Sotheby’s Contemporary In London. So Close, Yet So Far.
This week, Sotheby’s London presented their Contemporary works of art and it began with an evening sale that went pretty well. Taking top honors was Lucian Freud’s’ Portrait on a White Cover which carried a £17-20M estimate and hammered for £19.7M or £22.5M ($29.8M) … More…
The Berkshire Decimation Continues
The Berkshire Museum just announced that it will be selling 9 more works (seven paintings, one sculpture, one Chinese vase, and one Chinese screen) … hoping that it will reach its goal of $55M. That will bring their total to … More…
Christie’s Impressionist & Modern — Another Day, A Lot More Money.
In addition to Sotheby’s sale last week, Christie’s also took it’s shot at the Impressionist and Modern market over in London… the results were a stark contrast from the evening prior… while both sales had similar pre-sale estimates, Sotheby’s realized … More…
Impressionist & Modern – Sotheby’s London
Earlier this week over in London, Sotheby’s offered up a selection of Impressionist and Modern works in a compact evening sale consisting of just 36 lots… let’s just get it out of the way now as it is going to … More…
Anish Kapoor Sues The NRA. By The Way, Who Are “They”?
Anish Kapoor is suing the National Rifle Association (NRA) for copyright infringement after the promotional video, The Violence of Lies, was released with images of his Chicago sculpture, Cloud Gate (2004). According to the suit, filed in Illinois, Kapoor demanded … More…
Letting Your Kids Run Free Near Some Art, Might Just Cost You A Lot!
In case you missed this one, a 5-year-old boy damaged a glass sculpture that was on display at an Overland Park community center. A surveillance video shows the young ‘art lover’ hugging the work of art before it fell to … More…
No A/C? It’s Gonna Cost You!
In early May, the Frieze Art Fair took place on Randall’s Island in New York. In case you do not remember, that weekend was a scorcher … temperatures rose above 90 degrees. Since it was still early in the season, … More…
Family Bickering – All About Greed And Control!
Just when we thought this book was closed, another chapter emerges. Last month, Hubert Neumann tried to stop the sale of a Basquiat that his daughter, Belinda Neumann-Donnelly, was trying to sell at Sotheby’s. (You Cannot Sell The Basquiat … … More…
It’s A Looted Painting? Then I Want My Money Back!
When the provenance of a painting is missing from the mid-1900s (c.1930-1945) it is important for the buyer (and seller) to do their due diligence — making sure there is no connection to Nazi-looted art. During World War II, the … More…
Pulling Back The Curtains, But Not All The Way
The Berkshire Museum is trying to gain the public trust and put the whole deaccessioning matter behind them. Recently they stated that as they move forward it will be done “transparently, cooperatively, and thoughtfully.” While that is all well and good, … More…
Yellow Fades To Brown – Light Sensitive Pigments
It appears that some of Van Gogh’s paintings will be changing colors. Recent X-ray analysis (chemical mapping) determined that the artist used two types of chrome yellow paint … one of which is more sensitive to light. Over time, the … More…
Comments on the Art Market – Volume 210
We just released Volume 210 of our Comments on the Art Market. In this issue, we cover the gallery’s hours for the month of June, Stocks, Tales from the Dark Side (there were some good ones this month), Really, and … More…
The Americans Take Center Stage In New York
Last week, we saw both Sotheby’s and Christie’s take their shot at the American Art market with sales in their New York bases. After seemingly endless sales from the weeks prior, expectations were mixed… and the results were modest at … More…
Told You I Could Sell The Basquiat!
We recently reported on a family squabble that pitted father against daughter. It came to a head over a painting once owned by Dolores Ormandy Neumann (wife and mother) who was a leading figure in the 1980s supporting New York’s … More…
Vodak & Art – A Recipe For Disaster
On May 25th, Igor Podporin, a 37-year-old Russian who had a bit too much to drink, took a metal pole and attacked one of Russia’s most famous works of art, Ilya Repin’s Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on November 16, … More…
Comments on the Art Market – Volume 211
We just released Volume 211 of our Comments on the Art Market. In this issue, we cover our four upcoming shows (Aspen, Newport, Nantucket, and Baltimore), The Dark Side, Stocks, some Really good stories, and The Art Market – the recent … More…