Displaying items by tag: Sotheby's

Jackson Pollock’s mistress Ruth Kligman said she watched him paint it, as a love token, just before his fatal 1956 car crash. But the Pollock-Krasner Authentication Board, whose members were close with Pollock’s wife, Lee Krasner, have questioned its authenticity. Pollock, Kligman, and Krasner are all now dead, but as Red, Black & Silver heads to auction, on the 100th anniversary of Pollock’s birth, Lesley M. M. Blume chronicles the dramatic ongoing battle over what may have been an American master’s last canvas.

The imagery on the canvas is relatively spare: a black oblong shape resides at the picture’s center, encircled by a loose knot of swirling red lines. It’s a small painting, just 24 by 20 inches. There is nothing to indicate that this unassuming, unsigned work has been the subject of an explosive, decades-long battle, a saga that has drawn in some of America’s best-known artists and the power brokers of the art world.

As the world economy began to tank about five years ago, a curious thing happened at the top level of the international art market: It started to boom. At the annual spring art auctions at Sotheby's and Christie's in New York and their branches around the globe, deep-pocketed bidders snapped up Braques and Bacons, Klimts and Kandinskys, often at record prices.

Now with the global recession officially over but the American and European economies still shaky, auction records for blue-chip modern and contemporary art continue to be shattered. Just a few months ago, a pastel version of Edvard Munch’s "The Scream" (1895) fetched an astounding $119.9 million at Sotheby’s, by far the highest price ever paid at auction for a work of art, surpassing the winning bid of $106.5 million for Picasso's "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust" (1932) at Christie’s two years earlier. A week after the gavel fell on the Munch, Mark Rothko's "Orange, Red, Yellow" (1961) went for nearly $87 million, the artist’s personal best at auction.

While Sotheby's did report record breaking sales during their second quarter and first half that ended June 30, 2012, their overall revenues have decreased from the previous year. "Our operating results reflect some tremendous successes, but also reflect the challenging global economy, a tough comparison to the best quarter in Sotheby's history a year ago," said Bill Ruprecht, Sotheby's President and Chief Executive Officer.

Sotheby's report stated that their second quarter net income was $85.4 million, a 33% decrease from 2011 and total revenues hit $303.9 million, down 18% from last year. For the six months that ended June 30th, Sotheby's reported a net income of $74.8 million, a decrease of 42%, and total revenues came in at $408.9 million, down 16% from 2011. Although there has been a slowdown in the Asian market, Ruprecht says, "art appears to remain an attracting asset for collectors and out consignment pipeline for the Autumn season is very active at the moment."

A testament to that hunch is the world record-breaking sale of Edvard Munch's The Scream. Sold for $119.9 million at the Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale in New York in May, the Evening Sale totaled $330.6 million, Sotheby's highest ever total for an Impressionist and Modern Art Worldwide Sale. It was the second highest total for a Sotheby's auction in any category.

Other big sales included one of Andy Warhol's last self-portraits and Flowers, both of which sold from the collection of the late photographer, Gunter Sachs, for $8.5 million and $5.9 million, respectively, in a May auction London. Joan Miro's Peinture (Etoile Bleue) sold for $36.9 million, a record for the artist at auction, at Sotheby's June London sale. Also highlighting the Impressionist and Modern Art sales was Pablo Picasso's late portrait, Homme Assis, which brought in $9.7 million. The June London Contemporary Art series also fared well, bringing in a total of $129.7 million. The top lot was Jean-Michel Basquiat's Warrior which sold for $8.7 million, nearly double the amount it acheived at auction five years ago.

Federal District Court Judge Paul G. Gardephe’s résumé includes many impressive accomplishments but not an art history degree. Nonetheless he has been asked to answer a question on which even pre-eminent art experts cannot agree: Are three reputed masterworks of Modernism genuine or fake.

Judge Gardephe’s situation is not unique. Although there are no statistics on whether such cases are increasing, lawyers agree that as art prices rise, so does the temptation to turn to the courts to settle disputes over authenticity. One result is that judges and juries with no background in art can frequently be asked to arbitrate among experts who have devoted their lives to parsing a brush stroke.

