NewsArt market
Sotheby’s to auction Karl Lagerfeld’s collection in Monaco
The fashion designer, who died in 2019, was an enthusiastic collector of art and design
NewsAuctions
Surrealist collection of Man Ray's assistant sells out at Christie's despite 'serious concerns about ownership' of most of the works
Ahead of yesterday's sale in Paris, the Man Ray Trust called for a delay claiming that Lucien Treillard “stole a substantial number of Man Ray’s works and possessions"
NewsArt market
Rediscovered portrait by India's most famous female painter Amrita Sher-Gil expected to sell for $2.8m
1932 painting of artist's close friend has been out of the public eye for over 90 years but now comes up for auction at Christie's in New York
NewsArt market
Winston Churchill's painting of Marrakech—given to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and sold by Angelina Jolie—sells for record £8.2m
Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque was one of three works by the former British prime minister sold at Christie's tonight for a total of £11.2m—to the same buyer
NewsArt market
The 'quintessential' Art Deco smoking (or vaping) room—yours for £2m
Jean Dunand's Les Palmiers was designed for a Parisian apartment in the 1930s
BlogAdventures with Van Gogh
Bought for around $1,000, now worth $10m: where was the newly unveiled Van Gogh landscape hidden away?
Montmartre windmill painting is on view with Sotheby’s for the first time since it left the easel
NewsAuctions
Unseen Van Gogh painting of Paris—owned by one French family for a century—could make $10m at Sotheby’s
The rare work shows a distinctive pastoral side to the city's Montmartre neighbourhood
NewsArt market
Sotheby's to sell the $150m collection of Texan rancher and philanthropist Anne Marion
The group of predominantly post-war art, including works by Clyfford Still and Andy Warhol, will be sold over a series of sales this spring
NewsAuction houses
Christie’s to accept cryptocurrency for first time
The buyer of Beeple's NFT work will be able to pay with ETH later this month
NewsArt market
First Paris sale of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s art collection brings in nearly $10m
Works by the artists, and their friends, largely exceeded estimates in the white glove auction. Part two will take place tomorrow
NewsArt market
‘The future of the art market’: Christie’s to become first major auction house to sell a standalone NFT work of art
With investors such as Elon Musk and Chamath Palihapitiya backing the purely digital art form, the trade is beginning to take notice
NewsArt market
Jean-Michel Basquiat's Warrior could become the most expensive Western work of art ever sold at auction in Asia
The 1982 painting will be sold in a single-lot evening sale at Christie's Hong Kong on 23 March with an estimate of $31m to $41m
NewsArt market
English house museum Kettle's Yard to sell donated collection to raise funds
Group of 36 works left by John Ady is hoped to make around £35,000 for the Cambridge gallery when it sells at Cheffins auction house this month
NewsArt market
How an antiques trade paper led to a tech firm with £600m potential
Online bidding pioneer Auction Technology Group (ATG) is intending to go public to secure investment. The former editor of the original ATG, Antiques Trade Gazette, charts its rise and rivals
BlogAdventures with Van Gogh
Van Gogh’s Japanese girl could fetch record $10m at auction
A Provençal drawing coming up at Christie’s New York is based on a painting in Washington, DC
NewsAuctions
Botticelli portrait sells for record $92.1m at Sotheby's in New York
A portrait of a Young man holding a roundel (around 1470-80) by the Renaissance master seemingly sold to a Russian buyer
NewsAuctions
Rare Rembrandt withdrawn from Sotheby's New York auction
The sale's other big ticket item, Young man holding a roundel (around 1470-80) by Sandro Botticelli, estimated to sell in excess of $80m, is still included
NewsObject lessons
Object lessons: from a rare outing for an Old Testament Rembrandt to a Bernini double act
Our pick of highlights from New York's Master Week sales
AnalysisArt market
Lockdown home decorators boost New York's Americana week auctions
Chippendale-style furniture, elephant tureens and a broadside edition of the Declaration of Independence were in demand at the sales series last week
NewsArt market
Why Sotheby's $80m Botticelli continues to mystify experts
Star lot of upcoming New York Master Week sales is set to smash previous auction record for the Early Renaissance painter
NewsAuctions
Rejected Tintin cover design sets record for comic book art with €3.2m auction price
Sale of controversial 1936 painting criticised by organisation behind artist Hergé’s estate
CommentDiary of an art historian
Auction houses have finally entered the Amazon age—and I’m addicted
I thought I’d kicked my online art and antiques buying habit but too much lockdown screen time has been my undoing
InterviewArt market
A crisis hits the art market once a decade. What is different this time? Christie's president Dirk Boll assesses the impact of the pandemic
As his new book is published, the auction house chief compares coronavirus fallout to previous economic disasters
NewsArt market
European auction houses weather crisis as customers spend millions on art online
Expecting the worst, French, German and Austrian auction houses have been surprised by how well sales have held up through the pandemic
NewsAuctions
Warhol, Oldenburg, Fontana: star works from Christo and Jeanne-Claude collection go on the block
Proceeds from the pieces sold at Sotheby’s Paris in February will go towards the artist duo's estate
CommentArt Market Eye
Asian art market flies in the face of coronavirus
Why are Asians in hot pursuit of art, and what are they buying?
