Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog (Orange) was sold for $58,4M and set a new record

During the Post-War & Contemporary Evening Sale at Christie's New York on 12 November, which totalized $691,583,000 (including buyer's premium), Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog (Orange) realized $58,405,000 achieving world auction record for a living artist.

 Signed and dated 'Jeff Koons 1994-2000' (on the underside), Balloon Dog (Orange) is a 121x143x45in (307.3x363.2x114.3cm) mirror-polished stainless steel "inflatable" sculpture with a translucent colour coating.
This work is one of five unique versions (Blue, Magenta, Orange, Red, Yellow), part of the highly acclaimed Celebration series of paintings and sculptures that Koons instigated in the early 1990s. 



The one-ton metal balloon sculpture is formed by 60 parts welded together to produce the simple, but very suggestive shapes, as well to convey an illusion of weightlessness. Jeff Koons worked closely during years with a specialist foundry in California perfecting the meticulous colour coating that appears to hover abouve the stainless-steel surface.

Francis Bacon's Three Studies of Lucian Freud sets record price for a painting sold at auction

Painted in 1969 at London's Royal College of Art, after his studio was destroyed in a fire, Francis Bacon's triptych Three Studies of Lucian Freud, as set a new record for a painting sold at auction. The painting was sold at Christie's New York after six minutes of fierce bidding for $142m (£89m, €106m), easily surpassing the previous record of $119.9m (£74m) paid last year for Edvard Munch's The Scream.


 Considered one of Bacon's greatest masterpieces, the triptych marks the friendship between Bacon and Lucian Freud, who got acquainted in 1945 and became close companions, painting each other on a number of occasions.

 This was the first time that the Three Studies of Lucian Freud  had been offered at auction and bidding opened at $80m (£50m, 60m euros). Its presale estimate was $85m (£53m, €64m).

 Exhibited in Francis Bacon's retrospective at the Grand Palais, Paris in 1971-1972, the three panels that form the painting were separated in the mid-1970s.
Later in 1985, one panel was shown at the Tate, before the three sections were reassembled.
The complete work was displayed in New Haven, Connecticut in 1999 and in October this year it got its first ever UK public viewing at Christie's in London.

 The absolute record for a work of art belongs to Cézanne's painting "The Card Players" sold in 2011 for €190 million (£158 million, $250 million) to the royal family of Qatar, beating the previous record of €106.4 million (£88.7  million, $141 million) paid for Jackson Pollock’s “No 5, 1948” sold by David Geffen in 2006. 

Banksy's mural "Slave Labour" at auction in Miami

Banksy's mural "Slave Labour" (Bunting Boy) was auctioned today at Fine Art Auctions Miami , starting at $400,0000 and was expected to fetch something between $500,000 and $700,000. Completed in 2012, the work is a stencil and spray paint on render with additional jubilee bunting (Height 48 in.; Width 59.8 in. / Height 122 cm.; Width 152 cm)

The previous days before this auction have surrounded by controversy and have inclusively drawn the attention from the Scotland Yard and from the FBI.
All because the mural was removed this month from the wall of Poudland, located in Haringey Council, UK. Poundland is a store that sells items for one pound and is owned by property firm Wood Green Investments.
Haringey Council even started a campaign to bring the mural back, including contacting the Arts Council and Culture Secretary Maria Miller and the Mayor of Miami, Tomas Regalado. A solicitor for Wood Green Investments has advised the company to avoid commenting on the subject,

According to Frederic Thut from Fine Art Auctions Miami, the mural was painted on a private wall and the owner of a private wall can do whatever he wants with his own wall. The auction house has been approached by the authorities and asked them to provide proofs that the work was illegal to sell.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said someone had removed it for sale and there is no suggestion of any crime being commited. They have advised the US authorities that there was no theft.

"Slave Labour" (Bunting Boy) was auctioned in FAAM's Modern, Contemporary and Street Art auction (lot 00006). However the lot was passed.

 Another Banksy's work Wet Dog, a stencil and spray paint on stone (Height 78.7 in.; Width 63 in. / Height 200 cm.; Width 160 cm), created in Bethlehem in 2007 and expected to fetch between $600,000 and $800,000, was predicted to be included in the same catalogue (lot 00007), but it's not showing at this moment.

Christie's Paris: Hélène Rochas collection doubles auction estimates

The sale of the collection of Hélène Rochas on September 27 at Christie's Paris, comprising Modern Art, Art Déco, Furniture and European Art Objects, paintings and old master drawings, as well as drawings from the 19th century, has doubled estimates, totalizing €17,785,050/£12,557,790/$20,340,905, with 98% in value and 95% in lot.

