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FOUR RICHTER’S TO LOVE

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

HERE are four works by Gerhard Richter an artist to love who seems to be cropping up everywhere right now. A major retrospective, Panorama, is at Tate Modern in London until January 8 to coincide with his 80th birthday.

The images here are from Abstraction-Figuration: A Private Collection at Sotheby’s in New York on on November 9. It features one of the most important groups of works by the German artist ever to appear at auction. The sale will also include works from the collection by Francis Bacon, Sigmar Polke, and Lee Krasner. The Impressionist and Modern art auction on November 2 will feature a group of eight paintings by Max Ernst including The Endless Night from 1940, an acute meditation on Europe in the early years of World War II ($2.8/4 million). Overall the collection is estimated to bring $40/56 million with works to be offered in five different sales.

(All images are copyright Sotheby’s and you can click on any of them to enlarge).

UPDATE: THE sale brought an outstanding total of $315,837,000, well above the $192/270.8 million pre-sale estimate and nearly 85% sold-by-lot. The total is the highest for a Contemporary Art Evening sale at Sotheby’s since May 2008 and the company’s third highest ever.

The sale was led by four masterworks by Clyfford Still which sold for a combined total of $114.1 million.

The other major highlight of the sale was the Abstraction Figuration Collection – a remarkable offering of paintings that thrive in the fertile space between abstraction and figuration by artists such as Gerhard Richter, Lee Krasner and Sigmar Polke. All the works found buyers and were led by the superb group of Richter abstract paintings which brought a combined total of $74,280,000, over twice the pre-sale high estimate (group est. $27/36.7 million). Furthermore, an auction record for the artist was set when Abstraktes Bild from 1997 sold for $20,802,500 after a contest involving four bidders (est. $9/12 million).

Gerhard Richter - Abstraktes Bild (849-3) ($9,000,000 – 12,000,000)

Gerhard Richter - Gudrun ($5,500,000 – 7,500,000)

Gerhard Richter - Abstraktes Bild (769–2) ($5,500,000 – 7,500,000)

Gerhard Richter - Rain (676-2) ($700,000-900,000)

Tags: Gerhard Richter, sotheby's
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STELLAR IRISH LOTS IN THE SAFRA COLLECTIONS AT SOTHEBY’S, NEW YORK

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

IRISH lots to feature in the four day sale of the Lily and Edmond J. Safra Collections at Sotheby’s in New York from October 18-21 include these stellar pieces. Sotheby’s say the six dedicated sales represent the pinnacle of their respective collecting categories and offer remarkable opportunities to collectors around the world.

There is a group of fourteen Irish George II embossed paper and gouache painted pictures of birds c1750 by Samuel Dixon. They are estimated at $60,000-90,000. The pair of Irish silver mugs illustrated here were probably made by John Stoyte in Dublin in 1807. The maker’s mark is I pellet S in rectangle. They are estimated at $9,000-12,000.

See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for September 1, July 29 and July 10.

One from a group of fourteen Irish George II embossed paper and gouache painted pictures of of birds circa 1750, by Samuel Dixon ($60,000 -90,000). Click on image to enlarge. UPDATE: THIS LOT WAS SOLD FOR $98,500

A pair of Irish Silver Mugs probably by John Stoyte, Dublin, 1807 ($9,000 - 12,000). Click on image to enlarge. UPDATE: THE PAIR MADE $11,250

Tags: Safra Collections, sotheby's
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MONUMENTAL BRONZE MATISSE SCULPTURES LES NUS DE DOS AT SOTHEBY’S

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

Matisse Nu de dos (1er état) is estimated at $20-30 million. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS WAS SOLD PRIVATELY BEFORE THE AUCTION.

A cast of each of four monumental bronze sculptures by Henri Matisse, known collectively as Les Nus de dos (The Backs), is to be offered by Sotheby’s in four consecutive sales of Impressionist and Modern Art in London and New York. The first comes up in New York on November 2. Nu de dos (1er état) is estimated at $20-30 million. Conceived in 1908-09 at the culmination of Matisse’s involvement with the Fauves the sculpture exemplifies the fluidity of line that dominated his paintings from this era.

Each of the four works was conceived individually over the course of two decades, and together they chart the evolution of Matisse’s artistic development through the early 20th century. The bronzes have been consigned by The Burnett Foundation of Fort Worth Texas, and proceeds will further support the community of Fort Worth – the Foundation’s primary mission since its inception 30 years ago. Dos II, Dos III and Dos IV will be offered individually in the next sales of Impressionist & Modern Art at Sotheby’s: London, February 2012; New York, May 2012; and London, June 2012.

They were consigned by the Burnett Foundation of Fort Worth and proceeds will support the local community. The Foundation acquired the works in 1982 from Californian collector Norton Simon, who bought them from the artist’s estate in 1966. They were on show for ten years at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.

