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.

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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.

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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.

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Florsheim, Goldberg collections comprise Wright sale Feb. 15

Georges Vantongerloo, ‘Formation de la Matiere,’ 1951, oil on panel in artist’s frame,
16 in x 18.75 in (41 x 48 cm). Signed, titled and dated to verso. Estimate: $70,000-$90,000. Wright image

CHICAGO – On Feb. 15, Wright will present Florsheim / Goldberg: An Extended Conversation, an auction featuring two exceptional stories in tandem-that of Lillian Florsheim and her son-in-law Bertrand Goldberg. Intensely creative, both Lillian and Bertrand surrounded themselves with art and objects and maintained friendships with important artists across the globe. Their friendship developed over shared interests and concepts explored in their own artistic practices. Ideas often overlapped, with each producing original works distinctly their own. Absentee and Internet bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Tate Modern exhibition explores abstract art in photography

Otto Steinert (1915-1978), ‘Luminogram II,’ 1952. Jack Kirkland Collection Nottingham © Estate Otto Steinert, Museum Folkwang, Essen

LONDON – A major new exhibition opening May 2 at Tate Modern will reveal the intertwined stories of photography and abstract art. “Shape of Light: 100 Years of Photography and Abstract Art” will be the first show of this scale to explore photography in relation to the development of abstraction, from the early experiments of the 1910s to the digital innovations of the 21st century. Featuring over 300 works by more than 100 artists, the exhibition will explore the history of abstract photography side-by-side with iconic paintings and sculptures.

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George Washington-signed volume hits $138K at auction

A 1789 book from the library of George Washington, with his signature and bookplate, from a collection once owned by U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall. Price realized: $138,000. Case Antiques Inc. image

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A book signed by George Washington that made its way from the Founding Father’s personal library to a now-deceased Tennessee man has sold for $138,000 at an auction.

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