Market & Auctions

Market trends, sales, auction results, major lots, records, and analysis from Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips and others.

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Art+Culture Projects Introduces Interest-Free Payment Plan for Art Purchases market-auction
Art+Culture Projects has launched a partnership with Art Money to provide a new payment option for art buyers. This service allows customers to acquire artworks by paying a 10%…
Market and Exhibitions: A Moebius Strip Relationship market-auction
The article explores the symbiotic relationship between the art market and major exhibitions, arguing that since the late 19th century, market trends have been shaped by…
Samira Abbassy's 2013 painting 'Mythological Creature (Lioness)' listed for sale at $6,000 market-auction
Samira Abbassy created the oil painting 'Mythological Creature (Lioness)' in 2013. The artwork measures 18 by 24 inches and was executed on panel. Priced at $6,000, the piece was…
Four Paintings by Adolf Hitler to Be Auctioned in England market-auction
Four paintings by Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) will be auctioned on July 6, with prices between $6,000 and $9,000, as reported by the Shropshire Star. An additional unsigned work…
Pioneering Women Photographers Anna Atkins and Amélie Guillot-Saguez Achieve High Prices at Paris Auctions market-auction
In November, Paris photo auctions saw mixed results with sell-through rates between 33% and 59%, but two lots by pioneering women photographers achieved remarkable prices. At…
Italian Spring 2017 Auctions Report: Morandi Leads, Farsettiarte Surges market-auction
The positive trend in Italian art auctions that began in 2016 continued into spring 2017, with domestic auction houses outperforming international big players. Farsettiarte…
Denver Art Museum sells Roman statue for $930,000 at Sotheby's market-auction
A Roman statue of a senator or noble, dating back approximately 1,800 years, was sold at Sotheby's in London for about $930,000. The sculpture, part of the Denver Art Museum's…
Sotheby's London Evening Sale: Records for Kandinsky and Miró, but Many Lots Unsold market-auction
On June 21, 2017, Sotheby's held an evening sale of Impressionist and Modern Art in London, achieving a total of £149 million, with participation from buyers across 37 countries…
Jeff Koons lays off half of his studio staff market-auction
Jeff Koons has abruptly dismissed half of his painting assistants, approximately 30 people, reducing his painting staff from 60 to around 30. The layoffs follow a previous…
Four Major Auctions to Watch: Warhol, Renaissance, Pollock, Rockefeller market-auction
A roundup of four upcoming auctions highlights key sales in London, Arizona, and New York. On June 28, Sotheby's London will offer an Andy Warhol self-portrait from 1963-64,…
Audrey Hepburn's personal collection to be auctioned at Christie's market-auction
Christie's will auction Audrey Hepburn's personal collection in September 2017. The collection includes her wardrobe, film scripts (including Breakfast at Tiffany's), private…
Agnes Gund sells Lichtenstein for $150M to fund criminal justice reform market-auction
Philanthropist Agnes Gund has sold Roy Lichtenstein's 1962 painting "Masterpiece" for $150 million through Acquavella Galleries. The proceeds will fund a new initiative called Art…
Hauser & Wirth to Represent Piero Manzoni Estate Worldwide market-auction
Swiss mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth has signed an exclusive worldwide representation agreement with the Fondazione Piero Manzoni in Milan, adding the Italian artist to its roster of…
Mario Testino's private collection to be auctioned at Sotheby's London market-auction
Mario Testino is auctioning 400 works from his private collection at Sotheby's London in September 2017, aiming to raise £8 million for MATE, his contemporary art museum in Lima,…
Cartier watch and painting by Jackie Kennedy head to Christie's auction market-auction
Christie's will auction a Cartier watch and a watercolor painting by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in New York on June 21. The 18-karat gold watch, engraved with the inscription…
Carolee Schneemann's Market Performance Despite Golden Lion market-auction
Carolee Schneemann (Fox Chase, Pennsylvania, 1939) received the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 57th Venice Biennale, yet her auction record remains modest. Her career…
Christie's and Sotheby's Milan Auctions: Strong Results for Italian Art market-auction
Christie's and Sotheby's held successful spring auctions in Milan in 2017, with Christie's selling 94% of 88 lots for €13.3 million and Sotheby's selling 78% of 104 lots for €14.2…
Sissi portrait and Boldini's Donna Franca Florio set auction records market-auction
Two iconic aristocratic portraits achieved record prices at auctions in Vienna and Rome in late April 2017. At Dorotheum in Vienna on April 29, an equestrian portrait of Empress…
Balenciaga’s $2,145 IKEA Frakta knock-off sparks viral debate market-auction
Demna Gvasalia, creative director of Balenciaga since 2015, released a luxury version of IKEA's iconic blue Frakta shopping bag. The Balenciaga carry shopper is made of premium…
X-rays reveal Boldini painted three versions of Franca Florio portrait on same canvas market-auction
X-ray examinations have disclosed that Giovanni Boldini created three iterations of his renowned portrait of Donna Franca Florio on a single canvas, challenging a belief held for…