UPDATE: THE Matisse bronze was sold on November 1 prior to the auction as part of a quartet of Matisse bronzes in a private transaction. The deal was made by Sotheby’s who did not release any information about the purchaser or disclose the price.

Tags: Matisse, sotheby's
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THE SUN DROP DIAMOND AT SOTHEBY’S, GENEVA ON NOVEMBER 15.

Sunday, October 9th, 2011

The Sun Drop Diamond. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: IT MADE 11.28 MILLION SWISS FRANCS OR £7.8 MILLION STERLING, A WORLD RECORD FOR A YELLOW DIAMOND.

The Sun-Drop Diamond, the largest known pear-shaped fancy vivid yellow diamond in the world, will be offered by Sotheby’s in Geneva on November 15. Graded Fancy Vivid Yellow, the highest colour grading for a yellow diamond, it weighs in at 110.03 carats and it has a purity of VVS1. The rough for the Sun-Drop Diamond was discovered in South Africa in 2010. It was cut and polished by Cora International, with headquarters in New York. The estimate for the stone, which was exhibited earlier this year at London’s Natural History Museum, is $11-15 million.

Only three white diamonds of over 100 carats have ever been sold at auction, all at Sotheby’s Geneva. The Star of the Season — a Pear-shaped diamond of 100.10 carats made $16.5 million in 1995, an auction record for a white diamond; The Mouawad Splendour — a Modified Pear-Shaped Diamond (11 sided), 101.84 carats made $12.8 million in 1990 and the Star of Happiness — a Cut-Cornered Rectangular Modified Brilliant-Cut Diamond, 100.36 carats, made $11.9 mllion in 1993. In November 2010 the Graff Pink – a Fancy Intense Pink Diamond weighing 24.78 carats, sold for $46,158,674 at Sotheby’s in Geneva, and established a new world auction record for a diamond.

See post on antiquesandartireland.com for November 17, 2010.

Tags: sotheby's, Sun Drop Diamond
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WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR MING PORCELAIN SET IN HONG KONG

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

This Ming Vase set a world record for any Ming porcelain at auction in Hong Kong. (Click on image to enlarge).

THERE was a world auction record for Ming Porcelain at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong today. This outstanding blue and white Imperial Vase, Ming Dynasty, Yongle Period – just less than 15 inches high – sold for HK$168,660,000 / £14,032,792/ US$21,623,077 after a ten minute bidding battle on the telephone. It was won by Nicolas Chow, Sotheby’s International Head of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, against a Sotheby’s Ceramics Specialist based in Beijing.

Chinese buyers from around the world competed for 32 important pieces from Sotheby’s sale of Part II of Imperial Chinese Porcelains from the Meiyintang Collection which brought HK$560 million /£46.6 million / US$71.8 million in just over an hour. Ming porcelain (1368-1644) has been less sought after in latter times than Qing (1644-1911) wares, though it is older. Ming can be less decorative than Qing, and has not quite matched the taste of new buyers from mainland China.

Tags: Hong Kong, Ming, sotheby's
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BOY’S HEAD BY LUCIAN FREUD AT SOTHEBY’S IN OCTOBER

Monday, September 12th, 2011

Boy's Head by Lucien Freud. It made £3,177,250.

Boy’s Head dating from 1952 by Lucian Freud (1922-2011) will headline Sotheby’s Contempoary Art evening auction in London on October 13. The work, from a seminal early period of the artist’s oeuvre, depicts Charlie Lumley, one of Freud’s most immediately recognisable subjects.

An oil on canvas, it transmits a remarkable psychological intensity. From a private collection it is estimated to make £3-4 million.

UPDATE: It made £3,177,250.

Tags: Freud, sotheby's
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GOLCONDA PINK DIAMOND LEADS SOTHEBY’S HONG KONG SALE

Monday, September 12th, 2011

Golconda Fancy Vivid Pink Diamond.Jadeite Cabochon and Diamond Necklace (est. $1.1 - 1.5 million)

A rare Fancy Vivid Pink diamond from Golconda, the earliest known source of diamonds in the world, will lead Sotheby’s sale of Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite in Hong Kong on October 5. Diamonds from the ancient mine of Golconda include the emerald cut 9.27 carat Golconda Pink, estimated at $13-19 million US dollars. The Type IIa classification of this stone ranks it among the less than 2% of the world’s gem diamonds virtually free of nitrogen in their chemical composition.

The 359 lot auction includes rare jewellery associated with the Mogul Kingdom. It includes diamonds, natural pearls and jadeite of superb quality and is expected to realise around $85 US dollars.

The Golconda Pink went unsold.

Tags: Golconda, sotheby's
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BEST QUARTER RESULTS EVER AT SOTHEBY’S THIS YEAR

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

Venetian Guardi achieved an Old Master record. (click on image to enlarge)

SOTHEBY’S in New York has just announced their best quarter in the company’s history. Sotheby’s consolidated sales reached a record $3.4 billion in the first half of 2011. For the three and six months to June 30, 2011 net income increased by 48% and 54% to $127.2 million and $129.7 million, respectively, when compared to the prior year. This improvement is principally due to significantly higher auction and private sale commission.

