Displaying items by tag: Sotheby's

On November 13, 2013 Sotheby’s Geneva will auction a 59.60-carat oval cut fancy vivid pink diamond at its Magnificent Jewels sale. Known as “The Pink Star” the gem is the largest internally flawless diamond that has ever been graded by the Gemological Institute of America. The diamond is expected to garner over $60 million.

David Bennett, Chairman of Sotheby’s Jewelry Division in Europe and the Middle East, said, “I have had the privilege of examining some of the greatest gemstones in the world over the past 35 years, and I can say, without hesitation, that ‘The Pink Star’ is of immense importance.” The gem’s vibrant hue combined with its extraordinary size makes it the most exceptional pink diamond known to exist in State, Royal and private collections. The Pink Star belongs to a rare subgroup called “Type IIa,” which includes less than two percent of all gems.

The diamond was cut from a rough stone weighing 132.5 carats, which was mined in Africa in 1999 by De Beers. It was later cut, polished and transformed into its current form by Steinmetz Diamonds. The Pink Star has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution as well as the Natural History Museum in London.

Sotheby’s announced that its highly anticipated American art auction in New York on December 4, 2013 will include a selection of Norman Rockwell paintings from the family of Kenneth J. Stuart Sr., the artist’s longtime friend and art director at the Saturday Evening Post. The seven works include two of Rockwell’s most celebrated works – Saying Grace (estimate: $15 million to $20 million) and The Gossips (estimate: $6 million to $9 million). The works, which were passed down in Stuart’s family to the present owners, are expected to garner over $24 million.

Rockwell created his first Saturday Evening Post cover in 1916 and over the next several decades, became the publication’s most popular and successful illustrator. The artist’s most productive period coincided with the start of his professional and personal relationship with Stuart, who became the Post’s art editor in 1943. The two worked together for 18 years, collaborating on some of Rockwell’s most popular covers including The Gossips and Saying Grace.

Elizabeth Goldberg, head of Sotheby’s American art department, said, “To offer any of these masterworks would be a great privilege. To present two of Norman Rockwell’s most iconic works in one auction truly is unprecedented.”

Select works from the sale will be on view in Los Angeles, Hong Kong and New York throughout the fall.

On October 24, 2013 Sotheby’s will auction off a collection of centuries old furniture and artwork belonging to former Lehman Brothers President Joseph Gregory and his wife Niki. Before Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in 2008, Gregory often commuted to work by helicopter and was rumored to have a personal spending budget of more than $15 million a year.

The sale at Sotheby’s will include works by important cabinetmakers such as Thomas Chippendale, English and Continental furniture as well as ceramics and other decorations. A selection of Old Master paintings belonging to the Gregorys will be offered at Sotheby’s in January 2014. The auctions follow the sale of the couple’s home in Lloyd Harbor, New York in June 2013.

Works from the Gregory auction will be on display at Sotheby’s New York’s galleries beginning October 18, 2013.

Sotheby’s will sell a rare round cut diamond dubbed “The Premier Blue” at the auction house’s bi-annual public sale in Hong Kong on October 7, 2013. The stone, which weighs 7.59 carats, is much larger and more vivid than other colored diamonds. Sotheby’s expects the gem to garner about $19 million, which would set a world record for the highest price paid for any diamond, per carat.

The Premier Blue will be previewed in Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok, Singapore, Jakarta and Taiwan along with other items from the sale. According to the New York Times, Quek Chin Yeow, deputy chairman of Sotheby’s in Asia, said, “Since about 2006, 2007, Hong Kong has ranked alongside Geneva and New York as a center for jewelry sales. It is now the third pillar of the global jewelry market.” In addition, Asian buyers tend to favor round cuts in color, which could have influenced Sotheby’s decision to auction the diamond in Asia rather than Europe or the United States.

The international auction house Sotheby’s reported that their second-quarter profits rose 7 percent, thanks in part to a $6.8 million net income tax benefit recognized by the company. Sotheby’s said that second-quarter profits reached $91.7 million, or $1.33 a share, up from last year’s profit of $85.4 million, or $1.24 a share. Expenses rose 2 percent to $171.6 million for the auction house.

Bill Ruprecht, Chairman, President and CEO of Sotheby’s, said, “Our business and the market for quality art at the high end continue to be strong. We saw significant sales growth in Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary Art and posted the best results in the market in the vast majority of key sales this spring. We continue to see fierce competition for high-end consignments and as a result, lower auction commission margins.”

British authorities have lifted the export ban on Raphael’s drawing Head of a Young Apostle. The Old Master work will go to Leon Black, a New York-based billionaire who paid $47.9 million for it at Sotheby’s London in December 2012. The drawing, which was created between 1519 and 1520, was a study for the artist’s revered painting The Transfiguration, which resides in the Vatican’s collection.

