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    • Posts Tagged ‘sotheby’s’

    A NEW RECORD PRICE FOR A CUBIST MASTERPIECE

    Tuesday, June 21st, 2016
    FEMME ASSISE

    FEMME ASSISE

    Pablo Picasso’s Cubist masterpiece Femme assise sold for £43.3 million at Sotheby’s in London tonight.  This is a new record price for any Cubist work at auction and the highest price for any work sold in London in over five years.

    Femme assise of 1909 came to the market tonight having remained in a private collection since 1973 when it was acquired for £340,000. The sale also saw a record for a portrait by Amedeo Modigliani, as Jeanne Hébuterne (au foulard) of 1919 mde £38.5 million, the second-highest price for a painting sold in London in over five years. The evening sale of  Impressionist & Modern Art at Sotheby’s totalled £103,280,000.

    The price paid for Femme Assise was the highest price in London since the sale of Alberto Giacometti’s Walking Man I at Sotheby’s London in 2010 for £65 million.

    (See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for June 5 and May 17, 2016 and World Sculpture Price Records)

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    A CARPET MADE FOR THE SUN KING AT SOTHEBY’S

    Monday, June 20th, 2016

    From opulent carpets made for the Sun King and Frederick the Great’s armchair to the intriguing Rothschild Orpheus Cup and gems of scientific innovation the sale entitled Treasures at Sotheby’s in London on July 6 offers much to the serious and wealthy collector.  Inaugurated in 2010 this highly curated sale is one of the more notable of the year in decorative art.  Combining royal and aristocratic provenance with craftsmanship and freshness to market the selection this summer includes furniture, silver, vertu, clocks, sculpture and works of art.

    Henry House, Head of Sotheby’s Furniture and Decorative Arts Department, said: “Each of the 46 lots in the sale exemplifies the definition of treasure. Formerly the preserve of Kings, Princes and Popes, they celebrate the genius and craftsmanship of the greatest artists and artisans of their era.”

    A ROYAL CARPET FOR THE PALAIS DU LOUVRE PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF DIMITRI MAVROMMATIS A Louis XIV Savonnerie carpet for the galerie du Bord de l’eau (grande galerie), Palais du Louvre Paris Chaillot workshop of the Lourdet family, delivered on 10 June 1678 (£300,000-500,000)

    A ROYAL CARPET FOR THE PALAIS DU LOUVRE
    PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF DIMITRI MAVROMMATIS
    A Louis XIV Savonnerie carpet for the galerie du Bord de l’eau (grande galerie), Palais du Louvre Paris
    Chaillot workshop of the Lourdet family, delivered on 10 June 1678 (£300,000-500,000) UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £341,000

    SOUTH GERMAN, AUGSBURG, AROUND 1600 THE ROTHSCHILD ORPHEUS CUP (£600,000 - 800,000)

    SOUTH GERMAN, AUGSBURG, AROUND 1600
    THE ROTHSCHILD ORPHEUS CUP (£600,000 – 800,000)  UPDATE; THIS SOLD FOR £1,061,000

    CHAIR FOR FREDERICK THE GREAT A German rococo silvered armchair, attributed to Johann August Nahl, Potsdam, circa 1744-46 (£80,000-120,000)

    CHAIR FOR FREDERICK THE GREAT
    A German rococo silvered armchair, attributed to Johann August Nahl, Potsdam, circa 1744-46 (£80,000-120,000)  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

     

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    A GRAPHIC VERSION OF THE SCREAM BY MUNCH AT SOTHEBY’S

    Monday, June 13th, 2016

    Two momentous graphic works by Edvard Munch: The Scream and Self-Portrait will come up at Sotheby’s this month and in September.  They are both dated 1895 and from a private Norwegian collection. They were originally owned by Olaf Schou, the Norwegian industrialist, art collector and patron who was a friend and great supporter of Munch’s.  He acquired them directly from the artist. The Scream comes up at the evening sale of Impressionist & Modern Art in London on June 21 with an estimate of £800,000-1,200,000. Self-Portrait will be part of a Prints & Multiples sale in London on September 27.  It is estimated at £50,000-70,000.

    James Mackie, Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Department, London, said: “Munch’s The Scream has transcended art history to reach a global consciousness and his lithograph of 1895 helped initiate the process of its mass proliferation. This exceptional impression has an impact no less powerful than Munch’s 1893 tempera and crayon version.”

