Ravenel Taipei Modern and Contemporary Asian Art Auction realizes US$ 14 million

TAIPEI.- Ravenel’s Modern and Contemporary Asian Art Auction concluded with a grand round of applause in Taipei today, totaling NT$420 million/ US$14 million, whereas the whole spring auction series realized NT$ 830 million/ US$ 27.7 million. “Special Auction of Works by Shiy De-jinn From His Close Friend’s Collection of 30 Years” was 100% sold by lot, totaling NT$ 86,472,000/ US$ 2,917,400 (Est: NT$24,840,000/ US$ 828,060). Shiy De-jinn’s Self Portrait kindled a heated round of biddings on the scene. Beginning with NT$ [...]

Peter Pan: The boy who never grew up for sale at Bonhams Decorative Arts sale

LONDON.- Peter Pan, a bronze study after the character created by the author J.M Barrie, will be offered for sale in the Decorative Arts sale,Bonhams New Bond Street on 19th June. Signed by the artist Sir George Frampton and inscribed ‘PP’, this study in the image of the 1912 original is estimated to sell for £35,000-£45,000. The original statue Peter Pan stands in Kensington Gardens, London. It was commissioned by J.M Barrie himself and was erected secretly overnight, appearing one May morning [...]

Christie’s announces The Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale to be held in June

LONDON.- Building on the strength of Christie’s vibrant New York sales of Impressionist & Modern Art in May – which welcomed bidders from 30 countries, selling 94% by lot and 90% by value – the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in London will take place on Tuesday 18 June. The auction is led by Wassily Kandinsky’s rare Expressionist masterpiece Studie zu Improvisation 3, 1909 (estimate: £12-16 million). With the majority of works from Kandinsky’s ‘Improvisation’ series in major institutions – including the [...]

Exceptional artwork by Canada’s most celebrated artists featured in Joyner Waddington’s spring auction

TORRONTO.- Magnificent work by William Kurelek, the Group of Seven, Marcelle Ferron, E.J. Hughes and Painter’s Eleven highlight a strongly-balanced sale of rarity, quality and variety within the Joyner Waddington’s Spring Auction of Important Canadian Art, taking place on Monday, June 3rd at 7:00 pm in Toronto. A vivid and haunting vision of Toronto’s lower Yonge Street, William Kurelek’s He Gloats Over Our Scepticism is well-known to collectors and followers of the Ukranian-Canadian artist’s work: The painting reproduced in volumes dedicated to [...]

Brazilian and Mexican artists lead Christie’s Latin American Art Sale in New York

NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s Evening session of Latin American Art achieved an impressive $16,013,250 (£10,568,745 /€12,330,203) and was sold 75% by lot and 74% by value, the highest total since fall 2008. Brazilian modernist Candido Portinari’s Meninos soltando pipas realized $1,443,750 (£952,875 / €1,111,688), setting a new world auction record for the artist and the top lot of the sale. Virgilio Garza, Head of Latin American Art, commented: “Continuing the success of the spring auction season at Christie’s New York, we are [...]

Anker, Sisley, Caillebotte and Van Gogh feature in auctions at Koller Zurich

ZURICH.- Important paintings by famous artists from international collections are among the highlights of the June auctions at Koller Zurich. The top lots are Vincent van Gogh’s masterpiece „Pont de Clichy“ with an estimate of CHF 5 to 7 million and „Gym lesson in Ins“, one of the most important works by Albert Anker. The highlights will be presented at exhibitions in Geneva, London and Dusseldorf. The main exhibition is in Zurich, from 8 to 17 June, at once to ART BASEL (13 [...]

MacDougall’s announces Russian paintings, works on paper, icons and works of art sale

LONDON.- On Wednesday 5th June 2013 MacDougall’s will hold sales of Russian paintings, works on paper, icons and works of art. The sale will be led by Mikhail Nesterov’s Wayfarers. Beyond the Volga, which carries a pre-sale estimate of £1,400,000–3,000,000. This masterpiece of 1922 belongs to the artist’s mature oeuvre and represents the summation of his lifelong quest to find an image for the Russian Christ. As one of only two canvasses from his Wanderer series to remain in private hands, the appearance [...]

