Gallery Report: January 2018

ATLANTA – At the start of each month, ACN columnist Ken Hall gathers top auction highlights from around the United States and beyond. Here’s what made headlines since last month’s report:

Chinese porcelain stand, $100,000, Millea Brothers
An Imperial Chinese Qing dynasty porcelain reticulated stand sold for $100,000 at an auction held Dec. 7-9 by Millea Brothers in Boonton, N.J. Also, a gold-mounted violin bow, attributed to Dominique Peccatte, circa 1845, realized $90,625; a Chinese Qing dynasty carved red lacquer chest breezed to $38,750; and a pale celadon jade moon flask carved with low relief scenes of blossoming trees gaveled for $32,500. Prices include a 25 percent buyer’s premium.

Read more

Jeff Koons meets French minister over sculpture dispute

A somewhat smaller Jeff Koons work, ‘Tulip Balloons,’ is permanently installed outside Guggenheim museum Bilbao. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

PARIS (AP) – American artist Jeff Koons met with the French culture minister Francoise Nyssen on Tuesday amid a debate over a monumental sculpture he plans to offer Paris as a memorial to victims of the 2015 terror attacks.

Read more

Tiffany candlestick, jade cats top $20K at Cowan’s Auctions

Tiffany Studios bronze candlestick made for Cleveland’s Rowfant Club, 1903. Price realized: $20,400. Cowan’s Auctions image

CLEVELAND – An exceptionally rare Tiffany Studios-made candlestick from Cleveland’s exclusive Rowfant Club sold for a record price of $20,400 (including the buyer’s premium) highlighting Cowan’s Winter Cleveland Auction. The bronze gopher form tied for the top lot of the day, which also saw robust bidding on jade figurines, bronze sculptures by Harriet Whitney Frishmuth, and mechanical banks spurring Cowan’s to a $305,454 sale. Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.

Read more

Antique show joins Lyndhurst Mansion flower fest April 7-8

Historic Lyndhurst Mansion, site of the new Antiques on the Hudson show. Image courtesy of Barn Star Productions and Frank Gaglio Inc.

RHINEBECK, N.Y. – Barn Star Productions and Frank Gaglio Inc. will present a new event, Antiques on the Hudson, at Lyndhurst, on April 7-8, 2018. The antique, vintage and fine art show and sale will take place as part of Lyndhurst Mansion’s Spring Blossoms Flower Show, the 2018 season opener at the historic site.

Read more

Modern masters prints, paintings in Jasper52 sale Feb. 6

Takashi Murakami, ‘Flower Ball (3D),’ 2010, 28 in x 28 in, framed 32 in x 32 in, edition 120/300. Estimate: $1,800-$2,000. Jasper52 image

NEW YORK — A Jasper52 online auction of prints and paintings on Feb. 6 gives art lovers an opportunity to purchase works by modern masters. The auction features artworks by Takashi Murakami, Andy Warhol, Alexander Calder and Banksy. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.

Four prints by Japanese contemporary artist Takaski Murakami are in the auction including Flower Ball (3D) (above) and Mushroomer (below). Flower Ball is expected to sell for $1,800-$2,000, while Mushroomer tops the lineup with a $3,300-$3,500 estimate.

Takashi Murakami, ‘Mushroomer,’ 2003, 8.25 in x 3 in, edition 53/100. Estimate: $3,300-$3,500. Jasper52 image

Rolling Stones fans will want to have a close look at a large limited-edition lithograph of Mick Jagger by Andy Warhol. The portrait depicts the Stones’ frontman in 1975. The litho was published in 2010 by the Museum of Modern Art Vienna (est. $300-$400).

Andy Warhol limited edition offset lithograph, ‘Mick Jagger,’ 1975/2010, 32.9 in x 22.1 in. Published by the Museum of Modern Art, Vienna 2010. Estimate: $300-$400. Jasper52 image

Donald Peter Turner (1934-2017) was an American photographer known as one of the first masters of color photography. The Jasper52 auction features a Pete Turner signed Polaroid print inscribed, “Lena Bunina Moscow” on the back (est. $50-$75).

