To The Moon And Back
To commemorate the golden anniversary of the Apollo 11 space mission, Heritage (Dallas), Sotheby’s (NY), and Christie’s (NY) held auctions which offered thousands of space exploration items…some brought prices that were sky high and others never left the launch pad. … More…
Make Sure You Read Before You Sign
Stuart Pivar, 88, a prominent Manhattan art collector is suing his attorney, John McFadden, over a bronze sculpture by the Romanian artist Constantin Brancusi. Pivar states that McFadden tricked him into signing an agreement to sell McFadden the sculpture for … More…
Those Sneakers Made A Run For The Moon
We recently covered Sotheby’s sneaker sale and the fact that before it ended, Miles Nadal made a private offer and bought all but one pair for about $850K (seems the seller of the Nike Waffle Racing Flat, Moon Shoe, wanted … More…
Water & High Levels of Humidity: A Painting’s Worst Enemy!
Today, many of us have faced the consequences of torrential rain and flooding. It is becoming more common to hear about areas of the country that are under water, houses flooding, and personal property being damaged or destroyed. I have … More…
East Bound And Down
Anybody in the mood for a little road trip to Texarkana? Well, you could have done that in record time if you were lucky enough to be the proud new owner of a customized 1979 Pontiac Trans Am that was … More…
Really? For A Few Pair Of Sneakers?
Sotheby’s has been vigorously promoting an unusual online auction that was running from July 11- 23rd titled Stadium Goods: the Ultimate Sneaker Collection, comprised of over 100 rare pairs of sneakers made by Nike, Air Jordan, Adidas, and several other brands. … More…
A (big) Check, Mate
The Lewis chessmen are a distinctive group of 12th-century chess pieces that were made from walrus ivory and whale’s teeth. Since their discovery in 1831, buried within a sand dune on the Isle of Lewis (the northern part of the largest island … More…
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
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
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
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
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
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!
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
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…
Comment on the Art Market – Volume 224
This month we review the recent 19th century sales in London, a few Tales from the Dark Side of the art world, Why Water and High Levels of Humidity are a Painting’s Worst Enemy, Really incredible prices for a chess … More…