Sotheby’s important Russian art evening auction brings £5.6/$8.7 million

LONDON.- This evening, Sotheby’s Important Russian Art auction which was exceptionally well-attended brought £5,597,000/$8,657,999 (est. £5,755,000-8,415,000). The sale achieved sellthrough rates of 66.7% by lot and 74.6% by value, and established two new artist records for Alexander Golovin and Pavel Kovalevsky. The top-selling lot of this evening’s auction was Petr Konchalovsky’s exceptionally rare, pre-revolutionary painting Tatar Still Life, dated 1916. The painting saw competition from 5 bidders and realised the above-estimate sum of £914,850/$1,415,181 (est. £500,000-700,000). The painting first belonged to influential Polish [...]

Sotheby’s to offer a rediscovered masterpiece by Gustav Klimt not seen in public for over a century

LONDON.- Sotheby’s London announced the sale of Gustav Klimt’s recently rediscovered masterpiece of 1901 Seeufer mit Birken (Lakeshore with Birches), which is estimated to fetch £6-8 million/ $10-13 million and will be offered as part of the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale, 8th February, 2012, in London. A work of haunting beauty and innovative format that stands at the very axis of Klimt’s modernism, the present painting was not publicly known to have existed until its recent discovery and authentication. Helena [...]

Sotheby’s New York to offer six works to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation

NEW YORK, N.Y.- Sotheby’s announces that it will offer six works generously donated by leading contemporary artists to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF). Works by Cecily Brown, Tracey Emin, Jim Hodges, Howard Hodgkin, Jeff Koons and Keith Haring will be include in Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Day Sale on 10 November 2011, with proceeds benefitting the Foundation’s initiatives. The auction is part of a series of art-related events that will help mark the 20th year of the organization in 2012. “All [...]

Sotheby’s New York Classical Chinese Paintings auction more than doubles pre-sale expectations

NEW YORK, N.Y.- This morning’s auction at Sotheby’s New York of Classical Chinese Paintings, the company’s first dedicated sale in this field for more than a decade, realized the superb total of $6,467,000 (est. $2.6/3.7 million). The auction, which saw more than 87% of the sold lots achieve sums in excess of their pre-sale estimates, established a strong sell-through rate of 88% by lot. The sale was led by Running Script Transcription of an Epitaph, written for Minister Chen Xinyi by Dong Qichang [...]

Sotheby’s in New York announces sale of part III of The Collection of Allan Stone

NEW YORK, N.Y.- On 23 September 2011 Sotheby’s New York will present The Collection of Allan Stone Volume III. The sale of property from the renowned New York dealer follows two exceptionally successful auctions in May 2011. Just as in those sales, this offering is made up of outstanding examples by the key artists represented and collected by Mr. Stone; highlights include works by Willem de Kooning, John Chamberlain, Franz Kline, Joseph Cornell and, perhaps most importantly, Wayne Thiebaud. Trained as a lawyer, [...]

Sotheby’s Contemporary Art evening sale to be headlined by Lucian Freud’s Boy’s Head of 1952

LONDON.- Sotheby’s London announced that its Contemporary Art Evening Auction on Thursday, October 13, 2011, will be headlined by Boy’s Head of 1952 by Lucian Freud (1922-2011) depicting Charlie Lumley, one of Freud’s most immediatelyrecognisable subjects from this seminal early period in his oeuvre. This oil on canvas transmits a remarkable psychological intensity that is exemplary of the artist’s sensational powers of observation and is estimated at £3-4 million. The work measures 21.6cm by 15.9cm and comes to market from a private [...]

Sotheby’s London to sell an exceptional private collection of 20th century Italian art

LONDON.- Sotheby’s announces that it will offer for sale an exceptional private collection of Italian Art that spans the whole of the 20th century. The collection, Italian Identity, which will be offered in Sotheby’s annual 20th Century Italian Art Sale on Thursday, October 13, 2011, represents all of the major developments in Italian Avant-garde art and is highlighted by the most comprehensive group of ‘Arte Povera’ ever to come to the open market. The collection, which includes pieces by Giorgio de Chirico, [...]