The three cases on Judge Gardephe’s docket in Manhattan were brought by patrons of the now-defunct Knoedler & Company who charge that the Upper East Side gallery and its former president Ann Freedman duped them into spending millions of dollars on forgeries.

The judge’s rulings may ultimately rely more on the intricacies of contract law than on determinations of authenticity. But the defendants and plaintiffs are busily assembling impressive rosters of artistic and forensic experts who hope to convince the judge that the works — purportedly by Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko — are clearly originals or obvious fakes.

Of course judges and juries routinely decide between competing experts. As Ronald D. Spencer, an art law specialist, put it, “A judge will rule on medical malpractice even if he doesn’t know how to take out a gallstone.” When it comes to questions of authenticity, however, lawyers note that the courts and the art world weigh evidence differently.

Judges and juries have been thrust into the role of courtroom connoisseur. Legal experts say that, in general, litigants seek a ruling from the bench when the arguments primarily concern matters of law; juries are more apt to be requested when facts are in dispute.

For the first time, two unique groups of photographs by Cecil Beaton and David Dawson of leading British artist Lucian Freud will be exhibited at Sotheby's. Spanning different periods of the artist’s life, these intimate photographs are a testament to the unique access Beaton and Dawson were given to Freud’s inner life. Leading society portraitist Beaton was drawn to Freud when he described him ‘as a true artist and a true Bohemian’ and his photographs from the 1950’s capture Freud alone, with friends, with family and with his second wife Caroline Blackwood at their Dorset retreat, Coombe Priory.

Dawson’s photographs, taken whilst he was Freud’s studio assistant between 1999 and 2011 reveal an extraordinary insight into the artist’s life. They uncover like never before an overview of the artist’s spiritual and intellectual requirements: his love of animals, his family, his devotion to the Old Masters, and his close coterie of friends and contacts. The recent triumphant retrospective exhibition of Freud’s paintings at the National Portrait Gallery which now moves to Fort Worth, gave a valuable insight into Freud’s working methods and his sitters. Now, the lens turns to the artist himself and reveals a life every bit as tantalising as those of his models. An Artist’s Life: Photographs of Lucian Freud by Cecil Beaton and David Dawson offers a unique opportunity to view a selection of many never previously exhibited images of one of the world’s greatest artists. Focussed through the lens of Beaton in the 1950s and Dawson from 2003, these photographs link the very inauguration and culmination of Freud’s extraordinary career.

Exhibition in London: Tuesday 10 July - Saturday 11 August 2012
Open 10 AM - 5 PM Monday to Saturday. Closed Sundays

Roy Lichtenstein’s “Sleeping Girl” sold for $44.9 million at Sotheby’s in New York last night, a record for the artist, in a $266.6 million contemporary-art auction that was almost a third smaller by value than Christie’s the night before.

Records were also set for Ai Weiwei, Cy Twombly, Glenn Ligon, Mark Bradford and Isa Genzken, as 11 of the 57 lots didn’t sell.

The casualties included two paintings by Willem de Kooning, who had a recent retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, and a photograph by Cindy Sherman, who has a solo show there now.

“It seems like there’s a lot of money chasing the trophies, but the rest of the market is tepid,” said Suzanne Gyorgy, global head of art advisory and finance at Citi Private Bank. (C) “It felt shaky.”

The night before, Christie’s achieved records for Jackson Pollock, Gerhard Richter and Alexander Calder in the biggest- ever contemporary-art auction. Just three of 59 lots failed to sell.

“Maybe people were spent out,” said Joanne Heyler, director and chief curator of the Broad Art Foundation, established by collector Eli Broad. “There wasn’t the same density of high-value lots. The market hasn’t completely lost its head.”

Dealers said Sotheby’s estimates were optimistic for a cache that was less spectacular than Christie’s, which had 13 lots from the estate of collector David Pincus that alone totaled about $175 million.

‘Freshness and Provenance’

“At the end of the day, it’s about the material, its freshness and provenance,” said David Benrimon, whose family operates three galleries in New York.

“Sleeping Girl” surpassed the high estimate of $40 million and the previous Lichtenstein record of $43.2 million, set six months ago at Christie’s.