NewsArt market
Grime stars: paintings set new records for Domenico Ghirlandaio and Jan Davidsz de Heem despite being covered in dirt
Christie's end of season Old Masters evening sale in London totals £22.8m, despite last-minute withdrawal of Bernadino Luini's Nativity
AnalysisArt market
‘We have to broaden our reach, be more interesting’: the year the Old Master trade went digital
The pandemic has forced a resolutely analogue trade to go digital. Despite the technical hurdles, the results have surprised even traditionalists
NewsArt market
Record for Barkley Hendricks and $18.2m Calder at otherwise unremarkable Sotheby’s sale
Almost half of the auction's total sales value was bought by Asian buyers, but 12 lots sold below their estimates
NewsArt market
Rare Georges de la Tour painting sells for record €4.3m—the most expensive Old Master painting ever sold at auction in Germany
The 17th century painting of a young girl blowing on brazier by the French baroque painter sold at Lempertz in Germany today
NewsArt market
Christie’s and Sotheby’s ordered to disclose dealings with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
Sales of paintings by Cézanne and Picasso worth a combined $139m are also under scrutiny by the US Virgin Island attorney general
BlogAdventures with Van Gogh
Poignant Van Gogh watercolour of a windmill coming up for sale
Sheltering from a rainstorm at the mill, Vincent and his brother Theo made a teenage pact
NewsAuctions
A tale of two cities: Christie's 20th-century relay sale sees six records set in Hong Kong before slower New York finish
In demand contemporary artists hit big in Asia but several Modern stalwarts failed to make a splash in multi-city hybrid auction
NewsMuseums
A date with Mona Lisa? A painting by Soulages? Louvre's fundraising auction offers all to the highest bidder
Online sale seeks to support a new space for art education and outreach that will open in the autumn of 2021
AnalysisArt market
All ears: why collectors can’t get enough of industry hype right now
In an increasingly asset-driven art trade, collecting by listening to the buzz is fast becoming the norm
NewsArt market
Carphone Warehouse billionaire David Ross did buy the Royal Opera House's $12.8m Hockney—now he is loaning it back
The portrait of David Webster will return immediately to the opera house before going to the National Portrait Gallery in 2023 for its reopening exhibition
NewsArt market
Rediscovered painting by Leonardo da Vinci's 'little devil' lover and collaborator sells for record €1.7m in France
Penitent Magdalene by Salaì, who entered Leonardo's workshop at the age of ten, was estimated at €100,000 to €150,000 and is one of only a handful of known works by the artist
NewsDiscoveries
Constable oil sketch—previously dismissed as fake—goes on sale for £150,000
Sworder's auction house is selling the work, which is one of many by the Romantic painter depicting the area around Dedham Vale where he grew up
NewsArt market
Collection of Balthus drawings and paintings to be sold for €1.2m—so why no mention of his infatuation with pubescent girls?
