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
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
BlogAdventures with Van Gogh
Only joint letter from Van Gogh and Gauguin—recording their brothel visits—comes up for sale
Vincent describes his artist friend as having the “instincts of a wild beast”
NewsArt market
Code-cracking lot: Second World War Enigma machine on offer at Vienna’s Dorotheum
The Germans believed Enigma was uncrackable; cryptographers at Bletchley Park broke the code, contributing to the Allies’ victory
NewsAuctions
Sotheby’s offers major works by 20th century female artists in $50m Ginny Williams Collection sale
Coinciding with the auction house's New York sale room re-opening in June, the sale marks the first time female artists will comprise over two-thirds of the value of an evening auction
NewsArt market
Strong sales as France restarts live auctions
Artcurial, the first auction house to reopen, doubled its sale estimate as lockdown seems to have "sharpened" buyers' appetite
NewsAuctions
Just the one: Christie's scraps major June New York sales in favour of a 'global relay' auction in July
Hybrid sale of 20th century art and design will take place over four live-streamed sessions in Hong Kong, Paris, London and New York
InterviewArt market
'It's a time to do things, not think': Danny Katz on the art of dealing and not overthinking in a pandemic
Ahead of his sale at Sotheby's this month, the London art dealer talks about the obsessive pursuit of knowledge and why he is not interested in contemporary art
CommentArt market
Auctions are like dating: you can do it online, but sparks only fly in the flesh
The coronavirus lockdown is boosting lower level virtual sales, but only a major live auction will kick-start the top end of the art market and revalidate prices
NewsAuctions
First live auction in Germany after lockdown features painting bought for Hitler
Neumeister in Munich will today host a live auction for a maximum audience of 20
NewsControversies
Director of France’s national furniture collection defends plans to sell 100 items at auction to aid healthcare workers
Move prompts fears that works from national museum collections could be sold off too
CommentArt Market Eye
Auctions: what will change, post-Covid-19?
In the era of social distancing, auctioneers may have to conduct sales to an empty room
BlogDiary
The curious, spurious tale of David Hockney’s £23m pool painting and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad
NewsArt market
Phillips partners with charitable foundation to benefit New Yorkers hardest hit by coronavirus
The auction house will donate all proceeds from a forthcoming online sale to the New York-based Robin Hood Foundation
NewsAuctions
Charity auction raises more than €2m for French healthcare workers
Paris-based auction house Piasa hosted online sale of 370 works donated by artists, designers and galleries
NewsArt market
Redundancies, pay cuts and staff furloughs at Sotheby's as coronavirus impact bites
Christie's is also making salary cuts and has furloughed between 300-400 staff as lockdown closes auction houses and forces sales online
NewsArt market
Sotheby's postpones New York May 'gigaweek' sales due to coronavirus
Move is in line with Christie's and Phillips which postponed their sales to late June, but Sotheby's is yet to announce when its auctions will actually happen
NewsArt market
Christie's and Phillips move May 'giga-week' New York sales to end of June due to coronavirus
Expanded 20th century art week in US will swallow up London auctions. Sotheby's has yet to make a decision about its New York Spring sales
NewsArt market
In a drastic move, Christie's shuts most locations and postpones sales due to coronavirus
Auction house has closed New York saleroom along with other offices—Sotheby's follows suit while Phillips has postponed all events and sales until mid-May
NewsArt market
Sotheby’s relocates April Hong Kong auctions to New York due to coronavirus
The firm is also rolling its London June sales into one week for the first time in more than a decade
NewsAustralia
Street art auction in aid of Australian bushfire clean-up includes works by Banksy and Shepard Fairey
The Bushfire Relief Auction in Melbourne has been organised by the collectors Sandra Powell and Andrew King and prices start at £200
AnalysisArt market
Phillips’s sale reveals contemporary art's hottest stars but still misses its low estimate
Auction results this week are expected to be down by almost a quarter signalling a "low tide" in London
AnalysisArt market
Christie’s contemporary sale fails to pack a punch as auction house records lowest total in a decade
Brexit casts a shadow over consignments in London, but young American female painters add some pizazz
AnalysisArt market
US banker buys Brexit Banksy at Sotheby's, making a bigger splash than David Hockney’s pool painting
Auction house fields a steady contemporary evening sale in London
NewsBonhams
Bonhams chief executive Matthew Girling to leave auction house
Former jewellery specialist, who joined the firm in 1988, will be replaced by Bruno Vinciguerra, who will also continue in his role as executive chairman
NewsArt market
And all that jazz: upbeat sale at Christie's sees Tamara De Lempicka portrait beat record set just three months ago
Impressionist, Modern and Surrealist art auction last night made £106.8m, 35% down on last year—but with three works sold for over £10m
NewsArt market
Sotheby's new owner Patrick Drahi comes to auction house's first sale in post-Brexit Britain
“No fireworks” at last night's Impressionist, Modern and Surrealist art auction that featured three restituted works
AnalysisBuyer's Guide
How to buy a... René Magritte
The artist’s trademark motifs make his work easily recognisable and desirable—but there is more to this Surrealist than apples and bowler hats
AnalysisBuyer's Guide
How to buy a...Charles White
He chronicled the African American experience when white male abstraction ruled. Now record prices for his work are frequently reset
NewsSalvador Dalí
Dalí and Gala with their 'heads full of clouds' go up for sale at Bonhams
Work will be offered without guarantee from the collection of the late Modernist composer Giancinto Scelsi
NewsAuctions
Sale prices soar past estimates at auction of decorator Mario Buatta's estate at Sotheby's
Christie's also holds its own at an auction of American furniture and folk art
BlogDiary
Artist creates black-faced portrait of Italian far-right politician Matteo Salvini
Current bid for re-imagined image of the controversial party leader stands at €45,000 in online auction
NewsDamien Hirst
Damien Hirst medicine cabinet bought for £600 goes on sale for over £1m
Softer YBA market faces test as collection amassed by London bond trader goes under the hammer at Phillips next month
NewsArt market
Sotheby’s to auction three Nazi-looted works restituted to Jewish collector’s heirs
Two paintings by Signac and one by Pissarro are expected to fetch as much as £20m
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?
Georgina Adam