 Under the gavel of Christie's France President François Ricqlès, experienced and emerging art collectors worldwide - 74% Europeans, 15% Americans and 5% Asiatics - manifested their interest in sale that saw four world records at auction and a right of first refusal carried out by the Musée d'Orsay.

 "Fiddle and Spanish Guitar" (1933) by Ben Nicholson was sold for €3,313,000/£2,635,823/$4,269,463, marking a record at auction for the artist.

 "Deux masques" (ca. 1925) by Jean Lambert-Rucki and Jean Dunand was sold for €385.000/£306.306/$496.150, also another record for the artists in a collective work.

Edgar Brant and Daum with "Lampadaire La Tentation" (ca. 1920-1926), sold for €265.000/£210.834/$341.506 and Diego Giacometti with "Table-Berceau, first version" (ca. 1963), sold for €1.297.000/£1.031.893/$1.671.444, achieved records at action for their creations.

 The Musée D'Orsay carried out its right of first refusal and took home a center cabinet/cabinet de milieu (ca. 1910) made of maple veneer, rosewood, oak, leather, painted and engraved ivory by Clément Mère for €67.000/£53.305/$86.343.

 Worthy of notice among the paintings of renowned artists that covered the walls of Hélène Rochas' apartment at rue Barbet de Jouy à Paris dans le VIIème, is Wassily Kandinsky's "Braunes Schweigen,"  sold for €2.137.000/£1.700.197/$2.753.952.

 During the previous 14 days before the auction,  5259 visited the exhibition.

Renoir's "Paysage Bords de Seine" was allegedly stolen and its auction has been cancelled

The story involving Pierre-Auguste Renoir's painting "Paysage Bords de Seine" (On the Shore of the Seine), bought at the Harpers Ferry Flea Market in Virginia, is starting to assume the form of a novel.

 Last week, The Art Inquirer mentioned that the 5 1/2 x 9 in oil on linen napkin painting was going up for auction this September 29th at The Potomack Company. But unforeseen events have detemined its cancellation.

 Washington Post reporter Ian Shapira, entered the library at the Baltimore Museum of Art and among the letters and artwork receipts from Baltimore arts patron, collector and important benefactor of the museum, Saidie Adler May, he found records showing that she had lent Renoir's to the museum in 1937. The discovery startled museum officials, who had already said the flea-market Renoir never entered their institution.

 In the possession of the loan registration number, museum officials ended up discovering an even-more-astounding clue about the painting's journey. An old museum loan registration document revealed that the "Paysage Bords de Seine" was stolen on November 17, 1951, from the Baltimore Museum of Art — shortly after May’s death.

A copy of the original police report from 1951 was provided by the Baltimore police this last Friday.

 Due to these unexpected events, the auction of the painting that had been acquired in 1926 by international lawyer Herbert L. May at the Gallerie Bernheim-Jeune in Paris and bought at a flea market over eight decades after, has been cancelled and now the FBI is investigating, while at the same time museum officials are trying to learn more about the painting’s theft and why they couldn’t explain why it does not appear on a worldwide registry of stolen and lost art.

  The museum's Director Doreen Bolger has stated that the painting belongs in the BMA’s May Collection, but  for Potomack Company’s President Elizabeth Wainstein,  Herbert L. May is listed as the buyer by the French gallery where the piece was first sold, she’s not certain that Saidie May technically owned it.
According to Wainstein, the painting will remain at the auction house until the matter is settled.

These and other details may trigger a legal showdown over the painting's ownership and besides the already mentioned players (the Baltimore Museum of Art, The Potomack Company and the woman that inadvertently bought the painting together with a plastic cow and a Paul Bunyan doll at the flea market), one cannot forget about the company that insured the painting and paid a $2,500 claim for the stolen artwork.

 According to Christopher A. Marinello, executive director and general counsel of the London-based Art Loss Register, the world’s largest private database of stolen and lost art, the rightful owner of "Paysage Bords de Seine" might be the company that insured the painting at the time of its disappearance. In the mid-20th century, most art insurers had policies stipulating that they were entitled to stolen artwork that was recovered and for which they’ve paid claims.

 The Art Inquirer contacted The Potomack Company and received the following feedback:

Quote:

"Bellow is our press release from Thursday that explains the situation. Since then, a police report of the theft from the Baltimore Museum of Art has surface. Potomack Commpany is fullly cooperatin with the FBI to help ascertain who has the clear title to this work of art.


RENOIR PAINTING PAYSAGE BORDS DE SEINE WITHDRAW FROM SEPTEMBER 29 AUICTION.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

The Potomack Company announces the withdrawl of Pierre-Auguste Renoir's painting Paysage Bords de Seine from a planned sale on September 29 at the Potomack Company auction house after a question was raised by The Baltimore Museum of Art on Wednesday, September 26, about the ownership of the painting.