Sotheby’s London biannual sale of old master, modern and contemporary prints announced

LONDON.- On Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 Sotheby’s London will present its biannual auction of Old Master, Modern and Contemporary Prints. The sale will present an exciting opportunity to acquire important and rare-to-market works in a variety of categories by a range of artists. Works by Dürer, including two of the most important engravings he made, and some outstanding Rembrandts will highlight the Old Masters section. Desirable Modern and Contemporary works by Miró, Degas, Picasso and Warhol, among others, which will also be featured, [...]

Sotheby’s annual modern and contemporary Arab and Iranian art sale

LONDON.- Sotheby’s London announced a sale of Modern and Contemporary Arab and Iranian which will take place on Tuesday, 4th of October, 2011. Comprised of 123 lots, the sale will include major works by leading Modern masters such as Louay Kayyali, Fateh Moudarres and Aref el Rayess, as well as key pieces by some of the foremost Contemporary artists, among them Farhad Moshiri, Ziad Antar and Yousef Nabil. The sale will also be highlighted by seven Iraqi works, including a work by [...]

Sotheby’s Auction Features Important Example of Miquel Barceló’s Bullfighting Paintings

LONDON.- The Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction taking place on 28th June 2011, will feature an exceptional range of works dating from the early Post-War period to the present day. Swirling with a dizzying, centrifugal energy across its expansive surface and beholden of the thick sculpted painterly surface which creates it, Faena de muleta is by far the largest and most important example of Miquel Barceló’s most celebrated series of bullfighting paintings ever to come to auction. Accentuating the [...]

Colombian Master Fernando Botero to Offer Solo Sale at Sotheby’s in New York

NEW YORK, NY.- On 25 May 2011 Sotheby’s will present a remarkable group of works by the Colombian master Fernando Botero in a single-artist evening sale. The auction, entitled Fernando Botero: A Celebration, takes place alongside A Discerning Eye: Latin American Masterpieces from a Private Collection and the various owner Latin American Art evening sale. It is the first single-artist sale held by Sotheby’s Latin American Art department since the auction of Joaquín Torres-Garcia’s works from the estate of Royal S. [...]

Sotheby’s London to Sell Important Scottish Skating Scene on Duddingston Loch

LONDON.- Sotheby’s London is to offer Skaters, A Scene on Duddingston Loch near Edinburgh by Scottish artist Charles Lees (1800‐1880) in its sale of Victorian and Edwardian Art on Tuesday, 17 May 2011. Estimated at £100,000‐200,000, the painting will make its first known appearance at auction since it was painted in 1853, and comes to the market from a Private Scottish Collection. The subject of skaters would come to define Lee’s career and the present work is distinguished as the [...]

Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art to Be Offered at Sotheby’s in New York

NEW YORK, N.Y.- On 23 March 2011 Sotheby’s Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art sale will offer superb examples of Chinese painting, jades, furniture, ceramics and other works of art. The 200 lot sale will be part of the Asia Week series of auctions at Sotheby’s New York. The highlight of the sale is An Important Imperial Nian Rebellion Battle Painting ‘Siege of Pingyu,’ by Qingkuang et al, Qing Dynasty, Guangxu Period (est. $800,000/1.2 million). It comes from a set [...]

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, [...]

Sotheby’s February 2011 Contemporary Art Evening Auction Realises $71,051,252

LONDON.- Tonight, Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening sale realised £44,359,900/$71,051,252/€52,965,613 – above the high estimate (£30.4-£43 million/$48.7-$68.9 million**). With ‘Looking Closely’, this sum brings the total for Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Auction Series so far this Season to £88,022,550 /$138,728,359 /€104,465,529 (est. £56-78 million) – well above combined pre-sale expectations – representing the second-highest total for a February Contemporary Art Sales Series in London and the highest total for a Contemporary Art Sales Series in London since July 2008. More than 200 [...]

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