Displaying items by tag: Christie's

Two organizations affiliated with the Secession building in Vienna where Gustav Klimt’s masterpiece, Beethoven Frieze, is housed, have spoken out against the heirs of the work’s former owner. The heirs of Erich Lederer, who fled Vienna when the Nazis annexed Austria in 1938, filed a request with Austria’s Art Restitution Advisory Board under a law that regulates the return of Nazi-looted artwork. The claim was made possible after Austria expanded the law in 2009 to cover instances where previous owners were forced to sell their artworks for unreasonably low values following World War II.

In response to the heirs’ claims, the Association of Visual Artists Vienna Secession and Friends of the Secession filed a statement saying that after studying the historical record and their consciences they had determined that the “claimants are in the wrong” adding that restitution would “trivial real injustice and debase any other genuine claims.”

Lederer’s Klimt painting was seized by the Nazis and later returned following World War II. Austrian officials would only allow Lederer to export other restituted artworks if he sold Beethoven Frieze for $75,000; half of what Christie’s estimated the painting to be worth at the time. 

An exceptional and rare orange diamond, the largest known gem of its kind, sold for a record $31.5 million on November 12 at Christie’s in Geneva. The gemstone, which was found in South Africa and weighs in at 14.82 carats, was deemed “fancy vivid,” the top rating for colored diamonds, by the Gemological Institute of America.

Very few pure orange diamonds, or “fire diamonds,” have appeared at auction, with the largest never more than six carats. David Warren, Christie’s international jewelry director, said “To have one that’s over 14 carats is exceptional.” The gem was expected to achieve between $17 million and $20 million.

Sales will continue this week at Sotheby’s when the auction house offers “The Pink Star,” a flawless 59.60-carat vivid pink diamond in Geneva. The stone carries an estimate of $60 million.

On November 12, Christie’s Evening Sale of Post-War and Contemporary Art in New York achieved an unprecedented $691,583,000 – the highest total for any auction in art market history. The top lot was Francis Bacon’s triptych, Three Studies of Lucian Freud, which garnered $142,405,000, a world record for any artwork ever sold at auction.

The highly anticipated painting, which was was expected to sell for $85 million to $95 million, portrays Lucien Freud, Bacon’s friend and fellow artist. Executed in 1969, the work is one of Bacon’s most important paintings and unites two of the most significant figurative artists of the 20^th century.

The sale set ten new world auction record prices for Bacon, Jeff Koons, Christopher Wool, Lucio Fontana, Donald Judd, Wade Guyton, Vija Celmins, Ad Reinhardt, Willem de Kooning and Wayne Thiebaud. Three works sold for over $50 million, 16 went for above $10 million, and 56 works exceeded $1 million. In addition, Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog (Orange) achieved $58,405,000, a new world auction record for a living artist and the most expensive contemporary sculpture ever sold.

Brett Gorvy, Chairman and International Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art at Christie’s, said, “We are thrilled to announce an historic total of $691.6 million for this evening’s sale of Post-War and Contemporary Art. It is the second time this year that Christie’s has broken the highest total in auction history. Collectors from 42 countries registered tonight with strong bidding from American, European and Asian collectors but also from institutions. The sale was heavily focused on icons and masterworks, achieving an astonishing 10 record prices and breaking the record for any work of art ever sold at auction. Beyond the records, 10,000 art lovers flocked to Christie’s galleries in the last week to engage with and enjoy the remarkable selection of artworks on display.”

New York’s Contemporary art sales kicked off on Monday, November 11 at Phillips. The sale, which featured 40 lots, garnered over $68 million and sold 88% by lot and 84% by value. The top lot was Roy Lichtenstein’s Woman with Peanuts, which sold for $10.8 million, just past its low estimate of $10 million. Other highlights from the sale included Andy Warhol’s Nine Gold Marilyns (Reversal Series), which realized $$9.1 million and Jeff Koons’ Buster Keaton, which sold for $4.4 million. There were a number of records set for popular contemporary artists including Nate Lowman, Lucien Smith and Jacob Kassay.

Sales will continue on November 12 and November 13 at Christie’s and Sotheby’s.

Christie’s Geneva held a three-session auction of important watches on November 10^th and 11^th that realized an unprecedented combined total of $43,985,467 million – the highest result for a series of watch sales ever held. Rolex Daytona “Lesson One,” a unique single-themed auction featuring 50 exceptional luxury wristwatches garnered $13,248,167 million and the various-owner Important Watches sale totaled $30,737,300 million. The top lot of the week was a 1957 Patek Philippe ref. 2499-second series in pink gold, which sold for $2,160,474.

Aurel Bacs, International Head of Christie’s Watch Department, said, “On November 10 and 11, Christie’s dispersed over 370 fine watches in an historical ten-hour auction marathon, which set a new record total for any series of watch sales. We exhibited highlights in Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, New York, Paris, Dubai and in all locations we noticed an ever-growing appetite for high quality collector’s watches. This trend was demonstrated by a fiercer-than-ever competition generated by both experienced and new international bidders, in the room, on the telephone and online.”