Competitive pressure to win high value consignments resulted in lower commission margins. General and administrative expenses increased $7.9 million, or 24%, in the second quarter and $9.8 million, or 15%, in the first half, largely due to increased consulting fees to develop Sotheby’s strategic initiatives and unfavorable movements in foreign currency exchange rates.

“This is the best quarter in Sotheby’s history,” said Bill Ruprecht, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Great works of art are enormously desirable to collectors from every corner of the world right now….As I look back on these extraordinary six months for our business, the global appeal of art was one of the few constants in a period of continued economic uncertainty”. He said that an exciting fall season is already taking shape: “Clients around the world can expect a number of wonderful sales and objects at Sotheby’s this autumn”.

London sales included tremendous successes. Contemporary art surpassed the high estimates. Egon Schiele’s Hauser mit bunter Waesche (Vorstadt II) made $40 million, almost double the previous auction record for the artist and Guardi’s Venice, a View of the Rialto Bridge, Looking North, from the Fondamenta del Carbon, made $42.9 million, the second highest price ever achieved for an Old Master Painting. (See antiquesandartireland.com post for July 6)

Tags: results, sotheby's
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MAGNIFICENT PIECES FROM THE SAFRA COLLECTIONS

Friday, July 29th, 2011

The French commode and Russian vases pictured below will feature at the four day sale of the Lily and Edmond J. Safra Collections at Sotheby’s in New York in October. Of interest to connoisseurs worldwide the sale offers lots that Sotheby’s say are at the pinnacle of their respective collecting categories.

The six dedicated sales of the collection from October 18-21 are expected to realise more than $40 million. A two day sale of the Safra collections at Sotheby’s in 2005 brought in $49 million.

UPDATE: The group of French 18th century lacquer furniture headed by the lacquer commode pictured which made $6,914,500 brought in a total of $12.5 million. The four day sale realised $45,900,064.

(See antiquesandartireland.com post for July 10, 2011.)

A pair of Imperial Porcelain Vases, decorated with portraits of Alexandra Fedorovna and her father, King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, after the portrait by Franz Krüger now in the 1812 Gallery of the Hermitage (est. $1.5/2.5 million). (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THESE WERE UNSOLD.

: A Louis XVI Ormolu-Mounted Japanese lacquer commode with secretaire en suite, attributed to Adam Weisweiler (est. $5/7 million). (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR $6,914,500

Tags: new york, Safra, sotheby's
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RARE STAMPS FROM STEINBERG COLLECTION AT SOTHEBY’S

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Australia Kangaroo issue, 1913-14. (est. £15,000-20,000)(click on image to enlarge)

RARE stamps of distinction will come under the hammer at Sotheby’s next September. The Philatelic Collection of the Northern Irish peer Lord Steinberg is unique as it contains only mint blocks of four or larger multiples from 74 countries of the British Empire. Highlights include Australia with many rare Kangeroo blocks; the British Solomon Islands block; classic Ceylon; Falkland Islands with the 1933 Centenary set in marginal blocks of four; Hong Kong; India; Newfoundland with the unique 1927 De Pinedo airmail block of four and the 1932 DO-X airmail block of four with the surcharge inverted, and a selection of Rhodesian Double Head issues.

They will be offered in a series of sales on September 6-8 and on September 21. The three day sale is of British Empire multiples, the sale on September 21 will feature Great Britain exclusively. Altogether 2,068 blocks will be offered in a sale expected to realise £4 million.

Lord Steinberg was the grandson of immigrants who turned a single unlicensed betting shop at the back of his father’s Belfast milk counter into the Stanley Leisure Group, a chain of 640 betting outlets and 45 casinos which employed 7,000 people. He became a peer, deputy treasurer of the Conservative Party and president of Lancashire County Cricket Club. The business was founded in Belfast in 1958, but Steinberg moved to Liverpool in 1977 when he refused to pay protection money to either republican or loyalist paramilitaries. He was shot in 1977 by the Provisional IRA. Proceeds are for causes and charities associated with Lord Steinberg, who died in 2009. This includes the fund he started with the aim of helping to rebuild Old Trafford, home of Lancashire County Cricket Club.

UPDATE: The four day sale brought in £2,648,652, the one day auction comprised of Great Britain Mint Multiples realised £1,134,924.

Hong Kong 1863-71 at 30 cents. (est. £10,000-12,000) (Click on image to enlarge)

: 1840 1d. black. (est. £150,000-250,000) (click on image to enlarge) UPDATE: This sold for

£180,000

Tags: sotheby's, stamps, Steinberg
Posted in AUCTIONS, COLLECTIBLES | 1 Comment »

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