Displaying items by tag: work on paper

Sotheby’s has set a new auction record for a work on paper by Frederic, Lord Leighton during its July 15 Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite & British Impressionist Art sale in London, selling a study for the artist’s “Flaming June” to an American collector for £167,000 against an estimate of £40,000-60,000.

The pencil and white chalk study is the only head study for the artist’s famous “Flaming June” masterpiece. It was rediscovered hanging discreetly on a bedroom wall at West Horsley Place, a 400-acre Surrey estate, by Sotheby’s Victorian Art specialist Simon Toll.

A work by the British sculptor Henry Moore became a very special gift last week, when British Prime Minister David Cameron presented an artwork to US President Barack Obama when the pair met at the White House to discuss a range of world issues, including violent extremism, in light of the recent attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris. The piece is a print by the famous British artist, which depicts Stonehenge.

Cameron's present was rather considered, due to a certain trip made by the American president, when Last September, Obama made a surprise visit to the famous Neolithic site, which he described as "cool." The images of a smiling Obama walking around the magnificent ruins soon were seen all over the world.

The American art sale, which took place today, May 23, 2013 at Christie’s in New York, realized $50.8 million, the highest total that the category has seen since May 2008. 99 out of the 135 lots offered sold and 85% sold by value.

The auction’s top lot was Edward Hopper’s (1882-1967) oil on canvas painting Blackwell’s Island (1928), which brought $19.1 million (estimate: $15 million-$20 million). Hopper also took the sale’s second top spot with his watercolor on paper Kelly Jenness House (1932), which sold for $4.1 million (estimate: $2 million-$3 million) and set the auction record for a work on paper by the artist. The Hopper sales reinforced the artist’s continued popularity among buyers and the strong market demand for exceptional Modernist works.

A highly anticipated collection of six paintings by the Wyeth family of artists sold for upward of $2 million. The works by N.C. (1882-1945), Andrew (1917-2009), and Jamie Wyeth (b. 1946) were put up for sale by New Jersey-based businessman and avid collector of the Wyeths’ works, Eric Sambol. The highlight of the collection was N.C. Wyeth’s Norry Seavey Hauling Lobster Traps Off Blubber Island (1938), which garnered nearly $844,000.

Other significant sales from the auction included Norman Rockwell’s (1894-1978) Starstruck (1934), which brought over $2 million, exceeding its high estimate of $1.2 million, Georgia O’Keeffe’s (1887-1986) My Back Yard (1943), which was purchased by the Cincinnati Art Museum for $1.8 million (estimate: $1 million-$1.5 million), George Bellows’ (1882-1925) Splinter Beach (1913), which achieved $1.2 million (estimate: $500,000-$700,000), and Sanford Robinson Gifford’s (1823-1880) Tappan Zee (1879-80), which sold for $1.1 million (estimate: $200,000-$300,000).    

The Louvre’s new outpost in Abu Dhabi, which is slated to open in 2015, has assembled the 130 paintings, miniatures, sculptures, and other artworks that will form its permanent collection. Museum officials allowed reporters a sneak peek of the works including paintings by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Rene Magritte (1898-1967), Édouard Manet (1832-1883), and Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). The entire collection will be on view from April 22 to July 20, 2013 as part of the exhibition The Birth of a Museum at a gallery on the island of Saadiyat, close to where construction for the new museum is currently underway.

Louvre Abu Dhabi’s collection is comprised of numerous works from private collections, many of which have never been on public view before. Highlights from the museum’s holdings include Picasso’s gouache, ink, and collage work on paper Portrait of a Lady (1928); Gauguin’s Children Wrestling (1888); and Paul Klee’s (1879-1940) Oriental Bliss (1938).

The Louvre’s new venue, which was designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel, is the museum’s first branch outside of France. The venture is expected to bring the Louvre and its French partner museums approximately $1.31 million over 30 years. The Louvre also has an offshoot location in the northern city of Lens.

A group of leading artists, artist estates, collectors, and dealer has donated 25 works of art to benefit the Whitney Museum of American Art’s new Renzo Piano-designed building in downtown Manhattan. The works, which are said to be worth upward of $8 million, will be put up for auction at Sotheby’s New York from May 14-15, 2013.

All of the artists involved in the multifaceted gift have strong ties to the Whitney and are represented in the museum’s stellar permanent collection. The most valuable work that will be up for auction in May is Jasper Johns’ (b. 1930) oil on canvas painting Untitled (2012), which is estimated to sell for $1.5 million to $2 million. Johns has had five solo shows at the Whitney and has participated in over 37 group exhibitions; the donation came directly from the artist. Other highlights from the sale include a Jeff Koons (b. 1955) silkscreen on stainless steel, a Cy Twombly (1928-2011) work on paper, a recent nude by John Currin (b. 1962), and other works by John Baldessari (b. 1931), Andy Warhol (1928-1987), and Ed Ruscha (b. 1937).    

All of the profits from the sale will directly benefit the Whitney’s new building, which is expected to open in the High Line District in 2015.