Backround:

On July 27, 2012, a consignor brought a painting into The Potomack Company that she had bought at a flea market., and Potomack's fine art specialist, Anne Norton Craner, confirmed that it was a known Renoir painting titled Paysage Bords de Seine painted in the late 19th century.

The same day, July 27, 2012, Potomack Company promptly contacted Art Loss Register – a service that records and follows missing and stolen works of art - confirming that the painting had never been reported stolen or missing. Potomack also consulted the FBI’s art theft website to confirm that it was not listed as stolen by the FBI. Potomack researched the provenance of the painting, determining that it was a painting listed in Bernheim-Jeune’s Renoir catalogue raisonne and that the last record of the painting’s exhibition or sale was in Paris in 1926. The buyer was Herbert L. May, husband of Saidie May until their separation in 1924. Saidie May was an important donor of paintings and other objects to the Baltimore Museum of Art.

On September 6, Potomack issued a press release announcing the upcoming sale and explaining the mysterious provenance and discovery of the painting. The release was sent to major news organizations, to The Baltimore Museum of Art and to international Renoir specialists. Since the press release, there has been worldwide media coverage of the painting and the mystery of its whereabouts since 1926."

End of Quote.


   As you can see, this story is far from over. Further developments will be reported as soon as they become available.
The Art Inquirer used Lynda Robinson and Magda Jean-Louis report at The Washington Post (Post Local) as a reference for this article.

Renoir's Painting found at a Flea Market in Virginia is Going for Auction

 It's one of those stories that we wish it would happen to us. During a weekend day at the Harpers Ferry Flea Market in Virginia, a Shenandoah Valley woman acquired a box of miscellaneous items - a plastic cow and a Paul Bunyan doll had caught her eye. After taking those two items, the remaining content was put inside a white plastic bag and stored in a shed. Later was moved into her car’s trunk and eventually into her kitchen.

 However, part of the content of the box, was also a painting of a landscape. But the woman wasn't really interested in the painting, but in the frame. She had already tored the brown paper off the back and thrown it in the trash when she asked her mother for help to take the painting from the frame.
Fortunately her mother told her to get the painting looked first before throwing it away. She hardly knew that she was in presence of a genuine Renoir, worth many times more than the price that she had payed for box's content: $50.

 A plaque on the frame with the author's name, led the owner to seek advice with a reliable expert, so she scheduled an appointment with The Potomack Company in Alexandria (VA).

 The painting's radiant plein air quality – the rapid brush strokes, the vibrant purple and pink colors, the Seine as subject matter and the luminous light, reminded fine arts specialist, Anne Norton Craner, of Renoir’s 1879 Landscape of Wargemont.
After further investigation, Craner was able to identify the painting as "Paysage Bords de Seine" (oil on canvas: 5 1/2 x 9 in), one of Renoir’s many river scenes painted along the Seine River near the towns of Bougival and Chatou.

 Anne Craner concluded the painting had been last purchased in 1926 from the Gallerie Bernheim-Jeune in Paris, one of the preeminent dealers of Renoir’s work, by international lawyer Herbert L. May, husband of Baltimore arts patron and collector Saidie Adler May. Mrs. May was an important benefactor of the Baltimore Museum of Art, donating over 300 works of art as well as funds to establish the museum’s Renaissance and Modern Art wings.

 In the words of Elizabeth Haynie Wainstein, owner of The Potomack Company, the painting’s journey is a rare story of a lost treasure found, now expected to fetch $75,000-100,000 at auction.
 The painting will be auctioned as Lot 1 on September 29th, included in the Sale 40 - September 29th/30th Auction at Main Gallery.

Christie's to auction The Collection of Hélène Rochas

           Andy Warhol 'pink' portrait of Hélène Rochas (1 of 4), 1974 (c) Christie's Images Limited 2012

Chrisitie's will be offering at auction in Paris on 27 September 2012, following a pre-sale public exhibition from 11 to 26 (except on Sundays) of the same month, The Collection of Hélène Rochas, also known as ‘la belle Hélène’ or ‘la belle Madame Rochas’.
 The collection comprises art works from the Modern and Post-War eras; exquisite examples from the Art Deco period, important furniture and European objets d’art as well as Old Master and 19th century paintings and drawings.

 Set aside from the big aristocratic collections as well as from those amassed by the French financial and industrial bourgeoisie,  Rochas' preferences were influenced by wealthy foreigners, aesthetes, and collectors who followed the examples of Carlos de Beistegui, Arturo Lopez-Willshaw, Antenor Patiño or even took inspiration from the more modern tastes of Eugénia Errázuriz and Cole Porter.

