19th Century European – Christie’s London
Let’s wrap up those July sales over in London… the last of the bunch was Christie’s 19th Century European and Orientalist Art on July 12th, and the results weren’t great… I could have told you that before I even looked … More…
More Victorian Art – Sotheby’s, London
Now that our show hattrick (oh wait, we do have one more next week) is over and we’re back in the gallery, it’s time to get back to some auction reviews… following Christie’s Victorian sale in early July, Sotheby’s took … More…
Watch Your Step – Danger At The Museum
We all know that artists want the viewer to connect with their work, but this work (and a viewer) went a bit too far. Anish Kapoor created an 8-foot hole titled Descent Into Limbo at the Serralves Foundation in Porto, Portugal. … More…
Chowaiki – The Fun Never Ends
Earlier this year, Ezra Chowaiki pleaded guilty to defrauding collectors and dealers to the tune of $16 million between 2015 and 2017. Chowaiki now faces up to 20 years in prison. On August 15th, The Art Collection Inc. filed a … More…
The Saga Continues – The Berkshire Museum
The Saga Continues – The Berkshire Museum: And just when we thought the Berkshire saga was over, we learn that one lawsuit is still trying. Last October, James and Kristin Hatt along with Elizabeth Weinberg sued the Berkshire Museum in … More…
Adam & Eve – Still In Limbo
In 2007, Marei von Saher filed a suit claiming she is the rightful heir to a pair of life-size portraits of Adam and Eve by Lucas Cranach the Elder. According to von Saher, the works were forcibly purchased by the … More…
The Demolition … Man
Ai Weiwie has been documenting the demolition of his Bejing studio over the past 4 days on Instagram. His first post, exceeding 21,000 views, captures the first moments of the deconstruction, which Weiwei claims he had not been given any … More…
Jackpot or Bust?
In case you missed it, news broke this week about a New York dealer who bought the contents of a storage locker in New Jersey for $15,000. What did he get/find? Supposedly 200 works of art, including six painting by … More…
Blockchain: Everyone Wants A Piece Of The Action
Scott Reyburn’s article in The New York Times touches on how new technologies like blockchain’s decentralized record-keeping can change the art market. I, for one, have a difficult time believing that the art world will truly embrace it. The art … More…
Motherwell Comes Home
In 1978, several dozen works by the Modernist master Robert Motherwell went missing when he hired a moving company to transport his art from one storage site to another. After 40 years, one of the missing works, “Untitled, 1967″ (a … More…
Vic Pics: Christie’s London – Works On Paper Rule
The auction action never stops. This week saw a trio of sales across the pond in London… Two at Christie’s and another at Sotheby’s. Both took their shot at the Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite & British Impressionist art market and Christie’s also … More…
Sometimes, Looking For A Second Opinion Just Does Not Help
In 2012, Sotheby’s sold an Old Master painting of Saint Jerome, cataloged as “the circle of Parmigianino,” for $842,500. By 2016, pigment analysis performed by Orion Analytical (a materials analysis firm founded by James Martin in 2000) had shown the … More…
Christie’s Old Masters – London
On July 5th Christie’s presented their group of Old Master works of art … and from the results, it appears they were not as successful as their main competitor. Taking the top slot here was Carracci’s Portrait of Carlo Alberto Rati … More…
Sotheby’s Old Masters, London
On July 4th, while we were celebrating our Independence, a group of dealers and collectors were enjoying a fairly successful evening at Sotheby’s Old Master sale in London. Taking the top position was Rubens’ Portrait of a Venetian Nobleman at … More…
Guy Wildenstein – Breathing A Sigh Of Relief.
For years, the French tax authorities have been after the Wildenstein family for tax fraud. In January 2017, the court found evidence that Wildenstein tried to hide hundreds of millions of euros worth of art, real estate, racehorses, etc. However, … More…
Comments on the Art Market – Volume 212
We are pleased to announce that Volume 212 of our Comments on the Art Market was just released. This month we cover our upcoming Nantucket and Baltimore shows, Stocks & Crypto, The Dark Side of the Art World, Really (other … More…