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Posts Tagged ‘sotheby’s’

BOWIE COLLECTION IS INSTRUCTIVE

Monday, November 7th, 2016

David Bowie‘s collection of a wide variety of contemporary art and design is instructive insofar as it shows that in order to get it you must engage with it. An avid and genuine collector he was deeply involved with and sustained by art and design. “I use it” he explained once. “It can change the way I feel in the mornings”.

His collection spans post-war British avant grade painting centred on St. Ives to German Expressionism and works created in the aftermath of the first democratic elections in South Africa.. It includes a “spin” painting he made in collaboration with Damien Hirst, an altarpiece by the Renaissance master Tintoretto and works by 20th century Modern British masters like David Bomberg, Stanley Spencer, Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff. There is a painting by Jack B. Yeats entitled Sleep Sound.

Bowie/Collector is a sale in three parts. It will begin with an evening sale of modern and contemporary art on November 10. There will be a day auction of art the following morning and a design sale that afternoon. All the catalogues are online.

(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for July 14 and August 23, 2016)

Willie Bester (born 1956) – What happened in the Western Cape? (£2,000-3,000)

Damien Hirst with David Bowie Beautiful, hallo, space boy painting 1995 (£250,000-350,000)

Jacopo Robusti known as Jacopo Tintoretto and Studio – The Angel foretelling St. Catherine of Alexandria of her martyrdom (£100,000-150,000)

Tags: David Bowie, sotheby's
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CHINA IN PRINT AND ON PAPER AT SOTHEBY’S

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2016

Rare Chinese and European books, maps, photographs and manuscripts will come up at Sotheby’s in London on November 7, during the annual Asian Art in London from November 3-12. China in Print and on Paper reveals the rich history of cartography, exploration, trade and diplomacy between China and the West for over half a millennium. At the heart of the auction are two magnificent single-owner collections formed over many years by private collectors Bernard Hanotiau in Belgium, and Floyd Sully in Canada. The Hanotiau library reveals the rich history of exploration and cultural and political exchange between China and the West from the fifteenth to twentieth century in over 180 lots of books, atlases and early photographs. The Sully collection comprises over fifty lots of rare maps, photographs, illustrated texts, drawings and watercolours. Star lots include the “Blue Map” created during the Qing dynast which is estimated at £80,000-120,000.

The Blue Map (£80,000-120,000.

One of the first European maps of Beijing made in 1765 by Joseph Nicholas de L’Isle (£2,500-3,500)

Tags: China in Print and on Paper, sotheby's
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SONG, MING AND QING DYNASTY PIECES AT SOTHEBY’S

Tuesday, October 25th, 2016

A Qing Dynasty imperial celadorn jade seal (£500,000-700,000) and a Southern Song Dynasty hares fur Tenmoku bowl (£300,000-400,000)

A Qing Dynasty imperial celadon jade seal (£500,000-700,000) and a Southern Song Dynasty hares fur Tenmoku bowl (£300,000-400,000)

A series of auctions bringing together key pieces from the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties will take place at Sotheby’s in London on November 9. The single lot sale of ‘The Supreme Number One’, the first Chinese firearm with an imperial reign mark ever to appear at auction, will be preceded by a distinguished private collection of jades. A selection of imperial ceramics and gilt-bronze figures – including a rare tea bowl from the Song dynasty – are highlights of the range of material to be offered in the Important Chinese Art sale. Comprising some 340 lots with a total estimate in the region of £6.7 million, the series of three sales will take place during Asian Art in London, an annual ten-day celebration of the finest Asian art. During this time, Sotheby’s New Bond Street galleries will also host an exhibition presented by the Oriental Ceramic Society featuring some 200 examples of ceramics, mostly from China and Japan, and all drawn from members’ collections.

Tags: Chinese Imperial Ceramics, sotheby's
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MASTERWORK BY MUNCH AT SOTHEBY’S, NEW YORK

Friday, October 21st, 2016

Edvard Munch – Girls on the Bridge. UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR $54.5 MILLION.

A masterwork by Edvard Munch will lead Sotheby’s evening sale of Impressionist & Modern Art in New York on November 14. Pikene på broen (Girls on the Bridge) from 1902 is estimated to make more than $50 million. The lyrical work ranks as one of the most powerful paintings of his career, and has twice set a new world auction record for the artist at Sotheby’s.

