Displaying items by tag: Sotheby's

Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auction on December 9 achieved $44.2 million, buoyed by results for stones and jewels from prominent collections, such as those of Helen Hay Whitney, Estée Lauder, Evelyn H. Lauder, the Grand Duchess Vladimir of Russia, and Marlene Dietrich.

The top lot was a platinum-topped gold and diamond necklace that was presented to Helen Hay, an American writer, socialite, and philanthropist, on the occasion of her marriage to Payne Whitney in 1902. Featuring four diamonds weighing 27.48, 15.53, 13.08 and 8.91 carats, the necklace sold for $3.2 million. Total sales from the seven jewels of the estate of Helen Hay Whitney were $4.8 million.

A temporary export ban has been placed on an early 17th-century painting, one of the most refined of the paradise landscapes by Flemish artist Jan Brueghel the Elder, in an attempt to keep it in the UK.

"The Garden of Eden With the Fall of Man" (1613), an oil on copper work measuring just 23.7cm by 36.8 cm, was set to go overseas after selling at Sotheby’s in London in July for £6.8 million, more than double the top estimate. It had been acquired by Algernon Percy, the fourth Duke of Northumberland, in 1853 and had hung in Alnwick Castle but was recently consigned for sale by the present Duke of Northumberland.

Sotheby’s has set a new record for J.M.W. Turner during its December 3 Old Masters and British Paintings Evening sale in London, selling the artist’s “Rome, from Mount Aventine” for £30.3 million ($47.4 million) against an estimate of £15-20 million. The previous record for the artist of £29.7 million ($45.1 million) was set by Sotheby’s in 2010 with the painting “Modern Rome - Campo Vaccino.”

Turner’s “Rome, from Mount Aventine,” which Sotheby’s describes as “one of the greatest masterpieces of British art left in private hands,” was last seen on the market in 1878 and has been in the same collection for the past 136 years, according to Sotheby’s.

After four years as Christie’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Steven Murphy announced that he will leave his post at the auction house. The surprise announcement, which was issued on Tuesday, December 2, came just twelve days after William Ruprecht, the CEO of Sotheby’s for fourteen years, announced his resignation. The two auction houses have long battled for primacy in the art market, though Christie’s has been considered the leader in recent years thanks to a growing online presence, expanded markets in China and Mumbai, and astronomical contemporary art sales.

Murphy will be succeeded by Patricia Barbizet, the Executive Director of Artémis Group, the investment company founded by French billionaire François Pinault, who also owns Christie’s. Barbizet will retain her position at Artémis as well as her role as the Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of Christie’s.

Chinese billionaire Liu Yiqian purchased a Tibetan tapestry for HK$348 million ($45 million) at a Christie’s auction in Hong Kong today, breaking the record for the most expensive Chinese work of art he set in April.

Liu, who bought a HK$214 million Chengua-era ceramic cup -- nicknamed the Chicken Cup for its imperial allegorical depiction using poultry -- and then paid for it with his Centurion credit card at Sotheby’s, plans to show both works in his private Shanghai museum.

The auction of Rachel “Bunny” Lambert Mellon’s estate, which offered collectibles from a $39.9 million Mark Rothko painting to a rabbit-shaped doorstop for more than $5,000, fetched $218.1 million at Sotheby’s (BID) in New York.

The 1,521 objects including fine art, furnishings and jewelry owned by Mellon, who died in March at the age of 103, were offered in three sales over five days that ended yesterday. Ninety-eight percent of the lots sold.

Collectors sought a piece of the history of the American socialite, who was married to the late banking heir Paul Mellon. Sotheby’s said more than 5,000 visitors came to see the collection in one week at its New York headquarters.

Sotheby’s continues to build aggressively on its strength in the Impressionist and Modern market announcing today Matisse’s "Odalisque au fauteuil noir," estimated at between £9 and 12m, for its London sale of Impressionist and Modern art. Helena Newman, Sotheby’s Co-Head, Impressionist & Modern Art Worldwide, said, “This exquisitely colored painting is one of the finest of the artist’s celebrated ‘Odalisque’ paintings to come to the market.”

An exquisite portrait depicting Princess Nézy-Hamidé Chawkat, the great granddaughter of the last Sultan of Turkey, "Odalisque au fauteuil noir" (dated 1942 and estimated at £9-12m) is one of Henri Matisse’s finest paintings from his famed ‘Odalisque’ series, his depictions of the notorious concubine figure, with which he created one of the most recognizable emblems of eroticism in Modern art.

A 9.75-carat fancy vivid blue diamond from the collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon sold for more than $32.6 million, shattering its high estimate of $15 million at Sotheby’s New York Thursday. The price set a world auction record for any blue diamond; and at more than $3.3 million per carat, it set a world auction record for price-per-carat for any diamond.

The pear-shaped diamond was sought after by seven bidders who competed for 20 minutes for the gem, Sotheby’s said. It ultimately sold to a Hong Kong private collector who named it “The Zoe Diamond.”

One of Georgia O’Keeffe’s iconic flower paintings has shattered the auction record for a work by a female artist. On Thursday, November 20, “Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1” (1932), a commanding painting with an impressive provenance, sold for $44.4 million during Sotheby’s American Art sale in New York. The work, which belonged to the artist’s sister, Anita O’Keeffe Young, and hung in the White House’s private dining room during the George W. Bush administration, was offered for sale by the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. The Santa Fe-based institution sold the painting, along with two other works by O’Keeffe, to benefit its Acquisitions Fund.

Seven bidders competed for “Jimson Weed,” driving the price to a record height and nearly tripling the work’s high estimate of $15 million.

Sotheby’s today announced that its Board of Directors has begun a search for the Company’s next Chief Executive Officer and that William F. Ruprecht will step down by mutual agreement with the Board. Mr. Ruprecht, who has served as CEO since 2000, will continue as Chairman, President and CEO until his successor is in place to ensure a smooth transition.

The Board has formed a Search Committee to oversee the recruiting of a new CEO and has retained Spencer Stuart, a leading executive search firm, to assist in the process. The Committee is led by Domenico De Sole, Lead Independent Director.

Mr. De Sole said, “The Board is focused on ensuring a smooth transition that will facilitate Sotheby’s continued success. As we move to new leadership, the Board is sharply focused on upholding the world-class standard of excellence that Sotheby’s has long represented to our clients and achieving Sotheby’s full long-term potential for the benefit of our shareholders. We are moving with a sense of urgency but we will take the time we need to find the right leader for Sotheby’s at this critical juncture in its continuing evolution.”