Christie’s 2010 Global Art Sales Total $5.0 Billion, Highest Sales Total in History

LONDON.- Christie’s International, the world’s leading art business, today announced worldwide sales for 2010 of £3.3 billion/$5.0 billion, up 53% by £ on last year’s figure of £2.1 billion (Figures include buyer’s premium). The highest sales total in the 245 year history of the firm, the figure is also the highest annual sales total ever recorded in the industry. Sales totals include private sales of £369.3 million/$572.4 million, an increase of 39% by £ on 2009 figures. In a year [...]

Christie’s in Record London Sale, Misses Target and Monet Water-Lily Painting Fails to Sell

LONDON.- Christie’s held London’s biggest ever art auction on Wednesday when its impressionist and modern sale fetched 153 million pounds ($227 million), but the total fell short of expectations of 164-231 million pounds. The big disappointment on the night came when a Monet water-lily painting worth an estimated 30-40 million pounds failed to sell. Bidding reached 29 million pounds. The other top lot did change hands, however, with a Blue Period portrait by Picasso selling for 34.8 million pounds. The [...]

Christie’s Presents a Curated Public Exhibition of Masterpieces

LONDON.- Christie’s announced that they will present a curated, public exhibition from 14 to 17 June 2010 showcasing the leading highlights from the richest and most exciting summer auction season in a generation. Juxtaposed: Masterpieces through the Ages will present paintings by renowned artists including van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, Rubens, Warhol, Matisse, van Dyck and Hirst alongside exceptional furniture, works of art and medieval manuscripts. The exhibition will present over 80 works of museum quality arranged according to themes, independent [...]

Christie’s to Offer a Monet Water-Lily Painting Worth an Estimated $44-59 Million

LONDON (REUTERS).- Auction house Christie’s is offering a Monet water-lily painting worth an estimated 30 to 40 million pounds ($44-59 million) this month in what it expects to be the biggest sale it has ever mounted in London. With the international art market booming again after a slump when financial markets crashed, the Christie’s sale also includes a Blue Period portrait by Pablo Picasso, offered by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation founded by the composer, and carrying a price tag [...]

Christie’s to Sell the Charming and Eclectic Hanham Court Collection

SOUTH KENSINGTON.- Christie’s heralds Spring with the sale of Hanham Court – A Pastoral Idyll, a charming and eclectic collection to be held at Christie’s South Kensington on Wednesday, 14 April 2010. Immersed in the world of antiques from a young age, Isabel and Julian Bannerman first met in Edinburgh in 1982 and have been collecting together ever since. The sale will consist of approximately 300 lots with estimates ranging from £300 to £30,000; and is expected to realize in [...]

Heirs of Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Reach Settlement Agreement

WASHINGTON, DC.- The heirs of Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy are pleased to announce that they have reached a Settlement Agreement with the Trustees of The Andrew Lloyd Webber Art Foundation resolving their ownership claim to the painting The Absinthe Drinker (Angel Fernandez de Soto) (1903) by Pablo Picasso. The terms of the Settlement Agreement are confidential in their entirety. The heirs now relinquish any and all claims of title to this painting. The Mendelssohn heirs settled other matters in 2009 with [...]