The 3-by-3-foot image of a sultry blonde was in the collection of Phil and Beatrice Gersh, who bought it from the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles in 1964, the year it was painted. The Gershes were founding members of the city’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Beatrice Gersh died last year. Her husband, a former talent agent, died in 2004.

“Sleeping Girl” tied for the top lot with Francis Bacon’s 1976 canvas “Figure Writing Reflected in Mirror.” That painting depicts a seated man scribbling on a white sheet of paper with his back and profile toward the viewer. The man is reflected in the mirror.

Sotheby’s reported a first-quarter loss as auction sales dropped 29 percent from a year earlier.

The New York auctioneer lost $10.7 million, or 16 cents a share, compared with a profit of $2.4 million, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier, it said in a statement. Revenue fell 12 percent to $105 million.

Sotheby’s said expenses rose 5 percent as it spent more to develop its “presence in growth markets.”

The loss per share was in line with estimates of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Chief Executive Officer William Ruprecht said first-quarter results would have been comparable to a year earlier were it not for an “exceptional” single-owner sale in February 2011 that totaled $132 million.

“As the excellent results of our May auctions make abundantly clear, the first-quarter results are in no way reflective of a slowdown in demand for works of art around the world,” he said in a statement.

A 1941 Picasso to be offered at Sotheby’s tomorrow night with a $20 million to $30 million presale estimate was damaged while in the care of New York’s Acquavella Galleries, according to a lawsuit filed by the insurer of its owner, Ted Forstmann.

Forstmann, a financier who died last year, lent the portrait of Picasso’s lover, Dora Maar, to the Upper East Side gallery for a show in October 2008, according to the complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

“While in the care, custody, and control of Acquavella, the work was physically damaged,” American International Insurance Co. said in the October 2009 complaint.

The insurer paid Forstmann $7.5 million for damages to the painting, called “Femme Assise dans un Fauteuil,” according to the complaint. Sotheby’s “condition report” for the work, which the auction house makes available upon request, said it’s “in very good condition.”

Forstmann bought the work from Acquavella in 2001, according to Sotheby’s (BID) catalog.

“The surface is unvarnished and displays a rich and textured impasto,” Sotheby’s condition report said. “There is a two-inch repair below the figure’s neck where the canvas has been stitched. This restoration is of the highest standard and not visible to the naked eye.”

Sotheby’s (BID) managed a record price and sale tally at last night’s auction in New York, even as 15 lots went unsold.

The star was one of Edvard Munch’s four versions of “The Scream,” which set a record for a work of art at auction when it sold for $119.9 million.

Although 15 of the 76 lots didn’t sell -- many toward the end of the two-hour sale -- the $330.6 million auction was Sotheby’s top tally for an Impressionist and modern art auction.

“The Scream” smashed the previous record of $106.5 million, established in May 2010 by Pablo Picasso’s “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust.” The price for the Munch, which includes Sotheby’s $12.9 million commission, exceeds Christie’s entire Impressionist and modern art sale the night before.

“Trophies fly to the moon,” said Frances Beatty, vice president of Richard L. Feigen & Co., a New York gallery.

A 1941 Picasso owned by financier Ted Forstmann, which according to a lawsuit by his insurer was damaged by a New York gallery, sold for $29.2 million. It was the sale’s second-most- expensive work and just shy of its high estimate of $30 million.

A 1936 Surrealist painting by Salvador Dali titled “Printemps Necrophilique” went for $16.3 million, surpassing the $12 million high estimate. It was the evening’s third- highest price.

Sotheby’s offered five other paintings by Munch, four of which sold.

Last in Private Hands

Munch made four versions of “The Scream,” two in oil and two in pastel. Three of them are in museum collections in Norway. Sotheby’s version was the last in private hands.

The 1895 pastel-on-board ‘Scream’ sold last night was the most-talked-about lot of the current New York auctions, which run through May 11 and may tally $1.5 billion.

Auctioneer Tobias Meyer presided over the 12 minutes of bidding for the work, almost exclusively from the phones. Collectors and dealers in the packed salesroom applauded and whistled when Meyer crossed $100 million.

The victor was a client of Charles Moffett, Sotheby’s vice chairman for Impressionist and modern art, who deals primarily with the U.S. clients, including casino magnate Stephen A. Wynn. Sotheby’s didn’t name the buyer, and auction houses protect clients’ identity.

