They Want Their Art Back!
Back in 2016, Gallery Shchukin filed a lawsuit against the Russian financier Rustaam Iseev, for the return of five paintings said to be worth $60 million. In order to avoid arrest, Iseev informed the court where the works were being … More…
The Purloined Amati
Mr. Rowland Weinstein (a California dealer) recently learned a valuable lesson … after exiting your automobile, it is always wise to lock it. It is even more advisable when you have an object worth close to $1 million in it. … More…
Update: Dark Side’s Top 3 Of 2020 – 2. Another Art Theft? This Time A Van Gogh
Original Post Another Art Theft? This Time A Van Gogh News just broke that early Monday morning, thieves smashed the front door of the Singer Laren Museum, Laren, The Netherlands, and stole Vincent van Gogh’s The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen … More…
Update: Dark Side’s Top 3 Of 2020 -1. More Looted Artifacts At Hobby Lobby
Original Post More Looted Artifacts at Hobby Lobby Back in 2017, Hobby Lobby agreed to return thousands of smuggled clay artifacts they bought in 2010 and paid a fine of $3 million. Well, now it has come to light that … More…
Update: Dark Side’s Top 3 Of 2020 – 3. Kenny Schachter Duped By Inigo Philbrick
Original Post Inigo Philbrick (an art world scammer) hit a lot of people, including his art dealer friend Kenny Schachter who was duped out of $1.67M! The work of art they purchased seems to have vanished … along with Mr. … More…
Highlights From A Holiday Auction
A record-setting Holiday auction was just held and demonstrated the strength in demand for cards and memorabilia. There were over 2100 items up for sale and many of the items had remarkable results; only 78 items failed to sell, so … More…
When Will The Madness Stop?
Over the past few months, we have talked about the ridiculous amount of material the auction rooms are throwing into the market. They are even having sales that, to me, do not seem to make financial sense … here is … More…
Adidas and Meissen Pair Up
Are you in the market for a new pair of running shoes? Then these are probably not for you, but they are the coolest sneakers I have ever seen! Sotheby’s held an online auction with just one lot; a collaborative … More…
A Story About Altering Provenance
As we have always said, every work has a provenance, but the full provenance of every work is not always known. Now, you should expect that when one of the major auction rooms offers a work, they will do their … More…
Christie’s, London – British and European Art
On December 10th, Christie’s 15-day online sale featuring 105 lots of British and European art ended … I know, not another sale! Sorry, but the hits, or better yet, failures, just keep on coming. Hopefully, once this medical mess is … More…
American Art – Sotheby’s
The best way I can describe Sotheby’s New York American Art sale is – better luck next time. (unless otherwise noted, all dollar amounts are the hammer price) Prior to the sale opening on December 11th, two lots were withdrawn, … More…
Sotheby’s, London – European & British Art
On December 9th, Sotheby’s offered up a selection of European & British works of art … the results will speak for themselves. (w/p = with the buyer’s premium) The top lot of the sale was a large oil painting by … More…
Christie’s Impressionist & Modern Day Sale
At the end of last week, Christie’s New York presented an Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale, and I don’t think it went as well as they had hoped it would. First of all, it was their 14th sale of … More…
Condition and Salability
We are always talking about the factors that need to be considered before buying a work of art. One of the most important, at least to us, is a work’s condition. In a recent article in The Art Newspaper, Anna … More…
How Much is Too Much – Christie’s Post-War & Contemporary Day Sale
On Thursday, Christie’s hosted a marathon day sale of Post-War & Contemporary works, which featured nearly 300 lots… as we have been saying, the auction houses are throwing anything and everything that they can on the block with little regard … More…
Christie’s Hong Kong: Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale Shines
Starting in the wee hours in New York (so I was asleep when it took place), Christie’s Hong Kong offered up a selection of works that surely opened up people’s eyes. When I initially went to their website, I noticed … More…
Lots More Contemporary Art, No Thanks Sotheby’s
Last week Sotheby’s hosted a 2-part Contemporary Day Sale, one in-person and one online, with more than 230 works in total on the block… it seems they kicked over the lesser lots into the online session, while keeping more mid-level … More…
Holiday Puppets Make History
Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving, and with that we have officially entered the holiday season! And so begins the onslaught of holiday television specials… One of those specials has aired yearly since December 1964 as part of NBC’s General … More…
Impressionist & Modern Day Sale – Sotheby’s NY
There does not seem to be an end to the number of works auction rooms are throwing into the market. With all the sales that took place last month, one would assume that there would be a bit of a … More…
The Orientalists Take A Hit – Christie’s London
On the 18th of November, Christie’s presented a mixed bag of Orientalist works, and the results will have hopefully taught them a lesson. The lesson – slow down on the number of works you are throwing into the market! (w/p … More…
Frans Hals Case Might Be Over
This morning, The Art Newspaper reported that the London Court of Appeals upheld an earlier decision that Fairlight Art Ventures has to pay Sotheby’s $5.37M, plus interest and legal fees, for the allegedly fake Hals painting. Hopefully, this will put … More…
Frans Hals Matter Back In Court
The saga of a fake Frans Hals painting, which Sotheby’s sold privately for $10.8M, was thought the be over last year; however, one of the “consignors” has decided to challenge a London High Court’s ruling. Last December, the court ruled … More…
Restitution Of €20M Painting – Will It Happen?
Over the years, we have seen more and more of these stories … works stolen by the Nazis were sold at bargain prices, and now the heirs want them back. Many end in favor of the heirs, but sometimes it … More…
The ‘Potato Head’ Of Palencia
Usually, when you hire someone to do a job, the first thing you should consider is how well they can do said job… I say “usually” because that was clearly not the case in this instance. A statue, which sits … More…