Alongside her friends Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé, Hélène Rochas was one of the first to start an important Art Deco collection. Among the acquired artworks and objects, now to be offered at auction, are a torchère serpent, created by Edouard Marcel Sandoz in 1931 (estimate: €25,000-30,000); a floor lamp by Edgar Brandt & Daum (estimate: €40,000-60,000), Deux masques, circa 1925 by Jean Lambert-Rucki and inlayed with egg shell by Jean Dunand (estimate: €60,000-80,000), as well as four works by Diego Giacometti, led by a Berceau coffee-table circa 1963 (estimate: €60,000-80,000). She explained she found a “dreamlike potential” in the period.

An important sale of her Art Deco collection was organised at Christie’s Monaco in 1990.

 In 1974, while living in New York, she commissioned four portraits by Andy Warhol (each estimated at €200,000-300,000), and also acquired Ben Nicholson’s 1933 abstract painting "Fiddle and Spanish Guitar", a testimony to the Abstract movements that led the 1930s art scene (estimate: €300,000-500,000). This work was displayed in her Paris apartment facing a striking Neoclassical sofa previously owned by Arturo Lopez-Willshaw, who had acquired it at the age of just 16 (estimate: €12,000-18,000). It was flanked with a pair neoclassical ormolu and lac burgaute candelabras, from Harewood Castle in England (estimate: €100,000-150,000).

 A magnificent 151 x 94 cm life-size Portrait of Lucien Guitry by Edouard Vuillard (estimate: €150,000-250,000), which was featured as number 303 in the Vuillard retrospective at the Grand Palais, Paris September 2003-January 2004, dominated the entrance hall of her Parisian apartment on rue Barbet de Jouy, in the elegant 7^th arrondissement.
 The living room was presided over by Braunes Schweigen, a 1925 oil painting by Wassily Kandinsky, which hung above a sofa (estimate: €1,5 million-2 million). A large 1954 terracotta vase by Picasso (estimate: €40,000-60,000) stood on one of a pair of Neoclassical side tables (estimate: €80,000-120,000).

The petit salon was the area where Madame Rochas hosted friends and guests, presenting them with a large Balthus painting, Japanese woman with red table, 1967-76, which hung over the entire wall (estimate: €3 million-5 million; dimensions: 144 x 192.2 cm). The work represents Setsuko Ideta, the painter’s second wife, whom he met in Rome, after he was appointed director of the Academy of France at the Villa Medici, and married in 1967. This relationship had a considerable influence on his art, and Setsuko became his muse, adopting a traditional Far-Eastern style. In the same room, above the fire-place sat an important flower bouquet by Jean Fautrier (estimate: €60,000-80,000) once part of the André Malraux Collection.

 Both the exhbition and sale will take place at Christie’s, 9 avenue Matignon 75008 Paris.
 The Collection of Hélène Rochas (sale 3538) is estimated to realise 8 million euros.

Retrato de Modesto Castillo by Pablo Picasso sells for £2.2 million

 Picasso's oil on linen entitled "Retrato de Modesto Castillo," sold at Christie's London for £2,169,250 ($3,399,215 / €2,691,453) during the Impressionist/Modern Day Sale on June 21, widely surpassing the highest auction house expectations (£100,000 - £150,000).

 The work was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1895 at the age of 13, during the last months of his time living with his family at the 2nd floor of 14 de Payo Gómez, located in Corunna (Coruña, Galicia, North-West Spain),  where his father, José Ruiz Blasco, had acquired a position teaching art.
Picasso's daughter Maya Widmaier-Picasso has confirmed the authenticity of the painting.

 At this stage of his life, Picasso already presented a remarkable draughtsmanship and indubitable talent, clearly shown on this portrait of Modesto Castilla y Casal wearing a Mourish disguise.
Modesto was the natural son - out of matrimony - of Dr. Ramón Pérez Costales.
Born in Oviedo and former Fostering and Fine Arts Minister, Dr. Ramón would become Picasso's first patron.

 Renowned biographer of Pablo Picasso, John Richardson, considers this age a relevant period in the artist's life, when his skills improved soon after his sister's death.
Palau i Fabre, an expert in Picasso when he lived in Corunna (1891-1895), estimates the existance of 15 to 20 works that he considers the first adult ones, completed during this period.

 The work in question follows an interesting path until nowadays: Having deceased with no legitimate inheritors, Dr. Ramón Costalez left his legacy to the maid-servant.
According to art critic Pablo Todela, the painting was bought by the Corunna born painter José María de Labra in late 1940's early 1950's, later selling it to a German museum.
The portrait of Modesto Castilla shows up later as part of the collection of M. Bruh, who acquired the painting through an anonymous bid at Sotheby's, London, 1 July 1964, lot 176, and thence by descent to the owner who decided to sell it at auction through Christie's London.