The sale set 50 world records for 50 watches as well as a record price for any Rolex Daytona ever sold at auction.

Steven A. Cohen, a hedge-fund manager and founder of SAC Capital Advisors, will sell works from him impressive art collection in New York later this month. The majority of the sales will be part of Sotheby’s contemporary art evening sale on November 13, but Christie’s will also sell a small portion, estimated to be worth less than $5 million.

The trove headed to Sotheby’s includes works by Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter and Cy Twombly and is estimated to be worth around $85 million. Highlights include Andy Warhol’s portrait of Elizabeth Taylor titled Liz #1 (Early Colored Liz); a 10-by-8-foot canvas by German artist Gerhardt Richter, which was shown by the Pace Gallery at Art Basel in 2012; and a bronze sculpture by Cy Twombly.

Cohen, an avid collector who is active in the market, is bringing this collection to auction after SAC was accused in a grand-jury indictment of encouraging insider trading. The company was told it would have to pay $1.8 billion and admit wrongdoing to resolve securities-fraud charges, including a previous penalty of approximately $600 million.

Christie’s sale of Impressionist and Modern art on November 5 failed to reach its low estimate of $188.8 million despite strong interest from buyers in the middle market. The 46-lot sale ended up fetching $144.3 million with the top lot being a portrait by Alberto Giacometti of his brother Diego. The painting sold to an anonymous buyer for $32.65 million, just past its low estimate of $30 million; Christie’s said that the price was a world record for the artist in that medium.

A number of lots were withheld from the sale after bidding fell short, including works by Pablo Picasso and Amedeo Modigliani. Brooke Lampley, head of Impressionist and Modern art at Christie’s, said, “We believed in the pictures. We didn’t find the bid in the room tonight but I’m sure we’ll either be receiving good after sale interest of you’ll see them in the future sale venue.”

On Tuesday, November 12, Christie’s will hold its highly anticipated sale of post-war and contemporary art in New York.

China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, purchased a painting by Pablo Picasso of his young children, for $28.2 million at Christie’s in New York on November 4, 2013. The work, which was part of the sale of art dealer Jan Krugier’s collection, was expected to sell for $9 million to $12 million. Jianlin acquired Claude et Paloma through Rebecca Wei, managing director of Christie’s Asia. He is the founder of Dalian Wanda Group, a Chinese conglomerate with activities in real estate development, tourism, hotels and more.  

Overall, the sale failed to reach its full potential, falling 34% below the low end of its presale estimate of $171.4 million. The two-part auction brought in $92.5 million and out of 155 lots, 29 failed to find buyers including works by Paul Klee, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, Gerhard Richter and Robert Rauschenberg.

Krugier, who died in 2008, was one of the leading dealers in premier 20^th century art for four decades. He operated galleries in Geneva and New York.

On November 12, 2013, Christie’s New York will offer a monumental abstract painting by Mark Rothko during its Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening sale. The last time a Rothko of this magnitude was offered at auction was May 2012 when Orange, Red, Yellow sold for a record $86.6 million at Christie’s.

Untitled (No. 11) has resided in the same collection for two decades. Prior to its acquisition in 1992, the work was featured in a number of retrospectives including exhibitions at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, the Neue National-Galerie in Dusseldorf, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Untitled (No. 11) is expected to garner between $25 million and $35 million.

Brett Gorvy, Chairman and International Head of Post-War & Contemporary Art at Christie’s, said, “After the auction record set in May 2012 for Orange, Red, Yellow, from the Pincus Collection, we are delighted to present Untitled (No. 11) as one of the highlights of Christie’s November evening sale. The demand for masterworks by Rothko is probably the most international amongst all the artists we sell, with strong bidding consistently from the Americas, Europe, Asia, Russia and the Middle-East. Untitled (No. 11) is remarkable for its incredible beauty, intensity of color and inner light - the very hallmarks of Rothko’s prime period. The monumental scale allows viewers to be completely enveloped by the colors and its sensations.”

Untitled (No. 11) will go on view in London before traveling to New York in November.

A monumental sculpture by the British artist Henry Moore will be offered at Christie’s evening sale of Impressionist and Modern Art on November 5, 2013 in New York. Reclining Figure, a bronze sculpture measuring over 11 feet, is estimated to sell for $6 million-$8 million. The work is being sold by a “Distinguished Collection,” where it has resided for 35 years.

Reclining Figure is one of the massive sculptures that dominated Moore’s later works and boasts the natural undulating silhouette that he is well-known for. Moore has fared increasingly well at auction in recent years and a world record for the artist was set at Christie’s London in 2012 when Reclining Figure: Festival, achieved over $30 million.

Brooke Lampley, Head of Department, Impressionist & Modern Art at Christie’s, said, “In this work, Moore expertly balanced the figurative and the abstract to captivating effect – the mere silhouette of a body is visible, overshadowed by its resplendent curves. Reclining Figure is an icon by one of the greatest of all Modern sculptors.”

The work will go on view outside at Christie’s plaza in Rockefeller Center a few weeks prior to the sale.