawa for his planned museum so others will have a chance to experience its magic firsthand.”

With participation from 39 countries the sale totalled $319,199,000 and was 96% sold by lot. This was the 4th Consecutive Contemporary Art evening auction at Sotheby’s worldwide with a sell-through rate of over 90%. There were artist records for Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jonas Wood, Wolfgang Tillmans, Mira Schendel, Blinky Palermo, Takeo Yamaguchi and Keith Haring.

(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for April 27, 2017)

Tags: Jean Michel Basquiat, sotheby's
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MALEVICH LEADS SOTHEBY’S NEW YORK SALE

Wednesday, May 17th, 2017

Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematist Composition with Plane in Projection sold for $21.2 million to lead Sotheby’s auction of Impressionist and Modern art in New York last night. The sale, which saw exceptional prices for sculpture, brought in $173.8 million. There was a new record for Max Ernst whose Surrealist bronze from the Motherwell collection made $16 million. New auction records were also established for Diego Giacometti ($6.3 million), Jean Arp ($4.9 million) and Germaine Richier ($3 million). The Impressionist sale was led by a Monet view of the pond at Giverny which made $16 million.

Simon Shaw, Co-Head of Sotheby’s Worldwide Impressionist & Modern Art Department, commented: “Collectors are ready to look in every corner of the marketplace for the best of the best, be it sculpture, Impressionism, Modern or avant-garde works. When you offer something so rare, that hasn’t been seen at auction before, and is represented in the greatest museums, it ticks all the boxes. And today’s collectors are ready to go the extra mile to secure those special pieces – the excitement we saw around the Malevich and the Ernst reflects that. Taken together with our outstanding results achieved in London this past March, our flagship sales of Impressionist & Modern Art are up nearly 50% year to date – a statement on both the strength of the market and our performance for our clients.”

Kazimir Malevich Suprematist Composition with Plane in Projection made $21.1 million

Max Ernst Le Roi Jouant Avec La Reine (sold for $15.9 million)

Claude Monet Le Bassin aux nymphéas ($15.9 million)

Diego Giacometti Bibliothèque De L’île Saint-Louis (sold for $6.3 million)

Tags: Claude Monet, Kazimir Malevich, MAX ERNST, sotheby's
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BALLYEDMOND COLLECTION AT SOTHEBY’S

Monday, May 1st, 2017

The collection of Edward Haughey Lord Ballyedmond (1944-2014), who died in a helicopter crash, will come up at Sotheby’s in London on May 23-24. The collection stands as testament to Lord Ballyedmond’s unerring eye as a collector, displaying a lifelong passion for the finest art and antiques, with a rare attention to detail. Around 700 objects mostly drawn from a magnificent townhouse on London’s Belgrave Square, described as the “Downton Abbey of our times” will come under the hammer. This extraordinary London home formed the backdrop to life at the highest level of British society.

Born in Kilcurry, County Louth, Ireland, Lord Ballyedmond rose from humble beginnings to make his fortune founding and steering to extraordinary success the Norbrook Group, a pharmaceutical company based in Newry, Northern Ireland. Equally influential in the world of politics as he was in business, Lord Ballyedmond is renowned as only the second person in history – after the Marquess of Lansdowne in the 1920s – to have sat in the upper houses of both the British and Irish parliaments. His standing was such that the United States government was amongst the many to pay tribute to his remarkable accomplishments: “His achievements brought significant employment to Northern Ireland and other places around the world, while his philanthropic endeavours helped improve the quality of life of countless others.”

Inspired by the Regency and the neoclassical designs of British architect, Robert Adam and entranced by the salons of 18^th-century London, Lord Ballyedmond transformed a once dormant property on one of London’s most prestigious squares into a modern evocation of a great Georgian town house, specifically designed to entertain on an ambassadorial scale. His collection was the fruit of selective and judicious collecting, both at auction and from dealers, with an unmatched attention to the finest of details. Paintings, tapestries, porcelain, silver and furniture were all thoughtfully put together to create something which would enthrall and delight visitors to Belgrave Square.

The Ballyedmond Collection Part II: Gentlemen’s Accessories Online, an online sale of gentlemen’s dressing accessories, will open on May 23. Lord Ballyedmond was an elegant man and discerning collector; cufflinks, tie-pins and watches by great names including Cartier, Van Cleef and Arpels, Boucheron and Tiffany & Co. adorn this online offering with estimates ranging from £150 to £6,000.

