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Christie’s, London – European Art
Julio Romero de Torres’s The Slave

Christie’s, London – European Art

The final sale on July 11th was Christie’s European art offerings, which were not as robust as their Victorian Sale that morning (all prices include the buyer’s premium). Coming in first was Julio Romero de Torres’s The Slave that crushed its … More…

Sotheby’s, London – Vic Pics
Tissot - Room Overlooking the Harbour

Sotheby’s, London – Vic Pics

In the afternoon of July 11, Sotheby’s presented their group of Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite & British Impressionist Art, and it was a bumpy ride (w/p – with premium). Taking the top spot was a tiny J.J.J. Tissot (10 x 13 inches) … More…

Christie’s, London – Vic Pics
Burne-Jones’ Astrologia

Christie’s, London – Vic Pics

July 11th was a busy day for the London salerooms; between Sotheby’s and Christie’s there was a total of three 19th-century sales.  At 10:30 am, Christie’s presented their British Art: Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite & British Impressionist Art, and the results were … More…

Legal Decision – A Step In The Right Direction For Authentication
Tales from the dark side

Legal Decision – A Step In The Right Direction For Authentication

In 2016, London art dealer James Mayor brought suit against Pace Gallery, Arne Glimcher, and member of the Agnes Martin catalogue raisonné committee for not including 13 works by the artist that he had sold for a total of $7.2M.  In … More…

The Fresher, The Better – 19th-century Sale At Sotheby’s London
Akseli Gallen-Kallela's View over a Lake at Sunset

The Fresher, The Better – 19th-century Sale At Sotheby’s London

On July 9th, Sotheby’s presented their summer selection of 19th-century European paintings.  Even though the sale did ok, I still think that presenting this period of art during the summer month’s is not the best idea.  We all know that … More…

Edouard Léon Cortès At The Martin Museum Of Art
Edouard Cortes

Edouard Léon Cortès At The Martin Museum Of Art

Sorry for not bringing this to your attention earlier, but we only learned about the exhibition late last week.  Back in 1981, Bill Mead (who according to reports, studied painting with Cortès in France) donated his collection of 36 works … More…

Two Rare Cortes’s Come And Go!
Edouard Cortes - Moulin Rouge

Two Rare Cortes’s Come And Go!

The gallery recently acquired a wonderful pair of paintings by the 20th century French artist Edouard Cortès (1882-1969). The two were originally purchased in the late 1950s from the Johnson Galleries in Chicago, and remained in the same collection since … More…

Kapoor’s “The Bean” Gets Tagged
Tales from the dark side

Kapoor’s “The Bean” Gets Tagged

Sad to see one “artist” defacing another artist’s work. Last night, Sir Anish Kapoor’s The Bean, in Millennium Park, Chicago, was tagged. Source: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot outraged over vandalism at The Bean, Millennium Park: ‘There are some things that … More…

SALE! Our First Ever
Howard's (2)

SALE! Our First Ever

A once in a lifetime event — Howard’s 60th Birthday Sale!  You heard us right, for the first time in our firm’s history we have selected over 160 works of art and discounted them 20 – 40%.  Included are a … More…

How to Safely Navigate The Art Market: Conservation vs Restoration
john bentham_dinsdale_e1223_the_flag_the_flag_the_precious_flag_BLACK_AND_WHITE

How to Safely Navigate The Art Market: Conservation vs Restoration

This month I thought I would continue my thoughts on a painting’s condition with a short article on restoration and conservation.  Please keep in mind that this is a very brief discussion and I am only referring to oil paintings … More…

A Solid Performance Was Pretty Much Guaranteed – Sotheby’s Contemporary, London
bacon_self_portrait

A Solid Performance Was Pretty Much Guaranteed – Sotheby’s Contemporary, London

June 26th saw Sotheby’s evening sale’s offerings of contemporary art in London and overall the results were pretty solid (all prices shown are with the buyer’s premium added in).  I should note, it was reported that 17 of the works … More…

Holding Its Own – Christie’s, London, Contemporary
jean-dubuffet

Holding Its Own – Christie’s, London, Contemporary

On the evening of June 25th, Christie’s presented their Contemporary art sale and the results were strong (prices include the buyer’s premium). Taking the top spot was Jean Dubuffet’s Cérémonie which brought £8.72M ($11.1M) on a £7-10M estimate.  This was … More…

Better Than The Competition: Sotheby’s London – Impressionist and Modern
Monet

Better Than The Competition: Sotheby’s London – Impressionist and Modern

On the 19th, Sotheby’s London offered up a lean Impressionist & Modern evening sale with just 25 works up for grabs… and even with less material than Christie’s the evening prior, Sotheby’s had loftier expectations – Christie’s was only expecting … More…

Rybolovlev Case Against Sotheby’s Will Continue
Tales from the dark side

Rybolovlev Case Against Sotheby’s Will Continue

Sotheby’s attempt at getting Dmitry Rybolovlev’s $380 million lawsuit dismissed seems to have failed.  According to an article in Reuters, Judge Jesse Furman found no showing that New York was “genuinely inconvenient” and Switzerland was “significantly preferable,” saying the New York … More…

Strike Out Across the Pond – Christie’s London – Impressionist & Modern Evening
Picasso

Strike Out Across the Pond – Christie’s London – Impressionist & Modern Evening

Last week over in London, Christie’s went in on the Impressionist & Modern market… before I get into the results, I’m just going to take a moment to bash Christie’s deceptive practice of removing unsold lots from their website after … More…

Rock Star’s Guitars Hit A Really High Note!
David Gilmour's Black Fender

Rock Star’s Guitars Hit A Really High Note!

Last week an auction featuring guitars and objects owned by David Gilmour, the lead singer and guitarist for Pink Floyd, had an incredible 100% sell-through rate and is going down in the books as the most valuable contemporary musical instrument … More…