The Middle of the Road is No Place For an Evening Sale – Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern
Following up Christie’s modest showing on Monday, Sotheby’s had the floor and they were in a good position to be the more favorable sale given the offerings and estimates but as you’ll soon see, things didn’t go so smoothly… and … More…
Really Rare Pokémon Pikachu
In the late 1990s, the biggest craze in our house were Pokémon cards — Lance had to have them all and we probably bought hundreds of packs of cards to find the treasured Pikachu and Charizard cards; unfortunately, when Superstorm … More…
An Evening With a Moon But No Stars – Christie’s Impressionist Modern – November 2019
This week we saw the big boys host their major semi-annual offerings in New York… that is, Sotheby’s and Christie’s Impressionist & Modern and Post-War & Contemporary Evening Sales. The presale buzz put a bit of a damper on expectations … More…
Will A Contemporary Japanese Painter Save The Market for Traditional European Art?
Last year, at this time, we received our first work by Hiroshi Furuyoshi, and it sold before it even arrived at the gallery. Since then, we have received four additional paintings … three of which sold the day they arrived … More…
Immerse Yourself In Childlike Wonder And Earthly Delight In The Real-Surreal World Of Mitsuru Watanabe
Rehs Contemporary Galleries is honored to present the intriguing work of Mitsuru Watanabe to collectors in American and throughout the world. Janet Whitmore, in her biography of the artist (which will be posted on our site very soon) notes that: … More…
Really Big Bucks Paid For Grungy Green Sweater
So how much would you pay for an old, dirty, cigarette burnt, used cardigan? I bet a lot less than someone (who wishes to remain anonymous) just paid for Kurt Cobain’s old cardigan that he wore during a performance on … More…
19th Century Part 2: More Tough Lessons For Christie’s
Since I gave my critique of their actions in part 1 of this sale, I am just going to jump in on this one – as Led Zeppelin once wrote: The Song Remains the Same (I actually played the music … More…
Christie’s European Art: Part 1 – A Lesson In What Not To Do
On October 28th, Christie’s presented their 19th Century works of art in New York. Now I was a bit surprised when I received 2 catalogs in the mail – one for the morning session and another for the afternoon. Since … More…
How To Safely Navigate The Art Market: Those Bare Spots
This month I am going to touch on something I consider a pretty serious condition issue — those bare spots on the canvas, or what is commonly referred to as ‘skinning’, ‘over cleaning’, or ‘abrasion’. To begin with, we need … More…
Mock Rothko
Ron Meyer, NBCUniversal vice chairman and co-founder of Creative Artists Agency, claims New York art dealer Susan Seidel, and California-based dealer Jamie Frankfort, along with five unnamed defendants, duped him out of $10 million. According to the case, Meyer purchased … More…
Derek Jeter Hits A Post Career Home Run – Really?
One of the rarest modern-day baseball cards just sold on eBay – a 1996 Select Certified Mirror Gold #100 Derek Jeter Rookie Card…wow that was really a mouthful! There were just 30 copies of this card produced and I believe … More…
A 19th-Century Warm Up Sale
On October 22nd, Sotheby’s presented their mid-level 19th-century works of art (their BIG sale will take place in January) and the overall results were encouraging. Do keep in mind that there were no ‘blockbuster’ works being offered, and $30-$50K was the … More…
Caught On Camera – Bye-Bye Dali
San Francisco police are on high alert after being notified by Dennis Rae Fine Art Gallery that a man casually walked into their premises and stole a $20,000 etching by Salvador Dali … nearby surveillance footage shows the thief walking … More…
Same Old Story…Just A Different Vase
Same old story – a beautiful little Chinese vase makes a really great price at auction! Sotheby’s just finished its autumn auction week in Hong Kong with some wonderful results. Overall, the sales generated $426M…not too bad considering all that’s … More…
Najd Collection Sees Strong Results In London
Over in London, Sotheby’s offered a selection of works from the Najd Collection – considered to be one of the greatest private collections, particularly of Orientalist works, in the world. In all, there were just 40 works up for grabs, … More…
Comments on the Art Market – Volume 227
This is a good one! We cover all the regular topics: Upcoming Shows, Stocks, The Dark Side of the Art World, How to Safely Navigate The Art Market: Those Bare Spots, Really!, and coverage of some of the recent sale … More…