Tags: Lord Ballyedmond, sotheby's
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THE COMPLETE WORKS OF MAPMAKER JOHN SPEED

Monday, May 1st, 2017

The complete works of mapmaker John Speed come up at Sotheby’s in London on May 9. Dating to the 17th century the collection includes the first detailed map to show the provinces of Ireland, the first set of county maps and the first comprehensive set of English town plans. The 96 hand coloured maps are expected to realised £100,000-150,000 at Sotheby’s sale of Travel, Atlases, Maps and Natural History. Speeds The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain was first published in 1612. His Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World was first produced in 1627.

At the same sale two rare wall maps of Australia and Asia by Joan Blaeu (1596-1673) rediscovered in a private residence in Italy are together expected to make more than £250,000. Blaeu was cartographer to the Dutch East India Company.

John Speed – The Kingdome of Ireland

John Speed – The Kingdome of Great Britaine and Ireland

Joan Blaeu – Archipelagus orientalis sive Asiaticus

Joan Blaeu – Archipelagus orientalis sive Asiaticus

Tags: Joan Blaeu, John Speed, sotheby's
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RARE CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER DISH AT SOTHEBY’S

Friday, April 28th, 2017

A Large Carved Cinnabar Lacquer Dish Late Yuan/Early Ming Dynasty UPDATE: THIS MADE £1.5 MILLION

A rare and large carved cinnabar lacquer dish from the late Yuan/early Ming period will lead Sotheby’s sale of Important Chinese Art in London on May 10. It is one of the finest examples from the period when lacquer carving in China experienced its peak. According to Sotheby’s the sensitive, naturalistic rendering of the flowers, the complexity and harmony of the interwoven flower design, the craftsmanship and monumental dimensions are hard to surpass. The century or so from the late Yuan (1279-1368) to the early Ming dynasty (1368-1644) witnessed the evolution of the art of carved lacquer ware in south China from a decorative craft to a branch of imperially produced artefacts of the highest order, in parallel to a similar development of Chinese blue-and- white porcelain. Lacquer ware of this period is rarer than contemporary porcelain. It is estimated at £400,000-600,000.

The sale will showcase a selection of notable Chinese ceramics and works of art across the disciplines of imperial porcelain, lacquer, jade and Buddhist sculpture.

A white jade Ruyi sceptre, Qing Dynasty (£40,000-60,000) UPDATE: THIS MADE £425,750

One of a pair of imperial yellow glazed dishes Zhende marks (£50,000-70,000) UPDATE: THIS LOT SOLD FOR £68,750

Tags: Carved Cinnabar Lacquer Dish, sotheby's
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A MONUMENTAL BASQUIAT TO LEAD SOTHEBY’S NEW YORK SALE

Thursday, April 27th, 2017

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled 1982

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled from 1982 will lead Sotheby’s Contemporary Art evening auction in New York on May 18. This monumental work has remained virtually unseen since it last appeared on the market in May 1984. At the time the work was completed he was virtually unknown to the art world. Purchased at auction for $19,000 in 1984 it is now estimated to make in excess of $60 million.

It is one of a number of iconic American post-war paintings in a sale that also features Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and Cy Twombly, as well as European masters including David Hockney, Rudolf Stingel and Gerhard Richter.

Grégoire Billault, Head of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Department in New York, commented: “It is an enormous pleasure to bring a Basquiat of this magnitude to the market. The scale, subject matter, date and freshness, combined with recent record prices and increased demand for the artist’s work, make May the ideal time to present a masterpiece of this caliber – a truly outstanding achievement of recent art history – to the market.”

UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR A RECORD $110.5 MILLION

Tags: Jean Michael Basquiat, sotheby's
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SCHIELE MASTERPIECE AT SOTHEBY’S NEW YORK

Tuesday, April 25th, 2017

Egon Schiele’s – Danaë

Egon Schiele’s first masterpiece Danaë will lead Sotheby’s evening sale of Impressionist and Modern Art in New York on May 16. Painted in 1909, the work marks Schiele’s first major oil painting of a female nude, and is estimated to sell for $30–40 million. The artist was just 19 years when he produced this extraordinary example of his daring technique. Danaë introduces the artist’s iconic aesthetic, and epitomizes the Jugendstil movement’s influence at the time. The composition also pays homage to Schiele’s informal mentor, Gustav Klimt, who championed the young artist throughout his career.