The works are from the estate of the artist’s teenage “muse and model” Frédérique Tison, who was also his step-niece
Analysiselection 2020
What the presidential election means for the US art market—no matter who is in the Oval Office
A dwindling middle market faces a stingy Senate while rising inequality and public unrest could prompt even more private sales
BlogDiary
Ed Sheeran is selling his Lego set—and his art
The singer has donated his "Jackson Pollocky" painting to a GeeWizz charity auction alongside hand-written song lyrics and other memorabilia
NewsArt market
Giacometti, De Chirico and Alfa Romeo cars lead Sotheby's $283m New York sales after major museum works abruptly pulled
Following weeks of controversy, the Baltimore Museum of Art withdrew two paintings just hours before the auction while many other works sold near low estimates
NewsDeaccessioning
Baltimore Museum of Art calls off sale of Warhol, Still and Marden after outcry
Last-gasp decision after talks with the US museum directors association comes just before a Sotheby’s auction
NewsDeaccessioning
Sotheby's sale of Israeli museum artefacts delayed after government pressure
Criticism in Israel reached an apex when President Rivlin called for the state to prevent the London auctions
NewsAuctions
The Royal Opera House's David Hockney painting sells for £12.8m at Christie's amid deaccessioning debate
The auction house's four-part £90.2m "20th Century: London to Paris" sale saw small bursts of energy for quality lots in the wake of Frieze and Fiac's cancellations
NewsDeaccessioning
Responding to outcry, Baltimore Museum of Art board chair defends deaccessioning decision
“The greatness of the BMA’s collection does not live within three individual paintings,” she says as the sale of a Warhol, Still and Marden approaches
NewsArt market
Revealed: sellers of £7.6m Banksy were London collectors who provided venue for artist's 2005 Crude Oils exhibition
As part of the deal, Roland and Jane Cowan acquired the faux Impressionist canvas from the artist—it sold last night at Sotheby's
CommentArt Market Eye
A flood of art? The market issues around museum deaccessioning
A flurry of museum pieces is heading to auction, but will there be enough buyers for them?
NewsArt market
Sotheby's to offer monumental Giacometti bronze in rare 'sealed bid' sale with a minimum bid of $90m
Last sold at auction for $4.9m, offers will be reviewed ahead of the auction house's contemporary and Impressionist and Modern art evening sales on 28 October in New York
NewsAuctions
Phillips London sets new records for Emily Mae Smith and Portia Zvavahera in £26.3m contemporary evening sale
While the top lot of the night—a fiery self-portrait by George Baselitz—struggled to meet its low estimate, a bidding war broke out over Dana Schutz's painting of a bright orange Trump
NewsDeaccessioning
Former trustees and donors ask state to block sale of three important works by the Baltimore Museum of Art
Letter asks Maryland attorney general and secretary of state to investigate planned deaccessioning of a Warhol, Still and Marden
BlogAdventures with Van Gogh
Coveted Van Gogh bouquet to be sold at Sotheby's New York, valued at $18m
Chequered past: from the Bear Skin to the Nazis, a once-restituted painting is now coming up for auction
NewsDeaccessioning
Brooklyn Museum steams ahead on deaccessioning
After netting $4.2m for a Cranach, the museum plans to sell off works by Monet, Dubuffet, Degas, Miró and Matisse
NewsDeaccessioning
To mirror, and support, community: Everson Museum board chair defends deaccessioning of a Pollock
Auction proceeds will go towards diversifying the collection at the Syracuse institution with “inspirational” art
NewsRestitution
Nazi-looted Dutch Old Master to be auctioned in settlement between heir and current holder
The Golden Age work by Aelbert Cuyp was looted from Jacques Goudstikker and acquired by Hermann Göring
NewsDeaccessioning
Palm Springs Art Museum will deaccession a work by Helen Frankenthaler at Sotheby's
The work carries an estimate of $2.5m to $3.5m and will help the museum cope with its financial struggles amid the Covid-19 pandemic
NewsArt market
Deutsche Bank to auction Kandinsky and Schiele works from collection
Three works are to be sold at Christie’s in Paris this month; further sales to follow
NewsArt market
Gerhard Richter painting becomes most expensive western work ever sold at auction in Asia
The $29.2m painting sold at Sotheby's last night in a live-streamed contemporary art sale that took place in Hong Kong as Christie's held its marquee sale in New York
NewsAuctions
T-Rex takes on Twombly at Christie's $341m 20th-century evening sale
Unusual $32m Jurassic-era offering stole the high-tech livestreamed show in New York, but buyers kept bids cautious elsewhere
AnalysisArt market
Livestreamed auctions make gameshows of art, but where is the glamour?
