Why Are We Just Now Learning About This Theft?
Why is this news just surfacing when the owner discovered, back in August of 2017, that the 6 of his Hudson River School paintings (including works by David Johnson, Thomas Cole, Thomas Moran, and Jasper Francis Cropsey) were missing from … More…
A Last-Ditch Effort To Save The Collection
Opponents of the Berkshire Museum’s decision to sell 40 works are making a last-ditch effort to stop the sale. A few weeks ago, the museum, along with the AGO (Maura Healey), presented a proposal to the courts that would allow … More…
Green + Greed = The Dark Side
Early this month, news broke of a multi-count indictment over a $50 million international securities fraud and money laundering scheme. Based on a release from the New York Department of Justice, six individuals and four brokerage/management corporations are involved … … More…
Are Bonfoey Gallery & Neil Morris in Hot Water?
In January, Richard and Becky Hearty, from Cross Plains, Tennessee, filed a lawsuit against the Bonfoey Gallery, of Cleveland, for coercing Richard’s mother into consigning an important painting by George Inness to them. According to the complaint, Richard is the … More…
Dali, Dali & Magritte: Sotheby’s Art of the Surreal (London)
Sotheby’s also presented a sale devoted to Surrealist art and it was a compact, carefully curated, one. Taking first and second place was the master of Surrealism … Salvador Dalí. His Maison pour erotomane (a tiny work measuring just 5 … More…
Picasso, Picasso & Derain: Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern (London)
As with Christie’s, Sotheby’s pinned their hopes on Picasso, and the gamble paid off when his Femme au béret et à la robe quadrillée sold for £49.8M ($69.4M – est. on request – they were figuring $50M) and Le Matador … More…
Magritte, Miro and More Picasso: Christie’s – Art of the Surreal (London)
On the evening of February 28, Christie’s also presented their Art of the Surreal. Taking top honors here was …. drum roll please … Picasso! His painting titled Figure (a 26 x 19 inch work created on February 2, 1930 … … More…
Picasso, Degas & Monet: Christie’s – Impressionist & Modern (London)
Tonight, the auction action began in London at Christie’s and unlike some previous sales, there were no blockbuster ($50, $80 or $100 million) works. The first 9 lots all did very well … selling either within or well above their … More…
Talk About Luck!
In 2009, the Cantini museum in Marseille presented an exhibition of 20 works by Edgar Degas. On December 31st of that year, one of the works, Les Choristes, went missing. Since there were no signs of a break-in authorities assumed … More…
What do Lo Mein and Warhol Have in Common? Mr. Chow!
They say you learn something new every day … well, today I learned that Mr. Chow was an influential figure in the art world. Even artists need to eat! Source: How Mr Chow became an art world mecca – CNN … More…
Should They Be Gifted or Sold?
According to Catherine Hickley’s article in The Art Newspaper: The widow of Erhard Göpel, an art historian who worked as a dealer for Adolf Hitler in occupied Europe during the Second World War and was embroiled in Nazi art-looting, has bequeathed … More…
What Is Lurking Beneath The Surface?
It is great to see how science can help further research in the art world. Nicola Davis’s recent article in The Guardian covers the non-invasive imaging techniques used to uncover a landscape painting underneath Pablo Picasso’s La Misereuse Accroupie (The Crouching Beggar) … More…
He Tried To Ride Off Into The Sunset
Kevin Lewis’ article for WJLA states that: A man [Roy Shyreef Garrett] hired to help with an estate sale at a $5 million Potomac residence is accused of walking off with two Frederic Remington sculptures valued at $138,500. So here … More…
Erotic: Passion & Desire – Lightning Doesn’t Always Strike Twice
It is February, and Sotheby’s presented it second edition of Erotic: Passion & Desire – last year’s sale did fairly well and we knew they would try to capitalize on the success. Of course, they were kind enough to included … More…
Illegal ivory investigator found dead
One of the world’s leading researchers and investigators of the illegal ivory trade was found dead in his Nairobi home. Originally believed to be a failed burglary, Esmond Bradley Martin’s involvement with the ban of ivory trades has raised questions … More…
Comments on the Art Market – Volume 207
We just released Volume 207 of our Comments on the Art Market. This month we cover the Charleston Show, an upcoming gallery exhibition titled Imagine (works from the Ani Art Academies and some special guests), Stocks, Tales from the Dark … More…