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
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
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
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
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
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!
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…
Sotheby’s Modern & Post-War British Art
On the evening of June 18th, Sotheby’s presented their Modern & Post-War British Art sale in London. This was a rather small sale and overall, they did ok. Taking the top spot was L.S. Lowry’s A Cricket Match which brought … More…
The Supposed Gun Used By Van Gogh Sells
Vincent van Gogh died on July 29, 1890 from, what many believe, was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. In 2011, authors Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith wrote a book challenging that account of van Gogh’s death, claiming he could not … More…
Babe Ruth Hits It Out Of The Park
This past weekend an auction (hosted by Hunt Auctions) took place at Yankee Stadium featuring over 400 sports memorabilia items, including many items from the collection of Babe Ruth’s family. There were some very strong prices and in the end, … More…
Mary Max Takes Her Own Life.
Unfortunate news broke this week that Mary Max, wife of psychedelic pop artist, Peter Max, took her life Tuesday evening. Her ultimate choice to end her life stems from a long and vicious legal dispute over the care for her … More…
‘Like Painting A Speeding Bullet,’ Landscape Master Ken Salaz Depicts Tactile Feeling Of Nature, Sun
A Noble Pursuit: The Majestic Landscapes of Ken Salaz opened at the gallery on June 8th and continues through June 28th. We’re incredibly excited to be presenting this new body of Ken’s work while we celebrate the release of his new … More…
Like The Energizer Bunny, The da Vinci Saga Keeps Going And Going
Here is a bit more on the – is it or isn’t it a Leonardo debate. Over the weekend, Dalya Alberge wrote an article that was published in The Guardian stating that Dr. Carmen Bambach (a curator at the Metropolitan … More…
Nashville – The Show That Never Showed
Eileen Kinsella (Artnet News) writes a story of the proposed Nashville show and its quick crash. Many of the dealers who signed up are out thousands of dollars and sadly, we are part of this mess. Source: Dealers Who Invested … More…
Peter Max & Stan Lee – Stories Of Abuse
We hear, read, and write a great deal about the dark side of the art world; however, this story might bring tears to one’s eyes. Peter Max is a name that will be very familiar to many of you. Max … More…
Comments On The Art Market – Volume 222
In this issue we cover the upcoming Ken Salaz exhibition A Noble Pursuit: The Majestic Landscapes of Ken Salaz, In The News (Julie Bell), Stocks, How To Safely Navigate The Art Market – Condition, Tales From The Dark Side, Really!, and The … More…