Sale of Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art Announced by Sotheby’s New York

NEW YORK, NY.- Sotheby’s sale of Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art on 25 March 2011 will be led by one of the most important paintings by a modern Indian painter ever to have appeared on the market – Akbar Padamsee’s Untitled (Reclining Nude) which carries an auction estimate of $500/700,000. It was acquired by the current owners from the artist over 50 years ago and has never before appeared at auction. Sotheby’s presented the painting to collectors at the [...]

Sotheby’s Hong Kong Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Spring Sale Series Announced

HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Spring Sale Series 2011 will be held on 7 and 8 April, 2011 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Leading the season is a special Evening Sale, featuring a prestigious European collection of Chinese Art – The Meiyintang Collection – An Important Selection of Imperial Chinese Porcelains (see separate press release). Together with another private collection, a theme sale and a various-owner sale, a total of [...]

Sotheby’s New York Announces Sale of Indian & Southeast Asian Works of Art

NEW YORK, N.Y.- Sotheby Indian & Southeast Asian Works of Art sale on 24 March in New York will be led by a spectacular 10th century Khmer Koh Ker period Athlete from a European private collection (est. $2/3 million). Acquired by the original owner over 40 years ago, the figure is mate to the Koh Ker athlete at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena that is almost identical in posture and physical appearance. The sale also includes early South and [...]

Sotheby’s Contemporary Turkish Art Auction to Be Headlined by Mubin Orhon Paintings

LONDON.- Sotheby’s announce that its annual Contemporary Turkish Art Auction in London on Thursday, 7th April, 2011 will this year feature an exceptional collection of paintings by the modern Turkish master, Mubin Orhon. This unique collection comes with impeccable provenance, having been amassed by Daniel Gervis, a French dealer, collector and patron of the arts since the 1960s. These four paintings, never before seen on the market, were purchased directly from the artist by Gervis and have remained in the [...]

Japanese Screens and Korean Ceramics Highlight Christie’s Asian Art Week

NEW YORK, NY.- On March 23, Christie’s will present Japanese and Korean Art, which will include over 300 traditional and modern works of art. The Japanese section of the sale will feature a noteworthy group of classical screens of beauty, and the Korean section will offer an exquisite group of ceramics including a fine group of modern paintings. This spectacular sale will be one of the most valuable Japanese and Korean sales yet held in New York, with a value in [...]

Sotheby’s in London to Sell Hascoe Family Collection of Important Czech Art

LONDON.- On Monday, 13 June 2011, Sotheby’s London will offer Czech Modernist paintings, sculpture and Cubist furniture from the outstanding Hascoe Collection of Czech Modern Art. This collection is an extraordinary testimony to the vision of its creators, Norman and Suzanne Hascoe, who over the course of twenty-five years assembled what, is now one of the most important private collections of Czech Modernist art, and the most exciting group of Czech works to come to the market in the last decade. [...]

Sotheby’s Hong Kong To Hold 20th Century Chinese Art Spring Sale 2011 in April

HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong 20th Century Chinese Art Spring Sale will be held on 4 April offering a selection of 119 lots estimated at HK$117 million. The auction will revolve around two major themes – Chinese abstract art and Modern Chinese sculpture – stimulating collectors’ knowledge and interest in these genres. The works featured in the abstract category are rich in cultural history, reflecting the aesthetic ideals and personal conviction of their respective artists. In addition to abstract art, [...]

Family Gatherings at Christie’s Swiss Art Sale in Zurich

ZURICH.- Like father, Like son: Christie’s spring sale of Swiss art at the Kunsthaus Zurich on 21 March 2011 will bring together outstanding works from famous artist fathers and their equally famous sons. The top lot of the sale, which comes from a Swiss private collection, is Giovanni Giacometti’s family portrait Unter dem Holunder / Under the elder tree (1911) (estimate SFr. 1,8 – 2,5 million). The family is one of the core subjects of Giovanni Giacometti’s oeuvre. Christie’s set a [...]

Sotheby’s Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results; Full Year Revenues Increase 60%

NEW YORK, NY.- Sotheby’s today announced results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2010. 2010 brought the best financial results for Sotheby’s in its 267-year history, apart from 2007. Consolidated Sales* were $2.0 billion in the fourth quarter and $4.8 billion in the year, an increase of 57% and 74%, respectively. For the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2010, total revenues were $318.0 million and $774.3 million, respectively, an increase of 46% and 60%, when [...]

Sotheby’s to Sell One of the Greatest Venetian View Paintings Ever Executed

LONDON.- On July 6, 2011, Sotheby’s London will sell one of the greatest masterpieces of Venetian view painting ever executed. Estimated in the region of £20 million (US$30 million), Francesco Guardi’s Venice, a view of the Rialto Bridge, Looking North, from the Fondamenta del Carbon is monumental in scale. Measuring 115 by 199.5cm (45¼ by 78½ in.), it is one of four works that Guardi painted on this grand scale, all executed at around the same time in the late 1760s, [...]

Christie’s Launches Spring 2011 Season of Post-War and Contemporary Art with First Open

NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s New York announces First Open, an auction of Post-War and Contemporary Art to take place on March 10. The daring and innovative sale is robust with key works ranging from blue-chip artists such as Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg to standout auction newcomers, including Ion Birch and Michael Scoggins. First Open is geared toward both new and seasoned collectors, thus estimates for works of art in the auction range from the accessible to aspirational. Merce Cunningham’s [...]

Superlative Masterpieces From Around The World Resurface At Sotheby’s Annual Irish Sale

LONDON.- Sotheby’s Seventeenth Annual Irish Sale in London, to take place on Tuesday, 29 March, 2011, brings together exceptional masterpieces by eminent Irish artists. The group of works, many never before offered on the market, boasts superb and rare pictures by John Lavery, Roderic O’Conor and Mary Swanzy. Louis le Brocquy is represented with thirteen works that span his career, and a selection by today’s most sought after Irish artists, including Basil Blackshaw, John Shinnors, William Scott, Colin Middleton and [...]

Rare Painting of Doomed WW2 Bomb Store that was Covered Up for Years, Offered at Bonhams

LONDON.- A powerful painting of a Staffordshire bomb store by the artist David Bomberg will be offered by Bonhams in the 20th Century British Art sale on March 9th. The painting is estimated to sell for £80,000 – 120,000. As World War II broke out in Europe, Bomberg felt a pressing need to contribute in some way and repeatedly suggested that artists be employed to depict and document the historic events. To his satisfaction, in 1939 it was announced that a [...]

Unknown Painting by Walter Sickert Re-Surfaces After 80 Years to Sell at Bonhams

LONDON.- A previously unknown painting by Walter Sickert, entitled The Blind Sea Captain, is one of the highlights of the 20th Century British Art Sale in New Bond Street on the 9th March. The painting, which is estimated to sell for £40,000 – 60,000, is from a private collection, inherited by the vendor from her grandfather. The art historian Wendy Baron, who has devoted her life to studying the works of Walter Sickert, was astounded to find a painting by [...]

Most Important Peploe Ever to Come to Auction Leads Scottish Colourist Paintings at Christie’s

LONDON.- Christie’s announce a group of superb Scottish Colourist paintings to be offered in the 20th Century British Art sale on 26 May 2011, led by the most important work by Samuel John Peploe, R.S.A. (1871-1935) ever to come to auction, The Coffee Pot, 1905 (estimate: £800,000-1.2million). One of five works which together constitute Peploe’s most famous images, this magnificent painting illustrates the impact of Edouard Manet on the artist during his time in Paris. This canvas exemplifies the artistic [...]