Sotheby's Withdraws $35M Velázquez Portrait from New York Old Master Auctions

Sotheby's has withdrawn a rare portrait of Queen Isabella of Spain by Diego Velázquez from its upcoming Old Master auctions in New York, scheduled for late January to early February 2024. The painting, valued at over $35 million, was expected to be the most important Velázquez work to appear on the market in fifty years and could have doubled the artist's current auction record of $16.9 million. The withdrawal was due to internal disputes among the sellers, described by Sotheby's as a 'temporary pause in the sales process.' The work, dated to the late 1620s, may have been a pendant to a portrait of Philip IV now in the Museo del Prado, and has been owned by an American family trust since 1978. The Old Master market has shown resilience in 2023, declining only about 5% compared to a 12.8% drop in contemporary art, according to ArtTactic. Other highlights in the upcoming sales include works by Rubens, van Dyck, Giambologna, and Tiepolo. The Velázquez is expected to be reoffered at a more favorable time.