Consulted source: Article by Ana Rodríguez (La Opinión newspaper, Coruña)

Edvard Munch’s "The Scream" Sets a New World Record at Art Auction

On 2 May 2012, during the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale at Sotheby's New York, Edvard Munch’s "The Scream," a pastel on board (79cm x 59cm;  32in x 23 1/4 in) in its original frame and dated from 1895, set a new world record for any work of art sold at auction.

Munch's masterpice was sold for $119,922,500 / £73,921,284 / € 91,033,826 (includes buyer's premium), in an evening where $330,568,550 marked the highest-ever total for an auction of Impressionist & Modern Art at Sotheby’s Worldwide.
A group of at least eight bidders showed interest in Edvard Munch's painting, but it would be an over 12 minutes long battle between two highly determined phone bidders that would settle the final selling price.

This is one of only four versions of the work in existence and widely regarded as the best. An oil version from 1893 is in the National Gallery in Oslo, while the Munch museum holds another oil version from 1910 and a pastel one.

The Scream is considered an iconic work of art and one of the visual keys to the modern consciousness, in the sense that expresses "...the horrifying moment when man realizes his impact on nature and the irreversible changes that he has initiated, making the planet increasingly uninhabitable." (in the words of Petter Fredrik Olsen)

Petter Olsen, the previous owner of this version of The Scream, decided that it was time to make the painting accessible to the general public. He inherited the work as part of an art collection that included other Munch's works assembled by his father Thomas Fredrik Olsen, of whom he was a friend and patron.
With the money resulting from the auction, Petter intends to build a museum in Hvitsten, Norway, where Munch once owned property and near where Olsen has an estate, to house the rest of his father's collection.

“I was walking along the road with two Friends / the Sun was setting – The Sky turned a bloody red / And I felt a whiff of Melancholy – I stood / Still, deathly tired – over the blue-black / Fjord and City hung Blood and Tongues of Fire / My Friends walked on – I remained behind / – shivering with Anxiety – I felt the great Scream in Nature – EM” (The artist’s hand-painted inscription on the frame of the present work.)



Several other important works of art made part of the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale, including: Pablo Picasso’s Dora Maar titled Femme assise dans un fauteuil $29,202,500); Joan Miro’s Tête humaine from 1931 ($14,866,500) and Paul Gauguin’s Cabane sous les arbres ($8,482,500). All from Theodore J. Forstmann's art collection.

A Salvador Dali's Printemps nécrophilique from 1936, which has not appeared on the market in nearly 15 years, achieved $16,322,500, a group of five gouaches by René Magritte from a private European collection totaled $4,588,500 and Max Ernst’s 1940 depiction of his lover and fellow Surrealist Leonora Carrington titled Leonora in the Morning Light, sold for $7,992,500.
From an important European collection, Constantin Brancusi's Prométhée achieved $12,682,500, while a group of pieces by Auguste Rodin – including four lifetime casts – totaled $5,878,000.

This was without a doubt a memorable evening for Sotheby's auction house and an evidence that despite of all the world crisis that we're going through, there's alot of money set aside.

Next year will take place the 150th anniversary celebrations in Norway of the birth of Edvard Munch (1863-1944).

Although the value payed for Edvard Munch's work is out of reach for the mere mortal, it dims when compared with the staggering sum of €190 million (£158 million, $250 million) payed last year for Cézanne's painting "The Card Players."

Museu do Oriente - Voyages of Discovery

From 28th of February through 4th of March, the Museu do Oriente (Lisbon, Portugal) is hosting the exhibition Voyages of Discovey - A Portuguese collection travelling around the world.

The collection comprises ceramic pieces and paintings on canvas that will be held at auction in Hong Kong by the British auction house Bonhams. This Portuguese collection, beloging to an anonymous private collector, has been previously presented in Paris, Nova Iorque, Londres, Singapura, Taipé, Beijing, Xangai e Hong Kong.

With 12 valuable ceramic pieces spanning a historical period that goes back to the Song Dinasty (960-1279), the collection includes two plates from the Song Dinasty (960-1279), one of them showing a poem written six centuris later by the Emperor Qianlong, where he states the beauty of the object.
Also presented in a fine state of conservation, is rare china from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dinasties.
Minutely elaborated cloisonné pieces (enamelwork in which metal filaments are fused to the surface of an object to outline a design that is filled in with enamel paste) complete this part of the collection, among which stands out an 'ice cooler' that would held a block of ice with the purpose of cooling the room - the Victoria & Alber Museum possesses a similar one, probably property of the same original owner.

A series of 15 paintings from two renowned Chinese painters of the 20th and 21st centuries, Chu Teh-Chun(朱德群) and Zao Wou-Ki(赵无极), travels through several decades that separate both artists, testifying their artistic development.