Christie's and Sotheby's have rapidly adapted to 'bricks and clicks' sales, but they will need to do more to attract top-notch consignments and the experience-hungry generation
InterviewAuctions
Hong Kong dealer Johnson Chang on selling his collection and rethinking art for a new era
The collector and gallerist explains why he moved his central Hong Kong gallery and is parting ways with some of his favourite works at Sotheby's this week
NewsDeaccessioning
Baltimore Museum of Art will sell important paintings by Warhol, Still and Marden
Acting on relaxed rules, it will use the funds for collection care and salary increases as well as diverse acquisitions
NewsAuctions
Judy Chicago's Birth Project series work will benefit Planned Parenthood as reproductive healthcare comes under renewed threat
With a high estimate of $350,000, the sale of "Trinity Birth Quilt" at Sotheby's Choice Works charity auction event could reset the artist's auction record
NewsArt market
A new online auction house wants to reduce speculation on emerging artists' markets
Founded by former Christie's vice president Shlomi Rabi, Greenhouse will also donate 5% from every sale to a scholarship fund for Black students studying art history
CommentArt market
Bubbles, sheikhs and the freeport frenzy: Georgina Adam reflects on 30 years of art market reporting
Our art market editor-at-large looks back on three decades of booming sales and soaring prices, from Middle Eastern emergence to the evolution of auction houses
NewsAuctions
Los Angeles shows its love for Beirut with online charity art auction
Standout works include a haunting photograph by Rania Matar and an image of Muhammad Ali by French street artist Mr Brainwash
AnalysisArt market
V.S. Gaitonde's £3.4m record-breaking painting leads strong South Asian sales season
Glut of collections have come to auction this month, with strong results for lesser-known Indian Modernists broadening a narrow market
NewsAuctions
This $80m Botticelli could be one of the most expensive portraits ever sold at auction
The painting, to be offered at Sotheby's New York in January, is estimated to sell for 100 times more than the owner paid for it in 1982
NewsBrazil
Court-ordered auction of works from disgraced Brazilian banker's collection prompts new controversy
The Museum of Contemporary Art at the University of São Paulo claims it is owed $3.6m for conserving and storing around 1,600 works repossessed from bankrupt Banco Santos president Edemar Cid Ferreira
NewsDeaccessioning
Cranach, Courbet and Corot: a closer look at what the Brooklyn Museum is selling off
The institution is deaccessioning its only Cranach and 11 other works to finance care of its collection
NewsAuctions
Shipwrecked, disinherited, imprisoned, accused of being a Gunpowder Plotter: Tudor adventurer’s portrait hits the block
Portrait thought to be of Thomas Arundell is to be auctioned at Woolley & Wallis this week
NewsAuctions
Sotheby’s teams up with the Keith Haring Foundation to auction Haring’s personal collection for charity
All works—by artists such as Basquiat, Warhol and Rammellzee—will make their auction debut in the sale, which is expected to make $1m for the LGBTQ nonprofit the Center
NewsArt market
Christie’s to hold marquee sales in New York in early October—but will Sotheby's follow suit?
