$1 Billion Is On The Horizon — More Than Half Way There
Last night, Christie’s New York (located in Rockefeller Center) held part 1 of their highly anticipated sale of the collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller. Billed as “the sale of the century,” more than 1,500 lots are to be offered … More…
Something Happened On The Way Back to Church … A Finger Went Missing!
Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s marble statue depicting Saint Bibiana (1626) was recently restored and then loaned to the Borghese Gallery for an exhibition of the artist’s masterpieces. Upon its return to Santa Bibiana, and while being placed back above the altar, the … More…
Ezra Chowaiki Pleads Guilty – More Art World Greed!
The end has come! Manhattan art dealer, Ezra Chowaiki, pleaded guilty to fraud charges and is facing up to 20 years in prison … though it seems that prosecutors will recommend a term of 4 to 5 years. He also agreed … More…
You Cannot Sell The Basquiat … Oh, Yeah? We’ll See About That
A 12 x 12 foot Basquiat painting is at the center of a bitter family dispute. It seems that Dolores Neumann changed her will (on her death-bed) and gave a controlling interest (80%) in Basquiat’s Flesh and Spirit (valued at … More…
Turning Your Christopher Wool Into A Lucio Fontana
It seems that Nicholas Morley, son of art collector Harold Morley, decided to alter the look and value of one of his father’s paintings. Harold consigned a Christopher Wool painting (valued at $2.95M) to Opera Gallery in Aspen, Colorado. On … More…
Even More Drama At The Upper Levels
Just the other day we got wind of a lawsuit that Steve Tananbaum has brought against Gagosian Gallery and Jeff Koons; now it seems there is another unhappy collector. Joel Silver (movie producer) filed papers in Manhattan Supreme Court stating … More…
The Da Vinci Effect … A No Show?
Earlier this month, Christie’s held their Old Masters sale in New York and though the sale as a whole had a decent showing and there were a few bright spots, by most standards the sale under-performed… in the lead-up, much was … More…
Shocking … More Than Half Are No Good!
I am blown away by this one. According to recent reports, more than half of the paintings in the Terrus Museum, a state-owned French museum in Elne, are fake. Now, maybe I could understand if one or two forgeries slipped … More…
The 19th Century Middle East – Hot, Hot Hot!
This week Sotheby’s presented a small selection of 19th century Orientalist works, and the results were impressive. Taking the top spot was Edwin Lord Weeks’s Rabat (The Red Gate) which brought £573K ($799K – est. £200-300K). In second was Paul … More…
Drama At The Upper Levels Of The Art Market
According to a number of recent articles, contemporary art collector Steve Tananbaum has filed suit against Gagosian Gallery and Jeff Koons for failing to deliver 3 of the artist’s sculptures. As of now, Tananbaum has ponied up about $13 million … More…
Christie’s 19th Century – A Slight Improvement
The auction action in New York started this week with the 19th century sale at Christie’s … so let’s jump in. Taking the top two spots were works by William Bouguereau. His Admiration maternelle – le bain carried an $800-$1.2M … More…
More Museum Works Hit The Market
There have been many recent articles about the Berkshire’s and La Salle University’s decision to sell works for the wrong reasons. Well, the Baltimore Museum of Art’s recent press release highlights one of the right reasons … to strengthen a … More…
Judy Tucker – Art Restorer & Angry Racist Old Fart
While this is not really an ‘art related’ story, it is something that still plagues our society … racism … and in this instance, it does have an ‘art’ connection. It appears (I say appears because all I have read … More…
How To Burn Your Money In The Art World
A number of years ago, close friends called and ask if Amy & I could come over and help them hang the “original” painting they just purchased while on their holiday cruise. We hung up the phone and all I … More…
George Lucas, Norman Rockwell & The Berkshire Museum
When it was first announced that the Berkshire Museum’s ‘‘Shuffleton’s Barbershop’’ (by Norman Rockwell) was going to be sold to another museum many people, including myself, figured it might be heading for Crystal Bridges. Well, today we found out that … More…
Comments on the Art Market – Volume 209
We just released Volume 209 of our Comments on the Art Market. In this issue, we cover The Art Market, Tales from the Dark Side, Really (Russell Crowe and some expensive Doors), Stocks, and the upcoming Chicago Show. Your … More…