‘Obvious Candidate’

“Qatar is the obvious candidate for the buyer,” said London-based dealer Richard Nagy, who was at the sale. “Purchasing ‘The Scream’ would have made good business sense for them. They want people to come to their museum, and this is a destination picture. It only would have cost a couple of hours of pumping oil.”

Architect Jean Nouvel is redesigning the National Museum of Qatar, scheduled to open in December 2014. The Museum of Islamic Art, designed by I.M. Pei, opened in 2008.

In February, Vanity Fair magazine reported that the royal family of Qatar paid more than $250 million for one of Paul Cezanne’s five “Card Players,” a version owned by the late Greek shipping magnate George Embiricos. The four other versions are in museum collections.

The Munch work, featuring a hairless androgynous creature with mouth agape and hands covering the ears, comes from the collection of Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, whose father, Thomas, was a friend, neighbor and patron of the artist.

In a statement he read after the sale, Olsen said, “‘The Scream’ is about anxiety about approaching and anticipating death and today serves as a warning about climate change.”

Six paintings by Gerhard Richter sold last night at auction for a total of almost $30 million, confirming his status as the most bankable living artist, dealers said.

The German painter’s works pushed the Sotheby’s London contemporary-art sale to an $80 million total as investment- minded buyers were attracted by rising prices and a relatively plentiful supply of quality works.

Sellers of Richter, who was recently the subject of a retrospective at London’s Tate Modern, have been encouraged by the performance of a group of eight abstracts at Sotheby’s in New York on Nov. 9, which all sold above upper estimates.

“After the buzz of that collection, people were keen to cash in,” said Heinrich zu Hohenlohe, director of the Berlin branch of the dealership Dickinson. “There’s a lot of Richter out there, and the market seems able to absorb it. He produces paintings that appeal to every kind of taste and there are buyers coming in from all over the world. They think art is a good place to be at the moment.”

Last night’s top price was 4.9 million pounds ($7.7 million) with fees, paid for the 1992 “Abstraktes Bild (768-4),” featuring vertical waves of black and white paint. Fresh to the auction market, it was bought by Georgina Macpherson, head of Sotheby’s (BID) London-based client services department, for a private telephone bidder against an upper estimate of 4 million pounds.

Frozen Seascape

The 1981 photorealist painting “Eis (Ice),” showing a desolate expanse of frozen seascape, was sold to Sotheby’s London-based specialist Olivia Thornton, acting for another phone buyer, at 4.3 million pounds, a record for a landscape by the artist, the auction house said. All the Richters attracted multiple bids and their final total with fees was more than 7 million pounds more than the low estimate, based on hammer prices.

In last November’s New York sale, a 1997 “Abstraktes Bild” in purple, red and blue was bought by the London-based collector Lily Safra for a record $20.8 million.

At last night’s Sotheby’s auction 57 of the 63 lots successfully found buyers. Still, it lacked any lots valued at more than 5 million pounds, unlike the equivalent 80.6 million- pound event at Christie’s International (CHRS) the previous evening, where a 1994 Richter abstract sold for 9.9 million pounds.

Sotheby’s total of 50.7 million pounds with fees was slightly above the high estimate of 48 million pounds. Buyers hailed from 20 different countries, the auction house said.

“If interest rates remain low, prices will keep rising,” the Montreal-based collector Francois Odermatt said in an interview. “People aren’t making any money on deposit and when there’s a financial crisis, they want art assets. I just wish I’d bought Richter when they were more affordable.”

Orange Basquiat

Five bidders contested the 1982 Jean-Michel Basquiat painting “Orange Sports Figure,” before it was bought by Sotheby’s New York-based specialist Scott Nussbaum, representing a client on the telephone, for 4.1 million pounds against an estimate of 3 million pounds to 4 million pounds.

The work, entered by a European collector, was of a prime date by the artist whose paintings are becoming increasingly scarce, dealers said.

Growing demand from Asia was underlined by the 1.8 million pounds and 1.6 million pounds respectively paid by telephone bidders for colorful 1990s abstract paintings by the Chinese artist Zao Wou-Ki. Both works sold for double their high estimates.