Trump's Inauguration Fundraising Hits Record $107 Million, Art World Donors Among Top Contributors market-auction
A 500-page report filed on April 18, 2017, with the Federal Election Commission reveals that Donald Trump's Inauguration Day fundraising reached $107 million, a record surpassing…
African Contemporary Art Market Surges Over 200% in Five Years market-auction
The African contemporary art market has experienced explosive growth, with sales increasing over 200% in the five years leading up to the 2015 Africa Art Marker Report. Auction…
Artflipping: The Speculative Phenomenon Undermining the Contemporary Art Market market-auction
Artflipping, a speculative practice where artworks are bought and resold quickly for profit, threatens the contemporary art market. Unlike traditional gallerists who nurture…
Baltimore Museum of Art Acquires Mark Bradford Works Amid Biennale Ties market-auction
The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) has announced a significant round of acquisitions, including Mark Bradford's monumental painting 'My Grandmother Felt the Color' (2016) and his…
Lost Rodin sculpture Andromeda rediscovered after 130 years, heading to auction market-auction
A long-lost marble sculpture by Auguste Rodin, titled Andromeda, has been rediscovered after 130 years and will be auctioned by Artcurial in Paris on May 30, 2017. The work,…
Damien Hirst paints George Michael portrait for MTV RE:DEFINE charity auction market-auction
Damien Hirst has produced a new portrait of George Michael utilizing his renowned Spin Painting method, which will be auctioned during MTV RE:DEFINE in Dallas on March 24-25,…
Warhol's Mao portrait expected to break records at Sotheby's Hong Kong market-auction
A 1973 oil on canvas by Andy Warhol from his Mao series is heading to auction at Sotheby's Hong Kong on April 2, with estimates of £12 million, potentially setting a new record.…
Rare complete Goya Tauromaquia set discovered in French château, headed to Sotheby's auction market-auction
A complete set of Francisco Goya's Tauromaquia etchings, 33 prints in pristine condition, has been discovered hidden on a bookshelf at Château de Montigny in Eure-et-Loir, France.…
Crowdfunding to Save Boldini's Portrait of Donna Franca Florio from Auction market-auction
A grassroots campaign has launched to prevent Giovanni Boldini's 1901 portrait of Franca Florio from leaving Palermo. The painting, commissioned by industrialist Ignazio Florio,…
Sotheby's London Contemporary Art Evening Sale Totals £118 Million market-auction
The contemporary art evening auction at Sotheby's London concluded with an impressive total of £118 million, marking the end of a week filled with auctions. German artists…
400 opere della storica trattoria Bagutta vendute all'asta fallimentare market-auction
La storica trattoria Bagutta di Milano, famosa per il premio letterario che porta il suo nome e fondata nel 1927, ha chiuso a causa di uno sfratto. I proprietari, inadempienti,…
TEFAF Art Market Report 2017: Global Sales Reach $45 Billion market-auction
The TEFAF Art Market Report 2017, compiled by Professor Rachel A. J. Pownall of Maastricht University, reveals that global art and antiques sales in 2016 totaled $45 billion, a…
Christie's London auction: Magritte record, Rodin unsold market-auction
Christie's Impressionist and Modern Art sale in London achieved nearly £137 million, with a strong Surrealist section. Magritte's 'La corde sensible' set a new artist record at…
Tecno acquires Zanotta majority, merging office and home design market-auction
Tecno, a leading office furniture brand, has acquired a majority stake in Zanotta, a historic Italian design company known for award-winning products exhibited in over 40 museums…
Sotheby's and Christie's London Auctions: Impressionist, Surrealist, and Post-War Highlights market-auction
London's auction season kicks off with Christie's and Sotheby's holding back-to-back sales from February 28 to March 8, 2017. Christie's opens on February 28 with Impressionist &…
eBay Reveals Most Searched Pop Artists on 30th Warhol Death Anniversary market-auction
On the 30th anniversary of Andy Warhol's death, February 22, 2017, eBay released a ranking of the most listed Pop Art artists on its platform over the past year. Warhol topped the…
Oprah Winfrey sells Klimt painting to Chinese collector for $150M market-auction
Oprah Winfrey has reportedly sold Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II" (1912) to an unidentified Chinese collector for $150 million in a private sale. The talk show…
London Spring Auctions: Rothko, Rauschenberg, and Richter Lead Christie’s and Sotheby’s Sales market-auction
From February to March 2017, the auction season for modern and contemporary art in London will kick off. Christie’s is set to auction a significant Italian collection that…
Artists create works from Glasgow School of Art ashes for fundraising auction market-auction
After a devastating fire in 2014 destroyed the historic Glasgow School of Art building designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the city has decided to rebuild but lacks sufficient…
Clarice Pecori Giraldi Appointed Phillips Regional Director for Italy market-auction
Phillips has appointed Clarice Pecori Giraldi as Regional Director for Italy, based in Milan. She previously spent seven years as Managing Director for Christie's in Italy,…

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