Displaying items by tag: expenses

Sotheby’s may find itself in a new shareholder fight even as its battle with billionaire investor Daniel Loeb and search for a new chief executive officer proved costly in 2014.

The New York-based auction house said today that profit fell 9 percent in 2014 as expenses increased. Net income fell to $117.8 million, or $1.69 a share in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, from $130 million, or $1.90 a share in the same period last year, Sotheby’s said today in a statement.

The Smithsonian Institution’s federal appropriation will increase $14.5 million to $819.5 million for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1, officials said.

Most of the money — more than $675 million — will cover salaries and expenses at the institution, including a federal pay raise of 1 percent and increases in employee benefits and other costs.

The appropriation — a small piece of the omnibus package Congress passed earlier this month — includes $6.5 million for staffing, programming and collections care for the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the final $24 million of the federal government’s commitment for its construction.

The Walters Art Museum announced Monday that it's been awarded $913,000 in grants to support renovations and exhibitions at the museum, including a special show on Islamic art scheduled to open next year.

That sum is made up of six individual donations — four from government agencies and two from private foundations — Walters spokeswoman Mona Rock said in a news release.

The bulk of the money, $500,000 will be used to support "Pearls on a String: Art and Relationship in the Islamic World," which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2015.

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.”

On June 5, 2013 at Sotheby’s New York the Corcoran Gallery of Art auctioned 25 rugs from its William A. Clark Collection. The rugs, which are from the 16^th and 17^th centuries, brought in $43.7 million, over four times the pre-sale high estimate of $9.6 million, making it the most successful carpet auction ever held. 100% of the lots sold and the auction achieved “White Glove” status, meaning every lot in the sale garnered more than it’s pre-sale high estimate.

The highlight of the auction was the Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet. An important and iconic rug created by an unknown Persian artist during the first half of the 17^th century, the rarely exhibited piece was expected to garner between $5 million and $7 million. The carpet ended up selling for $33.7 million, the highest price paid for any carpet at auction. Mary Jo Otsea, the senior consultant for rugs and carpets at Sotheby’s said, “Selling the Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet for a record-breaking price of more than three times the previous auction record for a carpet has unquestionably been the highlight of my 30 year career. It is gratifying to see the strength of the market for carpets of this quality and rarity.”

The rugs were part of a bequest from William Clark (1839-1925), a Montana-based entrepreneur-turned-senator, to the Corcoran in 1925. The gift was comprised of 200 paintings and drawings and a number of other works, including the rugs. The Corcoran will use the proceeds from the sale to support future acquisitions that will better fit the institution’s focus on American and contemporary art. While the Corcoran has endured recent financial troubles, the money will not be used for operating expenses in keeping with its deaccession policy.

The Board of Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. announced an upcoming partnership with the National Gallery of Art. The three-year agreement allows the Corcoran to exhibit works of modern and contemporary art from the National Gallery’s collection while the museum’s East Building is under renovation. The Corcoran is working on trimming expenses and has been battling rumors that it will sell its landmark Beaux Arts building due to financial troubles. During the Board’s announcement, officials scrapped any speculation by confirming that the Corcoran will not be moving.

The Corcoran has collaborated with the National Gallery in the past but their new partnership is the most expansive to date. Earl A. Powell III, Director of the National Gallery of Art, said, “We are very pleased to be able to share works from the nation’s collection of modern art with visitors to the Corcoran while our East Building is closed for renovations. We have a history of lending works to the Corcoran, but the larger number of works addressed by this agreement and the increased length of their exhibition at the Corcoran makes this a new development in our long relationship.”

The National Gallery of Art is expected to close for renovations beginning next year.

We’ve all read media reports of internal problems at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles — exhibitions canceled, staff fired, and artist trustees resigning in protest. Reporters on the West Coast are having a field day. These problems can probably be laid in part at the door of bad management. There is no doubt the current museum director, Jeffrey Deitch, and his predecessor, Jeremy Strick, made foolish decisions: Strick spent down the museum’s endowment without attending to fund-raising, and Deitch appears to be willing to degrade the program to boost attendance.

But there are other reasons why MOCA is struggling — reasons that, it seems to me, have as much to do with the nature of museum financing in this country as they do with the limitations of the individuals managing that institution.