Displaying items by tag: Sotheby's

Three years after German authorities uncovered a vast collection of one of Adolf Hitler’s main art dealers, the first artwork restituted from the trove will head to auction next month.

On June 24, Sotheby’s in London will ask between $540,000 and $850,000 for Max Liebermann’s “Two Riders on a Beach,” a 1901 scene of two elegantly dressed men riding chestnut-colored horses beside a surf.

The almighty dollar is the lingua franca of the international art market. But the dollar was also a favorite subject of Andy Warhol and other notable contemporary artists. An upcoming sale from a private collection will seek to wed art and commerce on the glittery altar of the greenback.

A collection of 21 pieces of contemporary art, all depicting the U.S. dollar in some way, is expected to fetch as much as $93 million when it heads to a Sotheby's auction in London on July 1.

The auction of American Art at Sotheby’s New York totaled 38.3 million, approaching its high estimate of $39.7 million and with a strong sell-through rate of 85.4% by lot. Nearly 60% of all sold lots in the sale exceeded their pre-sale high estimates.

Elizabeth Goldberg, Head of Sotheby’s American Art Department, commented: “Our sale today confirmed the vigor and interest in the American Art field that we have been experiencing in recent years. We strive to offer the highest-quality examples we can find, across a broad range of property and price points.

Sotheby’s sold a yellow-and-blue Mark Rothko abstract from 1954 for $46.5 million on Tuesday. The following night, archrival Christie’s International hollered back by selling a rust-colored, rectangular version that Rothko painted four years later for $82 million.

Dealers said Christie’s Rothko, “No. 10,” was prized in part because its blurry brown and black hues famously matched the somber mood of the artist at that time in his career. It sold to a telephone bidder.

Sotheby’s Jewels and Noble Jewels sale in Geneva raised a total of CHF 149.85 million (US$ 160.91 million) well in excess of its pre-sale estimate of CHF 87 million with 94 percent of the lots sold.

The result was partly attributable to the setting of a new world record for a ruby, with the "Sunrise Ruby," a 25.59-carat Burmese stone set with diamonds by Cartier, which sold for CHF 28.3 million ($30.3 million), more than double of its CHF 11.7-17.5 million estimate. The price also established a new record both for any ruby per carat and for any stone by Cartier.

Some paintings act like object lessons in tracking the global migration of wealth, bouncing from one owner to the next in timely turns. Such was the case Tuesday when Sotheby’s sold a $46.5 million Mark Rothko abstract that previously belonged to U.S. banker Paul Mellon and later to French luxury executive François Pinault.

Rothko’s latest taker? An anonymous Asian collector who outbid two rivals to win the work.

A prized Picasso portrait, which has been in the Goldwyn family collection since it was acquired by Hollywood legend Samuel Goldwyn Sr. in 1956, has been sold to another film and entertainment mogul from halfway around the world.

Wang Zhongjun, chairman and co-founder of entertainment giant Huayi Brothers Media Group, purchased Pablo Picasso’s “Femme au chignon dans un fauteuil” at Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on May 5 for US$29.93 million (HK$233 million).

A watch given to Sir Winston Churchill to celebrate victory in the Second World War, proclaiming him a “happy warrior” and likening him to St George, is to be sold at auction for up to £100,000.

The watch, commissioned by a group of “prominent Swiss citizens”, was one of four given to leaders including Charles de Gaulle, Joseph Stalin and Harry S. Truman, to commemorate VE Day.

Sotheby’s will offer a selection of exceptional Japanese and Chinese works of art drawn from the collection of Japanese connoisseur Tsuneichi Inoue on May 13, alongside its biannual auction of Important Chinese Art.

“The Soul of Japanese Aesthetics: The Tsuneichi Inoue Collection” offers a revealing cross section of prevailing aesthetic tastes in Tokyo during the early to mid-20th century. Classical Ming and Song Dynasty porcelain and ceramics were very much in vogue, along with archaic Chinese bronzes.

Asian collectors snapped up paintings by Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet at a Sotheby’s auction in New York that totaled $368.3 million.

The tally on Tuesday was the second highest for an Impressionist and modern art auction at Sotheby’s and a 67 percent increase from a similar sale last May. The auctioneer also surpassed its high presale target of $351 million despite failing to sell 14 of the 64 lots.