    EDVARD MUNCH 1863-1944 THE SCREAM Lithograph, 1895

    EDVARD MUNCH
    1863-1944
    THE SCREAM
    Lithograph, 1895  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £1.8 MILLION

    EDVARD MUNCH 1863 - 1944 SELF-PORTRAIT Lithograph, 1895

    EDVARD MUNCH
    1863 – 1944
    SELF-PORTRAIT
    Lithograph, 1895

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    MODIGLIANI MASTERPIECE AT SOTHEBY’S

    Sunday, June 5th, 2016
    Amedeo Modigliani - Jeanne Hébuterne (au foulard)

    Amedeo Modigliani – Jeanne Hébuterne (au foulard)  UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR £38.5 MILLION

    A masterpiece by Amedeo Modigliani – Jeanne Hébuterne (au foulard) –  is among the  highlights at  Sotheby’s London Impressionist & Modern Art evening  sale in London on June 21. In a private collection since 1986 it is now estimated to make more than £28 million.  This elegant and lyrical work is among the most beautiful portraits Amedeo Modigliani painted of his lover Jeanne Hébuterne – revealing a tender moment between a pioneer in the world of modern art and his most loyal muse.

    Jeanne met Modigliani in 1917, when she was a young art student, and for the next three years she was his constant companion and source of inspiration. The two were devoted to each other – with Modigliani even pledging to marry her, despite her family’s protestations. In January 1920, Modigliani died of tubercular meningitis. Following the funeral, a twenty-two year old, and reputedly heavily pregnant, Jeanne was taken to her parents’ home. There, inconsolable, she committed suicide by leaping from an upstairs window.

    Helena Newman, Global Co-Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Department, said: “The pioneering Modern style with which Amedeo Modigliani sensuously depicted the female form is inextricably bound with his lover and muse Jeanne Hébuterne. This painting is one of the most alluring portraits that Modigliani painted of her and the finest to come to the market in a decade.”

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for May  17, 2016)

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    A MASTERFUL SELF-PORTRAIT BY SIR PETER LELY

    Wednesday, June 1st, 2016
    Sir Peter Lely's self portrait.

    Sir Peter Lely’s self portrait.  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £869,000

    The top lot at Mealy’s Lotabeg sale – Sir Peter Lely’s portrait of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde – might at 120,000 have seemed expensive to some, but perhaps it was a bargain.  Now a masterful self-portrait by the artist is to be auctioned at Sotheby’s in London on July 6.  His iconic portraits of Charles II’s pleasure-seeking court made him the natural successor to Anthony van Dyck and the “best painter in England” of his time but Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680) was also one of the great international draughtsmen of his age. Sotheby’s will offer three of his most intimate surviving portrait drawings: the self-portrait – one of only two in existence and the only one remaining in private hands – and portraits of the artist’s son, John and his wife, Ursula. Never seen on the market the works have remained in the possession of the artist’s direct descendants  since they were drawn some 360 years ago.

    Sotheby’s say the self-portrait, with its grand scale, is one of the most powerful and important of all drawings created in 17th-century England. Made during the second half of the 1650’s, towards the end of the Cromwellian era, it shows the artist as a quietly self-assured and affable man in his mid to late thirties.  It is estimated at £600,000-800,000.  The portrait of John is estimated at £80,000-120,000, that of Ursula at £6,000-8,000.

    (See post on antiquesandartireland.com for May 1, 2016)

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    BASQUIAT-WARHOL WORK FROM ELTON’S COLLECTION AT SOTHEBY’S

    Monday, May 23rd, 2016

    warhol basquiatA monumental painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol from the collection of Elton John and David Furnish comes up at Sotheby’s in Paris on June 7.  The two artists first met in a café in 1980, when Basquiat boldly approached Warhol – his idol who was then at the peak of his glory. This encounter led to a series of collaborations in the early 1980s, including this untitled work estimated at €700,000-1,000,000. Basquiat, overwhelmed by his own celebrity, saw Warhol as a protective alter-ego, while Warhol was captivated by the creative energy of his protégé.  Sir Elton John met Warhol on numerous occasions.

    In 2003 Sothebys London sold the contents of Elton John’s apartment to the great enthusiasm of numerous fans. Over the years the British singer and his husband David Furnish have built up an extensive collection of contemporary art by iconic artists of the last five decades: Willem de Kooning, Louise Bourgeois, Gilbert & George, Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, but also Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, their friend Keith Haring, and Julian Schnabel. Both visionary and inspired, the collection of Sir Elton John and David Furnish is not thus only a remarkable collection by its scope and quality, but also the result of a passion which says much about them. 150 photographs from the collection will be unveiled at the Tate Modern in an exhibition entitled “A Radical Eye: the Sir Elton John Collection” in November 2016.