Born in China, both studied under the instruction of Lin Fengmian at the Hangzhou Academic Art College. Following similar paths, they travelled to Paris (Zao Wou-Ki in 1948 and Chu Teh-Chun in 1955), in a time when Paris effervescing with art movements.

Their artistic creativity together with their life experience is depicted through a fusion of caligrapy and tradicional Chinese painting, with the Western abstractionism, where the result can be appreciated on the 15 exhibited paintings.

Voyages of Discovery can be visited in the Galeria Sul at the Museo do Oriente from 28th of February to 4th of March, 2012.

General information about visits can be found on this page.

No buyer for Goya's Portrait of Don Juan López de Robredo

Last month, the fact that the Spanish authorities didn't meet the price asked by a private collector for Goya's Portrait of Don Juan López de Robredo, Embroiderer to King Carlos IV of Spain, and that little time was given for particulars or private institutions to make an offer, caused controversy when it was announced that the painting would be sold at auction.

Francisco de Goya's painting, a 42 5/8 x 32 3/8 in. (108.3 x 82.3 cm.) oil on canvas depicting a Portrait of Don Juan López de Robredo, Embroiderer to King Carlos IV of Spain, seated, half-length, holding an embroidery design, was auctioned in yesterday's Old Master & British Paintings (Evening Sale) at Christie's London, King Street.
However, the painting with an estimate price of £4,000,000 - £6,000,000($6,248,000 - $9,372,000), did not find a buyer.

Nonetheless, the December 7, Old Master & British Paintings (Evening Sale) saw some new world record prices for artists at auction: " The Battle between Carnival and Lent" by Pieter Brueghel II, £6,873,250 ($10,722,270 / €8,021,083); " Dutch men-o'-war and other shipping in a calm" by Willem van de Velde II, £5,921,250 ($9,237,150 / €6,910,099); "An old man at a casement" by Govaert Flinck, £2,337,250 ($3,646,110 / €2,727,571); "The Holy Family" by Francesco Zaganelli da Cotignola, £1,015,650 ($1,584,414€ /1,185,264); "Portrait of a gentleman, possibly Richard Salwey, half-length, in a fur-trimmed red coat and a turban, leaning on a plinth" by Andrea Soldi, £825,250 ($1,287,390 / €963,067). The prices include buyer's premium.

New auction record for Roy Lichtenstein with "I Can See the Whole Room…and There's Nobody in It!"

The Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale (New York, Rockefeller Center), which took place on November 8, resulted in 16 new world records at auction, including: Paul McCarthy's "Tomato Head (Green)" (1994) sold for $4,562,500 (£2,828,750/€3,285,000); Charles Ray’s Table, a multimedia sculpture, which fetched $3,106,500 (£1,926,030/€2,236,680); Louise Bourgeois’s 21-foot wide bronze, Spider, soared beyond its pre-sale estimate of $4-6 million to achieve a new world auction record for the artist at $10,722,500 (£6,647,950/€7,720,200).

However, in a sale where thirty-three works sold for over the $1 million mark, including the first part of the Peter Norton Collection, which achieved $247,597,000 (£153,510,140/ €178,269,840), the star of the evening sale was Roy Lichtenstein's "I Can See the Whole Room…and There's Nobody in It!", a graphite and oil on canvas, measuring 48 x 48 in. (121.9 x 121.9 cm.), painted in 1961 and sold for $43,202,500 (₤26,785,550/€31,105,800), setting a new auction record for the artist.



"I Can See the Whole Room…and There's Nobody in It!" is one of the earliest and most important of Lichtenstein's Pop Art pictures, formerly in the collection of the pioneering collectors Emily and Burton Tremaine.

The previous record for a Lichtenstein work was for "Ohhh ... Alright..." (1964), sold at Christie’s New York in November 2010 for $42.6 million.

Image by Peter Macdiarmid (Getty Images)

Goya escapes from Spain and goes to auction at Christie's

A portrait painting by Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, depicting Don Juan López de Robredo, embroiderer to King Carlos IV of Spain, is going to be auctioned at Christie's London.

Before the impossibility of the painting being acquired by the Museo del Prado or by the Patrimonio Nacional, the Spanish Ministry of Culture has authorized its exportation, a fact that has cause great controversy and has receive unfavorable opinions by the Spanish media.
According to official sources, the public institutions weren't capable of meeting the price asked by the owner of the painting, a private collector from Madrid.

Although not one of the most important paintings from the artist, it's a painting from one of the most important Spanish masters and a renowned artist worldwide.