Simon Shaw, Co-Head of Sotheby’s Worldwide Impressionist & Modern Art Department said: “Edvard Munch’s importance to the full breadth of 20^th century art cannot be overstated. From the Expressionists to Fauvism and Pop Art, his oeuvre is increasingly prized for its lasting influence on the art of recent times. Munch pioneered the art of the self: recent museum shows pairing his work with that of artists ranging from Vincent van Gogh to Robert Mapplethorpe, Louise Bourgeois, Jasper Johns and Andy Warhol – among many others – have illustrated that his genius burns brighter today than ever.”

In 1996 Sotheby’s sold the painting for a then record of $7.7 million. It was sold in 2008 for $30.8 million.

Tags: Edvard Munch, sotheby's
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A STORK FROM THE COLLECTION OF JACQUELINE KENNEDY

Thursday, October 20th, 2016

A large and arresting study of a Stork eating a snail from the important Lady Impey Series – part of the estate of Jacqueline Kennedy when sold by Sotheby’s in 1996 – brought in £245,000 over a top estimate of £80,000 at Sotheby’s in London this week. The single-owner sale of The Khosrovani-Diba Collection, a prestigious group of Indian miniatures by Mughal masters and fine paintings of the Rajasthani, Pahari and Company Schools, more than doubled pre-sale expectations t0£3,052,500 at Sotheby’s. Over 87% of lots achieved in excess of their high estimates.

The auction was led by an elegantly coloured and lyrical depiction of Radha consoled by Krishna in a forest, an illustration of a romantic night scene from the “Lambagraon” Gita Govinda series, which made £353,000.

The Kennedy Stork from the Lady Impey series made £245,000.

Radha consoled by Krishna made £353,000.

Tags: Jacqueline Kennedy, Khosrovani-Diba Collection, Lady Impey series, sotheby's
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A CHINESE FIREARM WITH IMPERIAL REIGN MARKS AT SOTHEBY’S

Monday, October 17th, 2016

THE SUPREME NUMBER ONE UPDATE- IT SOLD FOR £2 MILLION.

THE first Chinese firearm with an imperial reign mark to be offered at auction comes up at Sothebys in London on November 9. Created for the Qianlong Emperor of the Manchu Qing dynasty – arguably the greatest collector and patron of the arts in Chinese history – this exquisitely crafted musket is to be sold with an estimate of £1,000,000-1,500,000. Produced in the imperial workshops the musket bears the imperial reign mark on top of the barrel and four Chinese characters which denote the gun’s peerless ranking incised on the breech. The exceptional grading te deng di yi, ‘Supreme Grade, Number One’ makes it unique amongst the known extant guns from the imperial workshops.

The advent of Western firearm technology sparked the production of muskets in the imperial workshops, and this modern mode of weaponry had unquestionable advantages over the traditional bow and arrow for hunting. Using only the most luxurious materials, imperial muskets were created in very small numbers for the Qianlong Emperor. While the Emperor is unlikely ever to have held a gun in battle, he would regularly hunt with a musket. The Supreme Number One is closely related to six celebrated, named imperial Qianlong muskets in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing.

Robert Bradlow, Senior Director, Chinese Works of Art, Sotheby’s London, said: “This remarkable object epitomises the pinnacle of imperial craftsmanship during the Qing dynasty. The gun’s historical importance cannot be overstated – it ranks as one of the most significant Chinese treasures ever to come to auction.”

UPDATE- IT SOLD FOR £2 MILLION.

Tags: sotheby's, The Supreme Number One
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A MAJOR HOCKNEY AT SOTHEBY’S, NEW YORK

Friday, September 30th, 2016

David Hockney
Woldgate Woods, 24, 25 and 26 October, 2006

Woldgate Woods, 24, 25 and 26 October 2006, the first work from David Hockney’s famed Woldgate Woods series to appear at auction will come up at Sotheby’s contemporary art evening sale in New York on November 17. Measuring over three and half meters in diameter it is estimated at $9-12 million. With a retrospective at Tate Britain opening in February 2017 Sotheby’s reckon this could establish a record for Hockney at auction. The work captivated audiences in London at the Royal Academy blockbuster 2012 exhibition David Hockney: A Bigger Picture.

Throughout 2006, Hockney executed a limited series of paintings of the Woldgate Woods in his native Yorkshire, charting the changes in light and colour as the seasons passed. Limited by the size of the canvas he was able to fit through the staircase at his Bridlington studio, he devised a method of using multiple canvases in order to achieve the desired scale. Woldgate Woods, 24, 25 and 26 October 2006, capturing the autumnal colors of East Yorkshire, is composed using six of these canvases. The huge public and critical success of this body of work has led to this quiet corner in the north east of England becoming known as ‘Hockney Country’, with the local tourist board even creating a Hockney Trail inspired by the locations immortalized in the series.

