Everyone Wants A Piece Of The Action
Scott Reyburn’s article in The New York Times touches on how new technologies like blockchain’s decentralized record-keeping can change the art market. I, for one, have a difficult time believing that the art world will truly embrace it. The art world … More…
Motherwell Comes Home
In 1978, several dozen works by the Modernist master Robert Motherwell went missing when he hired a moving company to transport his art from one storage site to another. After 40 years, one of the missing works, “Untitled, 1967″ (a … More…
Vic Pics: Christie’s London – Works On Paper Rule
The auction action never stops. This week saw a trio of sales across the pond in London… Two at Christie’s and another at Sotheby’s. Both took their shot at the Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite & British Impressionist art market and Christie’s also … More…
Rybolovlev Copy-Cat Case – More Greed?
One of the big Dark Side stories of 2017 was, and still is, the Dmitry Rybolovlev vs Yves Bouvier lawsuit. Now, another Russian billionaire and his son are suing an art dealer on charges of inflating prices and defrauding them … More…
Sometimes, Looking For A Second Opinion Just Does Not Help
In 2012, Sotheby’s sold an Old Master painting of Saint Jerome cataloged as “the circle of Parmigianino” for $842,500. By 2016, pigment analysis performed by Orion Analytical (a materials analysis firm founded by James Martin in 2000) had shown the work contained … More…
Christie’s Old Masters – London
On July 5th Christie’s presented their group of Old Master works of art … and from the results, it appears they were not as successful as their main competitor. Taking the top slot here was Carracci’s Portrait of Carlo Alberto Rati … More…
Sotheby’s Old Masters, London
On July 4th, while we were celebrating our Independence, a group of dealers and collectors were enjoying a fairly successful evening at Sotheby’s Old Master sale in London. Taking the top position was Rubens’ Portrait of a Venetian Nobleman at … More…
Guy Wildenstein – Breathing A Sigh Of Relief.
For years, the French tax authorities have been after the Wildenstein family for tax fraud. In January of 2017, the court found evidence that Wildenstein tried to hide hundreds of millions of euros worth of art, real estate, racehorses, etc. … More…
Sotheby’s Contemporary In London. So Close, Yet So Far.
This week, Sotheby’s London presented their Contemporary works of art and it began with an evening sale that went pretty well. Taking top honors was Lucian Freud’s’ Portrait on a White Cover which carried a £17-20M estimate and hammered for £19.7M or £22.5M ($29.8M) … More…
Comments on the Art Market – Volume 211
We just released Volume 211 of our Comments on the Art Market. In this issue, we cover our four upcoming shows (Aspen, Newport, Nantucket, and Baltimore), The Dark Side, Stocks, some Really good stories, and The Art Market – the recent … More…