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    THE GREATEST WINE SALE EVER ACHIEVES $21.9 MILLION

    Monday, May 23rd, 2016
    The wine sale in progress.

    The wine sale in progress.

    THE KOCH CELLARS

    THE KOCH CELLARS

    In what has turned out to be the greatest wine auction ever the cellar of William J. Koch achieved a total of $21.9 million over three days at Sotheby’s. This set a record for a wine collection sold at auction. It was  a white glove sale with 2,729 lots 100% sold and buyers from 23 countries.  Highlights included the sale of ten bottles of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1945 for $343,000: six magnums of Vosne Romanee Cros Parantoux 1989 Henri Jayer for $171,500 and 12 bottles of Montrachet Domaine de la Romanee Conti 1978 for $147,000.

    William I. Koch commented:  “Collecting and enjoying wine has been one of the great joys and loves of my life. It is very gratifying to see so many people from around the world that share my passion”.

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    A PHOTO OF THE REAL MARILYN MONROE

    Friday, May 20th, 2016
    Marilyn Monroe - Richard Avedon

    Marilyn Monroe – Richard Avedon

    A 1957 image of what photographer Richard Avedon considered to be the “real” Marilyn Monroe sold for £77,500 at Sotheby’s Icons of  Fashion Photography  sale in London on May 19.  Avedon, who aimed to reveal the true character of his subjects, recalled that whilst photographing Monroe at his studio she danced and sang and flirted and did this thing that made her Marilyn Monroe.

    “And when the night was over and the white wine was over and the dancing was over she sat in the corner like a child with everything gone”.  Monroe permitted him to take the photograph. He said he would not have taken it without her consent.  The top lot of the sale was Mouth (For L’Oreal) New York by Irving Penn. It sold for £221,000.

    The auction featured works by mid 20th century modern fashion photographers Irving Penn and Richard Avedon alongside images by Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin and Peter Lindberg as well as contemporary photographers like Miles Aldridge and David LaChapelle.  Around 60% of lots found buyers in an auction that realized £1,422,375.

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    PICASSO CUBIST MASTERPIECE AT SOTHEBY’S IN JUNE

    Tuesday, May 17th, 2016
    Picasso - Femme assise

    Picasso – Femme assise  UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR £43.3 MILLION

    Picasso’s Femme assise, hailed by Sotheby’s as the most important Cubist painting to come to auction in decades, will lead the Impressionist and Modern art sale at Sotheby’s in London on June 21. Painted in 1909 it is from the series that revolutionized Picasso’s working methods.

    It was painted in the summer of that year when Picasso travelled to the remote village of Horta de Ebro in his native Spain. The village was accessible only by mule.  Here he created a number of canvasses based on his love Fernande Olivier.  Femme assize is one of a small number of portraits from the series remaining in private hands.   Sotheby’s has not released an estimate for the work.

    Helena Newman, Global Co-Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Department, said: “Cubism not only underpins Picasso’s entire creative output but also marks a defining moment in Modern Art.  Whilst major paintings from other key periods by Picasso have appeared on the market in recent years, it has been decades since a Cubist painting of this calibre has been offered at auction, since virtually all the significant works of this period are in international museums and institutions.  Femme assise, painted in 1909, is one of the artist’s greatest masterpieces to be sold in a generation.”

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    A LAVERY PORTRAIT IN NEW YORK

    Thursday, May 12th, 2016
    SIR JOHN LAVERY (1856-1941) - MRS. OSLER

    SIR JOHN LAVERY (1856-1941) – MRS. OSLER

    A 1929 portrait by Sir John Lavery entitled Mrs. Osler comes up at Sotheby’s sale of 19th century European art in New York on May 18. In a catalogue note Professor Kenneth McConkey observes that the intimate interior and casual pose of the sitter epitomises the liberation that came with the Jazz Age.

    Before the Great War it would have been inconceivable to show a woman other than a courtesan lounging on a sofa with the abandon of the sitter.  The interior is interesting too.  Despite the growth of modernist decor after 1925 classical rococo room decoration signified high style and remained very much in vogue.

    This portrait was painted at the Osler’s villa in Cap d’Antibes.  On the recommendation of his painting pupil Winston Churchill, Lavery had replaced Tangier with the Cote d’Azur as a regular winter respite.  The estimate on the portrait, the property of a Canadian private collector, is $300,000-500,000.

    UPDATE:  This failed to sell.

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