Painted in 1969, a little more than a week before his 88^th birthday, Pablo Picasso’s self-portrait Tête d’homme is estimated at $8/12 million. It was painted in 1969, a little more than a week before his 88th birthday and was first exhibited in a one-man show that the artist curated himself in the hallowed halls of the Palace of the Popes in Avignon. Works emerging from a distinguished private collection include Impressionist pictures by Paul Signac, Alfred Sisley and Pierre Bonnard, as well as an important early sculpture by Alexander Archipenko. The group is led by Signac’s Le Pin de Bertaud ($3.5/5 million), a spectacular view of Saint-Tropez painted in 1899-1900

Paul Signac – Le Pin de Bertaud

Pablo Picasso’s self-portrait Tête d’homme

Tags: Egon Schiele, Pablo Picasso, Paul Signac, sotheby's
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MOORE, GIACOMETTI, ARP AT SOTHEBY’S NEW YORK

Thursday, April 20th, 2017

Works by Henry Moore, Alberto Giacometti, Jean Arp, Germaine Richier and Marino Marini from the Finn family collection will feature at Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art evening sale in New York on May 16. Together the five sculptures are estimated in excess of $17 million. This group is united further by the fact that each piece was conceived in the 1950s, during the period of turmoil and uncertainty following World War II.

The five exceptional modern sculptures were collected by David and Laura Finn. David Finn, co founder of pr firm Ruder Finn, is a celebrated sculpture photographer whose prolific work championed the art form. Through their collecting, they developed not only a staunch patronage but also enduring friendships with many artists – particularly Henry Moore. Mr. Finn photographed and published Moore’s sculptures over a number of decades, playing a vital role in expanding the artist’s audience internationally. Moore hand-selected Seated Woman (estimate $4/6 million) for the couple during a visit to his studio.

Henry Moore
Seated Woman
Conceived in 1956-1957 ($4-6 million)

Germaine Richier
Don Quichotte
Conceived in 1950-51 ($1.5-2.5 million)

Jean Arp
Torse de Pyrénées
Conceived in 1959 $1.5-2.5 million

Alberto Giacometti
Buste de Diego
Conceived circa 1957 ($10-15 million)

Tags: Giacometti, Henry Moore, sotheby's
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FIRST EDITION OF SYNGE’S THE ARAN ISLANDS AT SOTHEBY’S

Sunday, April 9th, 2017

A 1907 first edition of Synge’s The Aran Islands with drawings by Jack B. Yeats comes up at Sotheby’s in New York on April 24. The limited edition is one of 150 large paper copies signed by both Synge and Yeats. This classic account of the people of the Aran Islands was important milestone in modern Irish publishing. It was the only book published by Maunsel and Co. to include hand colouring of an artist’s work. It is estimated at $7,000-10,000.

The signatures of Synge and Yeats

An illustration by Yeats from the book.

Tags: J.M. SYNGE, Jack B. Yeats, sotheby's
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ONE OF TURNER’S GREATEST WORKS AT SOTHEBY’S IN JULY

Tuesday, April 4th, 2017

J.M.W. Turner (1775-1881) – Ehrenbreitstein UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR £18.5 MILLION

One of the greatest works by J.M.W. Turner still in private hands comes up at Sotheby’s in July. Ehrenbreitstein is the most important oil of a German subject that Turner ever painted. It depicts the ruined fortress of Ehrenbreitstein near Coblenz – a place of special significance for the artist. Painted in 1835 this late work is from a period widely considered Turner’s best. Other works from this time now hang in the world’s greatest museums, with only a minute number of this importance and quality remaining in private ownership. The subject of enormous critical acclaim when it was first exhibited in 1835. It comes up in London on July 5 with an estimate of £15-25 million.

Major works of such quality by Turner are rare on the international market. The last example to be offered (Rome, from Mount Aventine, painted in the same year as Ehrenbreitstein and offered at Sotheby’s in 2014) made a record £30.3 million. This was the highest price achieved for any British-born artist at auction, and placed Turner alongside Rubens and Raphael as one of just three artists from the pre-Impressionist era to have achieved prices at this level.

Alex Bell, Co-Chairman of Sotheby’s International Old Masters Department, said: “This painting was one of five that Turner exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1835; the other four of which are now in some of the most distinguished institutions in the world. Of those five paintings, it was Ehrenbreitstein that caught the imagination of public and critics alike – and it’s easy to see why. Its extraordinary range and depth of colour, and typically inspired and imaginative use of light, would in any case mark this painting out as a masterpiece, but its true greatness lies in the way Turner applies his painterly genius to transform the ruins of the famous fortress into a poetic and symbolic image as resonant then as it is today.“

Of the other four paintings exhibited by Turner in that year one is in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, one is at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, one is at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and one is in the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio.

(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for September 8, 2014)

Tags: Ehrenbreitstein, JMW Turner, sotheby's
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