Tags: David Hockney, sotheby's, Woodgate Woods
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UNPUBLISHED SKETCH LEAF FOR EMPEROR CONCERTO AT SOTHEBY’S

Saturday, September 24th, 2016

An unpublished sketch-leaf for Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto. UPDATE: THIS MADE £377,000

A previously undocumented and unpublished sketch-leaf for Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto comes up at Sotheby’s in London on October 20. Offered on the open market for the first time in a sale entitled “The Library of an English Bibliophile, Part VI”, this sketch-leaf is one of the earliest for this great work, possibly containing Beethoven’s first draft of its famous themes. Most of the surviving drafts for the Fifth Piano Concerto are in two sketch-books in the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek, Berlin.

Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto in E Flat Major, Op. 73 is dedicated to Archduke Rudolf of Austria (1788-1831), the brother of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor and Beethoven’s great friend, patron and pupil. The Archduke began taking lessons from Beethoven aged 15 or 16 and he was the only pupil that Beethoven taught composition to. It is estimated at £150,000-200,000. UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR £377,000

Tags: Emperor Concerto, Ludwig van Beethoven, sotheby's
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BORGHESE WINDSOR CABINET MAKES AUCTION RECORD PRICE

Wednesday, September 21st, 2016

The Borghese Windsor cabinet.

The Borghese-Windsor Cabinet – the most important Roman cabinet ever to have come onto the market – sold for 2,499,000 euro at Sotheby’s in Paris last night. It was bought by the J. Paul Getty Museum in what was a world auction record price for a piece of Roman furniture. Made in Rome circa 1620, this exceptional gilt-bronze mounted silver, ebony and hard stone cabinet boasts exceptional provenance. It belonged to Pope Paul V Borghese (1605-1621), before being acquired in 1824 by King George IV who displayed it in Windsor Castle. The cabinet remained in the Royal Collection until 1959, when it was bought by Aladar de Balkany, on the advice of his son who was passionate about architecture.

International collectors were out in force to testify the extraordinary eye and taste of the great French collector Robert de Balkany (1931-2015). In the first of three sales at Sotheby’s in Paris, collectors, art dealers and institutions from across the globe (including the US, Europe, Russia, Asia and the Middle East) registered their intention to bid on masterpieces of Decorative Arts and Old Masters paintings from Robert de Balkany’s Paris residence, the Hôtel de Feuquières in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The sale had been preceded by an exhibition which attracted over 3,000 visitors. Among the top ten lots sold was night was George Stubbs portrait of Viscount Gormanston’s White Dog, which made 459,000.

Mario Tavella, Président-Directeur Général, Sotheby’s France and Chairman, Sotheby’s Europe said: “The two top lots of this evening – the Borghese-Windsor Cabinet and Charles Clay’s organ clock – are testament to Robert de Balkany’s eye and passion for hardstone furniture and exceptional timepieces – the most important categories of his collection. Both of these exceptional pieces went to major art institutions the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Museum van Speelklok tot Pierement, Utrecht and for me, this is the best tribute to my friend Robert. It was an honour to have been entrusted with the sale of the masterpieces in his collection which he jealously kept in Paris. ”

(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for November 12, 2010)

Tags: Borghese-Windsor Cabinet, J. Paul Getty Museum, Robert de Balkany, sotheby's
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GRAPHICS BY MUNCH AT SOTHEBY’S PRINTS SALE

Monday, September 19th, 2016

Graphic works by Edvard Munch Two Human Beings. The Lonely Ones and Self-Portrait, both acquired directly from the artist, come up at Sotheby’s sale of Prints and Multiples in London on September 27. Self-Portrait is from a private Norwegian collection and was originally owned by Olaf Schou, the Norwegian industrialist and art patron; Two Human Beings. The Lonely Ones was purchased directly from Munch in 1942 by Harald Holst Halvorsen. They are never been at auction before and are estimated respectively at £50,000-70,000 and £400,000-600,000.

Lucy Rosenburgh, Sotheby’s Prints Specialist, said: “Schou and Halvorsen were two of Munch’s most important patrons, with whom he enjoyed an equally strong friendship. The notable provenance of these prints makes their appearance on the market all the more appealing to collectors.”

Edvard Munch – The Lonely Ones (£400,000-600,000)

Edvard Munch – Self-Portrait (£50,000-70,000)