Zhang Daqian’s ‘Lotus’ fetches $10.4 million at Christie’s Fine Chinese Modern Paintings Sale

HONG KONG (AFP).- A work by Chinese master Zhang Daqian, dubbed the “Picasso of the East”, fetched more than $10 million at a Hong Kong sale Tuesday, auction house Christie’s said. A set of four large hanging scrolls entitled “Lotus” sold for HK$80.51 million ($10.4 million) at the auction house’s fine Chinese modern paintings sale, beating pre-sale estimates by more than HK$65 million. Each scroll is over five feet tall (1.5 metres) and the painting, which was completed in 1947, depicts multiple [...]

Big art for little money: Original graphics by Mack and Piene to be offered in Berlin

BERLIN.- Works by ZERO artists Heinz Mack and Otto Piene are more than sought-after on the international market. They currently reach record prices in auctions, often far too high for young collectors. Ketterer Kunst in Berlin now offers an affordable alternative. Only in December 2012 did Ketterer Kunst in Munich sell an acrylic work and an aluminum relief by Heinz Mack for € 232.000* and € 156.000* respectively – and that with starting prices of € 60.000 and € 28.000. Otto Piene‘s acrylic [...]

Packed salerooms celebrate Bonhams Spring 2013 Hong Kong Auctions which totalled HK$172 million

HONG KONG.- Defying a widespread concern that the art market might continue the uncertainty visible at auctions of Chinese art in the later months of 2012, Bonhams wrapped up its impressive series of auctions in Hong Kong from 22 to 26 May 2013. Bonhams achieved a very substantial sold total of HK$172 million, large audiences for the six different auctions held at the Island Shangri-la Hotel ballroom, and a buoyant mood among the buyers who attended, or bid on the phone and Internet [...]

Astounding prices on works by Leroy Neiman fuel Clars $1.7 million sale

OAKLAND, CA.- On May 18 and 19, 2013, Clars Auction Gallery realized over $1.7 million on the exceptional fine art, furnishings, decorative art, jewelry and Asian antiques that were offered and will be recorded as the 4th largest sale in the firm’s history. Fueled in great part by the Fine Art category which featured a spectacular array of works by American artists as well as European, exceptional prices were also achieved in the Asian, Ethnographic and fine jewelry categories. Turning first to the [...]

Christie’s Latin American Sale in New York will offer an outstanding work by Wilfredo Lam

NEW YORK, NY.- On May 29 and 30, Christie’s Latin American Sale will offer an outstanding selection of over 300 lots from some of the region’s most prominent modern and contemporary masters. The two-day auction includes esteemed private collections and an exceptional offering of paintings and sculpture from important Latin American artists such as Fernando Botero, Leonora Carrington, Matta, Wilfredo Lam, Alfredo Ramos Martínez, and Alfredo Volpi, among others. Wilfredo Lam’s L’eau solide (estimate: $400,000 – 600,000) (lot 55) arises from a period [...]

Painting once in the possession of HRH Prince of Wales, Edward VIII, to be offered at Christie’s

NEW YORK, NY.- Benito Quinquela Martín, declared Argentina’s most famous artist by Time magazine in 1953 is well represented at Christie’sLatin American Art Sale with The Bridge at Boca (Puente en La Boca) (lot 53) (estimate $300,000 – 400,000). Largely self-taught as an artist, Quinquela adapted an idiosyncratic Impressionism over his career, eschewing avant-garde experimentation for emotionally charged renderings of the waterfront – brought to life in the bustle of ships and the hardworking dockhands attending them. Once in the possession of [...]

Sotheby’s Paris announces details of its Old Master & 19th Century Paintings & Drawings Sale

PARIS.- Sotheby’s announced details of the forthcoming Sale of Old Master & 19th Century Paintings & Drawings to be held in Paris on 27 June 2013. The French 17th & 18th Century Schools will be particularly well represented among the 164 selected lots, led by a spectacular still life by Louise Moillon, one of the first French still lifes ever painted; Le Bal de Tivoli, a remarkable work by François Watteau de Lille; and a Portrait of Jean-René Vestier by the sitter’s [...]

Christie’s to offer one of the most significant works by surrealist artist Leonora Carrington

NEW YORK, NY.- On May 29 and 30, Christie’s Latin American Sale will offer an outstanding selection of over 300 lots from some of the region’s most prominent modern and contemporary masters. The two-day auction includes esteemed private collections and an exceptional offering of paintings and sculpture from important Latin American artists such as Fernando Botero, Leonora Carrington, Matta, Wilfredo Lam, Alfredo Ramos Martínez, and Alfredo Volpi, among others. Neighborly Advice, painted by Leonora Carrington in 1947, is one of the most significant [...]