Pete Turner signed Polaroid SX70 print of Lena Bunina, Moscow, image size 3 1/8 in x 3 1/8 in, circa 1976. Estimate: $50-$75. Jasper52 image

Original works include a watercolor titled Earth II, done by Spanish artist Sergi Peragón in 2017.

Sergi Peragón watercolor, ‘Earth II,’ 2017, 12.6 in x 9.4 in. Estimate: $150-$200. Jasper52 image

For something entirely different there’s a collection of Banksy items the British street artist created exclusively for the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem, Palestine. These were purchased at the art hotel: Pillow Fight T-shirt, size large, sealed in its packet; a set of Walled Off Hotel postcards, sealed in its packing; Walled Off Hotel canvas tote bag sealed in its packet; and a new Walled Off Hotel pen and pencil (est. $300-$400).

Banksy Walled Off Hotel collection: full set of Walled Off Hotel postcards (pictured), Walled Off Hotel Pillow Fight T-shirt, Walled Off Hotel canvas tote bag, Walled Off Hotel pen and pencil, all in like-new condition. Estimate: $300-$400. Jasper52 image

The auction will be Tuesday, Feb. 6, starting at 5 p.m. Eastern.

Sam Francis: master of color and light

A large Sam Francis acrylic on canvas painting, ‘Quiet Fruitfulness,’ fetched $579,500 at Palm Beach Modern Auctions in May 2017. Photo courtesy of Palm Beach Modern Auctions and LiveAuctioneers

NEW YORK — California Abstract Expressionist Sam Francis (1923-1994) culled an international following—one of the first postwar American artists to do so—and enduring legacy, creating thousands of paintings, prints and works on paper that were noted for his masterful interpretation of color and light.

Read more

LiveAuctioneers first to adopt Codex Consortium’s blockchain protocol

 

NEW YORK – LiveAuctioneers, the world’s leading online marketplace for auctions of collectibles, antiques and fine art, today announced its participation in the Codex Consortium, which supports the Codex Protocol, a decentralized title registry for the $2 trillion arts & collectibles (A&C) asset class that brings provenance onto the blockchain. LiveAuctioneers has committed to adopting Codex Protocol, its native token, and its first product, Biddable, the day the protocol is launched. In the short term, Biddable will make bidding easier for LiveAuctioneers’ audience of 12 million users, enable bidding with cryptocurrency, and bring an influx of cryptowealth to auction houses. Over the long term, Codex will create a larger and more trusted art and collectibles market that will benefit LiveAuctioneers’ auction-house partners.

Read more

Hans Ulrich Obrist to be feted by appraisers group

Hans Ulrich Obrist, artistic director of Serpentine Galleries, London. © Dave Benett

NEW YORK – The Appraisers Association of America will present Hans Ulrich Obrist, the artistic director of Serpentine Galleries, with the 2018 Award for Excellence in the Arts at the organization’s 14th annual Award Luncheon on April 18 at the New York Athletic Club. Obrist will be joined by keynote speaker Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, and will be in conversation with the artist Ian Cheng.

Read more

Heritage Auctions reports record $438M in online sales for 2017

Jackie Robinson’s 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers jersey, sold by Heritage Auctions to an online bidder for $2,000,050. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions

DALLAS – Online sales at Heritage Auctions surged to an industry-leading $438,298,484 in 2017, marking the first time more than half of the firm’s total annual sales were transacted through the Internet. The total represents 53.7 percent of the firm’s $815 million in total sales.

Read more

Louvre displays art looted by Nazis, hopes to find owners

U.S. Soldiers examine Edouard Manet’s ‘In the Conservatory’ on April 25, 1945. The painting was looted by the Nazis. Image courtesy of the National Archives.

PARIS (AP) – The Louvre Museum is putting 31 paintings on permanent display in an effort to find the rightful owners of those and other works of art looted by Nazis during World War II.

Read more