The UK’s arts minister Ed Vaizey quickly placed the work under an export ban following the sale, which broke the auction record for a work on paper. The point of the ban was to provide enough time for an interested buyer to raise the money necessary to keep the drawing in the country. The ban expired on July 3, 2013 and was not extended.

Britain has recently employed a number of export bans on culturally significant works. Two pieces, which were purchased by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, are currently being held in the U.K. Officials are waiting to see if any buyers will step forward for a rare 15^th century Flemish manuscript titled Roman de Gillion de Trazignes and Rembrandt Laughing, a self-portrait by the Dutch master. The Getty paid $5.8 million and $25 million for the works respectively.

The art collection once belonging to the infamous Ponzi-schemer, Bernie Madoff, will be sold at Sotheby’s New York and Stair Galleries in Hudson, NY at the end of this year. The 61 works have an insured value in excess of $575,000. Securities Investor Protection Corporation trustee, Irving Picard, and the U.S. bankruptcy court are liquidating the assets, which include posters, rugs and fine art. Sotheby’s will be responsible for selling a large portion of the works and Stair Galleries will sell the remainder including posters, carpets and decorative items. The collection has been stored at Cirkers Fine Art Storage & Logistics in Manhattan since 2009.

While the majority of the lot is lackluster, there are a few important works including a lithograph by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) illustrating a black bull, six bull lithographs by Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) and a small drawing of a woman’s head by Henri Matisse (1869-1954). There are also a number of works on paper by important postwar artists such as Jasper Johns (b. 1930), Andy Warhol (1928-1987), Frank Stella (b. 1936), Cy Twombly (1928-2011) and Ellsworth Kelly (b 1933). The sale will also include a pair of oriental rugs that once decorated Madoff’s offices in Manhattan and Queens.

Picard has been working to liquidate Madoff’s assets since the disgraced financier’s arrest in 2008. To date, he has collected about $9.3 billion to compensate the people and companies that Madoff defrauded. Picard has overseen the sales of three powerboats, various cars, jewelry, pianos and Madoff’s wine collection.

Sotheby’s Old Masters auction, which took place during the evening of July 3, 2013 in London, garnered over $52 million and included the sale of El Greco’s (1541-1614) Saint Dominic in Prayer. The painting sold for $13.9 million, exceeding its high estimate of $7.5 million and setting the record for a Spanish Old master at auction.

The auction, which captured the attention of collectors from 33 different countries, included another work by El Greco, Christ on the Cross, which sold for $5.1 million. The sale marked the first time in living memory that two masterworks by the artist were offered as part of the same auction.

Alex Bell, Worldwide Head of Sotheby’s Old Master Paintings, said “The greatest Old Master paintings have a timeless quality that transcends their era and gives them a relevance to audiences today, as tonight’s global bidding and record result for El Greco’s St. Dominic in Prayer attest. The dialogue between Old and New is injecting fresh energy into our field. We’re now firmly in a new era, where clients from new markets are collecting Old Masters in new ways. Our response has been to offer the most exciting and diverse works we can find – and to present them in a more contemporary way.”

The Dia Art Foundation, which closed its two galleries in Manhattan in 2004, has gathered about half the money needed to build its new space in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. While the organization has pushed their fundraising efforts into high gear, they are left without an acquisition fund for its collection, which includes works from the 1960s to the present.

The Dia Art Foundation announced that they will be holding a sale of paintings and sculptures at Sotheby’s in New York on November 13-14, 2013 to remedy that. The foundation hopes to raise at least $20 million by auctioning off works by Cy Twombly (1928-2011), John Chamberlain (1927-2011) and Barnett Newman (1905-1970).

The Dia Art Foundation’s collection includes works by modern and contemporary artists such as Andy Warhol (1921-1987), Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) and Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010). Philippe Vergne, the Dia’s director, has not commented on what works he’s hoping to acquired with the funds from the Sotheby’s sale.

An 18^th century portrait of the German Duchess Anna Amalia of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach commissioned by the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe has been returned to its rightful heirs after 70 years. The oil painting by Angelika Kauffmann went missing from the duchess’ descendants’ palace in Poland during World War II. The work did not resurface until 2011 when a Polish consignor brought the work to Sotheby’s.

The painting was returned to the city of Weimar during a ceremony at the Weimar palace. Michael Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, the heir of the painting, has decided to loan the work to the city permanently. Upon its completion, the work, which is said to be worth hundred of thousands of euros, hung in the Roman House in Weimar, which was also commissioned by Goethe. The painting was later moved to the palace in Weimar and then to a family residence in Silesia, which is now part of Poland.

A Sotheby’s employee in London was the first to spot the painting on a German database for lost art. After reporting its reappearance to Weimar city officials, Sotheby’s held on to the painting until an agreement was reached. An exhibition of the work at the Roman House is being planned for next year.