The portrait of Don Juan López de Robredo, Embroiderer to King Carlos IV of Spain (El bordador Juan López de Robredo), an oil on canvas measuring 42⅝ x 32⅜ in. (108.3 x 82.3 cm) and with an estimated value of £4,000,000 – 6,000,000, will go on sale during the Old Master and British Paintings Evening Sale on 6 December 2011, at Christie's London.

Other 36 paintings, spanning near 500 years of European art history, will be offered up for auction during the same sale, including The Battle between Carnival and Lent by Pieter Brueghel II (1564/5-1637/8) (estimate: £3.5 million to £4.5 million); a full length Portrait of Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield (1755-1815), by Thomas Gainsborough, R.A. (1727-1788) (estimate: £2.5 million to £3.5 million); Dutch men-o'-war and other shipping in a calm by Willem van de Velde II (1633-1707) (estimate: £1.5 million to £2.5 million); An old woman spinning in an interior by Nicolaes Maes (1632-1693), 1658 (estimate: £1 million to £1.5million) and An old man at a casement, 1646, by Govaert Flinck (1615-1660) (estimate £700,000 to £1,000,000).

Vieira da Silva painting "Saint-Fargeau" sold for 1.54 Million Euro

This October 22nd, the oil painting "Saint-Fargeau" (162 x 114 cm) by the portuguese artist Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (1908-1992), and completed between 1961-1965, was sold for € 1,544,701 (includes buyer premium) during the auction of the Jorge de Brito collection at the Tajan auction house. This result marks a new record for a portuguese artist at auction.

From a total of 57 auctioned pieces, 37 were sold, totalizing near 8 million euro.
The sale included 20 Vieira da Silva paintings, Chinese porcelains, a "Buffalo" jade statue from Ming Dynasty (17th century), and the painting "Cariatide" (1916) by Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920), sold for € 858,589, among other important pieces.

A catalalogue is available for download.

The Jorge de Brito collection, now managed by the heirs, is considered the most important portuguese collection of the second-half of the 20th century. The collection includes 6 Vieira da Silva paintings, which are in the Fundação Arpad Szenes-Vieira da Silva, in Lisbon.
During the following 5 years, the Portuguese State has buying preference.

Palácio do Correio Velho - 270 Modern and Contemporary Art Auction

A modern and contemporary art auction featuring works by some of the most famous portuguese artist is taking place at the Palácio do Correio Velho, Lisbon, Portugal.

Divided in two sections (19th and 20th October at 21h00), the 270 Modern and Contemporary Art Auction (Leilão 270 - Arte Moderna e Contemporânea) comprises 325 lots with prices estimates ranging between €40 and €120,000.

Between the renowned names represented in the auction, are those of: Amadeu de Sousa-Cardozo, Eduardo Viana, Paula Rego, Abel Salazar, Graça Morais, Júlio Resende, Ângelo de Sousa, Vieira da Silva, Arpard Szenes, Artur Bual, Malangatana Ngwenya, Mário Cesariny, Cargaleiro, Almada Negreiros, Júlio Pomar, José de Gumarães, and João Cutileiro.

Catalogues for the first and second sessions, as well as a virtual gallery of the auction, are available.

A document for absentee/telephone bidding is also available for download.

Malangatana Auction "A Italiana" Revoked

A Fiat 500 painted by the recently deceased Mozambican artist Malangatana, was being auctioned during a period with the purpose of raising funds to the Malangatana Valente Ngwenya foundation.

The auction ended on July 6 and it seems that only two offers were made, of which only the one of $150,000 offered by the Banco Comercial de Investimentos (BCI) has been made public.

According to Malangatana's son Mutxhini Malangatana, the result was fell short of expectations and the auction of "A Italiana" (The Italian Woman) was revoked on his instructions, justifying that Malangatana's latest masterpiece was expected to fetch the triple of what was offered, a value far superior to the artist's market value.

"A Italiana" is expected to go again into auction, this time lead by an auction house and for a period of at least two years.

Pig Parade Auction Totalized Over €5000

The auction of 37 fiberglass-made pigs that took place in the evening of the 29th of June 2011 at the Feira de S. João (St. John's fair) precinct totalized €5410.
The highest value achieved was €310, with a starting bid of €100.
Most part of the pigs was acquired by privates.

The money will go in total to the APPACDM (Portuguese Association of Parents and Friends of the Hadicapped Citizen) of Évora.
According to the president of the association, Silvino Costa, the money will be applied in the construction of new head-quarters, with the objective of providing better conditions to the users of the association.

Decorated mostly by students from the city of Évora, these fiberglass-made pigs were part of the "Pig Parade" exhibition, an event that experienced a few incidents.

"Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a Trainer, a Stable-Lad, and a Jockey" by George Stubbs sold for £22,441,250 at Christie's

During the Old Master and British Paintings Evening Sale, today July 5, at Christie's in London, the painting "Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a Trainer, a Stable-Lad, and a Jockey" by the British artist George Stubbs, was sold for £22,441,250 (includes buyer's premium), which sets the price near the lower margin of the previous estimate value (£20,000,000 - £30,000,000).

More information about this painting and George Stubbs can be found in this article.

"A Italiana" (The Italian Woman): Malangatana's Masterpiece at Auction

Born on the 6th of June 1936 in Matalana, a village of the district of Marracuene, the Mozambican artist Malangatana Valente Ngwenya dedicated an important part of his life to cultural projects with the objective of helping those in need, with special focus on youth.

The early age of Malangatana was outlined by difficult times, with an absent father and a sick mother he went to live with an uncle and started working with eleven years of age.

It's at the house of the biologist, sculptor and painter Augusto Cabral that Malangatana asks to be taugh painting, later continuing to developing his artistic skills with the sponsorship of the portuguese architect Pancho Guedes.
Soon he starts exhibiting his works and in the 70's travels to Portugal with a Gulbenkian's scholarship.

His name his recognized internationaly and his paintings become part of public and private collections worldwide, including museums.

Malangatana, besides painter was also an actor, poet, dancer and musician, and tried his skills on tapesty and sculpture. He was handed the Prince Claus award, attributed the Honoris Causa degree by the Évora university and nominated Artist for Peace, by Unesco in 1997, including other recognitions.

The artist also known by his close friends as "Crocodile" passed away at the age of 74, in the Hospital Pedro Hispano (Matosinhos, Portugal).

But lets talk about "A Italiana" or "The Italian Woman."

The idea was conceived in the end of 2010, when the long-time friends Malangatana and the Ferreira Dos Santos family together decided to develop a project of artistic and cultural value that would serve as a major beneficial social cause.
Unfortunately the artist would not live to assist the auction of his masterpiece.

Celebrating the official launching of FIAT in Mozambique on the 5th of April in Maputo, a brand new white Fiat 500 1.4 Pop painted by Malangatana is being auctioned until 8 p.m. on the 6th July, 2011, Mozambique time (UTC/GMT + 2 h), during a gala to be organized to this effect.
The minimum bid started at 125.000,00 USD, with minimum increments of 2.500,00 USD.
Auction regulations and FAQs are available for consultation.

The proceeds of the auction will be donated to the Malangatana Valente Ngwenya foundation.

Malangatana's latest masterpice, "A Italiana" (The Italian Woman) resulted in a fusion of Italian design and evocative African symbolism, with native and nature-inspired imagery represented through warm colours in a harmonious composition.
Embelishing the car's rear and the dashboard is the artist's signature embossed in aluminium.

The Fiat 500 and the art materials were donated by Tecnica Industrial, a company part of JFS Group.



Top image source: O País newspaper

"Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a Trainer, a Stable-Lad, and a Jockey" by George Stubbs to be auctioned at Christie’s

During the the Old Master and British Paintings Evening Sale on 5 July 2011 at Christie's in London, one of the most important works of the British painter George Stubbs (1724-1806) is expected to realise in excess of £20 million.

Commissioned by the horse’s owner, Frederick St. John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke, and executed during the year of 1765, "Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a Trainer, a Stable-Lad, and a Jockey (40in. x 76¼in. (101.6 x 193.6 cm.) shows Gimcrack in the foreground with his trainer and jockey, a stable-lad rubbing him down, and in the background winning a ‘trial’ by some distance.

George Stubbs spent his early artistic career working as a portrait painter, first in his native Liverpool, and subsequently in York. He visited Rome in 1754 and later on spent 18 months in a farmhouse in Lincolnshire dissecting and drawing horses in preparation for the publication of his famous book The Anatomy of the Horse.

His accurate depictions of animals and exceptional talent earned the artist the patronage of many important aristocrats, particularly those involved in horseracing, the ‘sport of Kings’.
Often celebrated as the most remarkable artist-scientist since Leonardo, Stubbs portrayed the horse with anatomical perfection, showing his veins pulsing through his skin.

Gimcrack was one of the most popular and admired of all 18th century racehorses. Although he was small, he had great stamina and won an impressive 28 of his 36 races, finishing unplaced only once.

Sold by the Bolingbroke family in 1943, it was bought by Walter Hutchinson, founder of the National Gallery of British Sports and Pastimes, before being sold again at Christie’s in 1951 when it made £12,600 and entered the Woolavington Collection.

This is the third time that "Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a Trainer, a Stable-Lad, and a Jockey" appears at Christie's.
The painting is offered from the Woolavington Collection, one of the finest private collections of Sporting Art, and will be auctioned at the Old Master and British Paintings Evening Sale on 5 July 2011 in London.