With no Frieze Art Fair, contemporary art London sales at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips will now take place at the end of October, when Fiac is due to open in Paris
NewsUAE
World's biggest canvas painting—the size of two football fields—to be auctioned in Dubai for charity
The record-breaking work by the Dubai-based British artist Sacha Jafri will be sold to promote "global digital equality"
NewsArt market
Christies winds up belated summer auction season with £21.2m Classic Art sale led by £4m Rubens
16th century Italian marble attributed to Antonio Lombardo steals the show, but auction house's digital face is showing its age against stiff competition
NewsArt market
Restituted Renaissance battle scene highlight of Sotheby’s pick-and-mix £150m evening sale
Six works were withdrawn by nervy vendors just before the start but Rembrandt to Richter sale still totalled nearly £150m, topped by a £22.3m Joan Miró
NewsBanksy
Banksy triptych—estimated at £1.2m—to be sold at Sotheby's in aid of Palestinian hospital
Artists has donated the works, which were previously on display in his Walled Off hotel in Bethlehem
NewsArt market
Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum seeks to recover ancient Egyptian jars before auction
The vessels, containing 2,600-year-old mummified internal organs, are due to be sold in Munich tomorrow
NewsAuctions
Colville’s Dog and Bridge has its day at Heffel’s live sale in Toronto
But fewer than ten buyers physically attended the auction, with most bidding done over the phone and in the “digital salesroom”
AnalysisArt market
Sanyu, Zao Wou-Ki and Liu Ye: the Asian masters fetching millions at the Hong Kong auctions
Despite pandemic delays and the new National Security Law, the spring sales in the city last week fetched solid results
NewsArt market
How a £3m Soulages almost sank off the coast of Tasmania
The MV Merino had gone aground on its way to Hobart for an exhibition of Modern French art in 1953
NewsArt market
Sotheby's to sell Bridget Riley painting from Heathrow executive lounge as British Airways 'fights for survival'
Auction house appointed to sell £1.4m of art from the beleaguered airline's collection this month
NewsArt market
Christie's $420.9m global relay sale was ambitious—but did they really need four auctioneers?
The four-hour event was intended to illustrate the auction house's global and democratic nature, but it also showed that less is often more
NewsArt market
Sotheby's to auction £4m restituted Bellotto painting that Jewish retail magnate was forced to sell to Hitler
The view of Dresden's Zwinger moat had been returned to the heirs of Max Emden and will now be offered for sale in London on 28 July
AnalysisArt market
Could Covid-19 kill off the market for the art world’s star names?
Some big artists may be toppled from their pre-pandemic pedestals and new ones promoted to the art-as-investment pantheon
NewsArt market
Quran quietly sells for record £7m despite questions over its provenance
Manuscript sold at Christie's first live sale in London since the coronavirus lockdown, but academics say its ownership history should be more transparent
PreviewLondon Art Week
From a £16m Rembrandt to a £3,000 dolphin, London Art Week for every (ok, some) budgets
Highlights from the online version of the “pre-contemporary art” event for galleries and auction houses which launches today and runs until 10 July
NewsAuctions
Waning market for African artefacts? Controversial Benin bronze fails to sell at Christie's
Academics challenge the provenance of the Edo plaque as well as two Igbo alusi figures that sold under estimate for €212,500
NewsArt market
Brave new world: Francis Bacon triptych sells for $84.5m in Sotheby's first major live-streamed evening sale
Marathon online high-tech auction was the first of its kind attempted by Sotheby's and totalled $363.2m, boosting confidence that a top-end market still exists
AnalysisArt market
A brave new virtual world or joyless mundane experience? Glamour of collecting gets lost in online translation
Digital transactions cannot replicate the social cachet of buying art at exclusive events—and prices will inevitably slide as a result
NewsArt market
Friends with benefits: art dealers cosy up to auction houses for online sales
As part of a growing trend, Sotheby's is launching The Dealer's Eye, two sales of works consigned by nearly 40 Old Master galleries in London and New York
NewsArt market
Historic Tunisian items withdrawn from Paris auction after heritage body claims works left country illegally
More than 100 objects once belonging to the Tunisian politician Habib Djellouli, including an ancient Quran, are at the centre of the controversy
CommentArt market
Sotheby's brought to you by Bulgari—product placement at auction has arrived, with limitless potential
Yesterday's auction saw auctioneer plugging the brand while wearing one of its watches. What might we see next—Edvard Munch sponsored by Bollinger?
Philip Hook