Displaying items by tag: amedeo modigliani

Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) was clearly one of the superstars of twentieth-century art. He is the best known and most loved of all modern Italian painters. Working at the epicenter of avant-garde experimentation in Paris between 1906 and 1920, he developed an artistic vision that was entirely his own. This new exhibition is the first to be devoted to the artist at the Estorick Collection and focuses on Modigliani’s works on paper, showing the spiritual and stylistic development of his portrayal of the human face and form. "Modigliani – A Unique Artistic Voice" is on view at the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art from April 15 until June 28, 2015.

'What I am seeking is neither the real nor the unreal but the unconscious, the mystery of what is instinctive in the human race'  - Amedeo Modigliani.

An exhibition at Atlanta's High Museum of Art showcases a group of impressionist and post-impressionist works amassed by a private collector who described the pursuit and acquisition of the pieces as an adventure.

The exhibition, "Cezanne and the Modern: Masterpieces of European Art from the Pearlman Collection," includes 50 pieces, including works by Paul Cezanne, Vincent van Gogh, Edouard Manet, Amedeo Modigliani, Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin and Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec.

As auction houses gear up for the major fall sales, news of several blockbuster consignments is starting to trickle out. Following the revelation from Sotheby’s last week that it has secured a rare Vincent van Gogh still life that is expected to sell for between $30–50 million, the house has revealed it will offer two extremely rare and iconic sculptures—by Amedeo Modigliani and Alberto Giacometti—that have never appeared at auction before and will undoubtedly be among the leading lots at the November 4 evening sale of Impressionist and modern art.

Giacometti’s "Chariot" (conceived and cast in 1950) is a unique painted cast depicting a goddess perched  atop a chariot with large wheels.

Back in February 2011 ArtLyst reported that the disgraced international art dealer Helly Nahmad was in possession of a $20m painting by Amedeo Modigliani, "Seated Man with a Cane" (1918) that had allegedly been stolen by the Nazis from Oscar Stettiner, a prominent Paris gallerist. In 1939. Stettiner escaped Paris leaving the painting behind. The work was confiscated by Marcel Philippon, who was appointed by the Nazis to sell the Stettiner property.

The Nahmad family is now being sued by relatives of the descendants of Oscar Stettiner the original owner of the masterpiece. Helly Nahmad who is currently serving a prison sentence of 366 days as punishment for his involvement in a Russian mob linked, high-stakes gambling ring was, needless to say, unavailable for comment. He was arrested in 2013 as part of an inquiry into illegal gaming promoted as private parties for high net worth individuals including film stars, professional athletes and bank bosses.

Troubled Manhattan art dealer Helly Nahmad, who was thrown in prison in April for running an illegal gambling ring, is being sued for allegedly hiding a $20 million painting stolen by the Nazis.

Frenchman Phillippe Maestracci, whose grandfather Oscar Stettiner was a Jewish art dealer when he fled Paris before Hitler’s army invaded in 1939, is suing Nahmad and his billionaire art dealer dad David Nahmad in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Christie’s Evening Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art on Tuesday, May 6, realized $285,879,000 (£168,668,610/€205,832,880), selling 89% by lot and 96% by value. This marks the highest total for Christie’s New York in this category since May 2010. Of the 53 works offered, 9 lots sold for over $10 million, 18 for over $5 million, and 43 for over $1 million. The sale was led by works from distinguished private collections, including Monet’s Nymphéas from The Clark Family Treasures and Picasso’s Portrait de femme (Dora Maar) from the Viktor and Marianne Langen Collection. Two additional sales, Works on Paper and the Day sale, will complete the series on Wednesday, May 7.

Brooke Lampley, Head of Department, Impressionist & Modern Art, Christie’s New York, commented, “Our strong performance tonight, the highest since May of 2010, is a testament to the continued strength of the global market for Impressionist and Modern works of art. Bidders from 36 countries competed in our sale tonight for a wide variety of works, from Monet’s classic Nymphéas and Modigliani’s engaging portrait of a red-haired man, to bold, modern works by Picasso and Kandinsky. Our global team has worked tirelessly to source the best works available this season, many of which had never been offered at auction, including star lots from the leading collections of the season: the Clark Family Treasures, the Estate of Edgar M. Bronfman and the Viktor and Marianne Langen Collection.”

The Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, owner of 72 works of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art, has launched a website (www.pearlmancollection.org) to make its collection readily available to the public. The site allows visitors to explore individual artists and works, create their own galleries from the collection, and to save those galleries privately or share them socially.

At the core of the Pearlman Collection are 33 works by Paul Cézanne including 16 watercolors that are rarely exhibited because of their sensitivity to light. The collection also includes works by Vincent Van Gogh, Amedeo Modigliani, Chaim Soutine, Paul Gauguin, Edouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Edgar Degas.

Henry Pearlman, the founder of Eastern Cold Storage, collected from the mid-1940s up until his death in 1975. The Henry and Rose Pearlman Collection is on long-term loan to The Princeton University Art Museum, where many of the major works are on display. A five-city tour of the collection’s masterpieces – organized in conjunction with Princeton – is planned for 2014-15. While individual works are often loaned to special exhibitions around the world, the collection has not been seen outside of the New York area for more than 35 years.

Christie’s sale of Impressionist and Modern art on November 5 failed to reach its low estimate of $188.8 million despite strong interest from buyers in the middle market. The 46-lot sale ended up fetching $144.3 million with the top lot being a portrait by Alberto Giacometti of his brother Diego. The painting sold to an anonymous buyer for $32.65 million, just past its low estimate of $30 million; Christie’s said that the price was a world record for the artist in that medium.

A number of lots were withheld from the sale after bidding fell short, including works by Pablo Picasso and Amedeo Modigliani. Brooke Lampley, head of Impressionist and Modern art at Christie’s, said, “We believed in the pictures. We didn’t find the bid in the room tonight but I’m sure we’ll either be receiving good after sale interest of you’ll see them in the future sale venue.”

On Tuesday, November 12, Christie’s will hold its highly anticipated sale of post-war and contemporary art in New York.

Christie’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale took place on June 18, 2013 in London. The sale garnered $100.4 million and sold 84% by lot and 87% by value. The top lot of the night was Wassily Kandinsky’s (1866-1944) Studie zu Improvisation 3 (1909), which sold for $21.1 million, a few million shy of its $24.7 million high estimate. The painting is from the artist’s renowned “Improvisation” series, which signaled his transition into abstraction. Many of Kandinsky’s works from this period reside in museum collections.

Other highlights from the sale include Amedeo Modigliani’s (1884-1920) portrait of the art dealer Paul Guillame (1916), which brought $10.6 million; Pablo Picasso’s (1881-1973) Femme assise dans un fauteuil (1960), which sold for $9.5 million; Claude Monet’s (1840-1926) landscape painting Sainte-Adresse (1873), which garnered $4.4 million; and Auguste Rodin’s (1840-1917) iconic marble sculpture Eve après le péché (1900-1915), which earned $4.4 million. Records were set for Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) and Eugène Boudin (1824-1898).

Jay Vincze, International Director and Head of Impressionist and Modern Art at Christie’s London, said, “There was great depth of bidding on works of high quality at all price levels, with strong participation from many new and existing collectors from both traditional and growth markets.”

An iconic painting by Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) was the top lot at Sotheby’s auction of Impressionist and Modern Art yesterday, May 8, 2013 in New York. Les Pommes (1889-90), a still life of apples on a table, sold for $41.6 million, exceeding its high pre-sale estimate of $35 million. The second highest earning work at the auction was Amedeo Modigliani’s (1840-1929) L’Amazone, a well-known portrait of Baroness Marguerite de Hasse de Villers, which sold for $25.9 million falling within its presale estimate of $20 to $30 million. Both of the works were from the collection of philanthropists Alex and Elisabeth Lewyt and will fund a foundation set up in their honor to contribute to their favorite causes including animal welfare.

Other major sales included a Fernand Léger (1881-1955) painting previously owned by Madonna, Trois Femmes a la Table Rouge, which sold for $7.2 million (estimate: $5-7 million); a Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) sculpture of his muse Sylvette, which garnered $13.6 million (estimate: $12-$18 million); and three bronze sculptures by Auguste Rodin (1840-1916) including a version of his famed The Thinker, which brought $15.3 million (estimate: $8-$12 million).

The total sale netted over $230 million, just under the pre-sale high estimate of $235.1 million.