Art market

Miami Beach presentation to show there was more to Milton Avery than landscapes

Karma gallery, now representing the influential artist’s estate in the US, will reveal his circus-themed paintings at Art Basel Miami Beach and his ‘wild’ portraiture next year

Gold star medal taken from an Ethiopian war hero surfaces at auction

The grandchildren of Ras Desta Damtew, an Ethiopian general and noble, are seeking to recover the piece, listed in the online auction catalogue as coming from the estate of an Italian soldier who was present at Desta Damtew’s execution

India Art Fair cancels its inaugural Mumbai show

The new event would have coincided with the city’s existing Art Mumbai fair

Crypto investor eats Cattelan banana he bought for $6.2m

Justin Sun, who purchased the work just last week, also pledged to buy 100,000 bananas from the vendor who originally sold the fruit for $0.25

Art Basel Miami Beach boosts newcomers by offering smaller stands

The largest fair in the Americas responds to “a challenging year for galleries” by introducing a new range of flexible sizing options for its main Galleries section, resulting in a record number of first-time exhibitors

Tokyoanalysis

Art Week Tokyo compacts the sprawling city into something digestible

The fourth edition sees the event court serious collectors as well as curators

UK art imports fall 16% for second year in a row as Hong Kong picks up slack

Sector is lobbying UK government to simplify trading procedures, or risk being outpaced by competitors

101 exhibitors revealed for Frieze Los Angeles fair's 2025 edition

Preparations for the fair come as with Frieze parent company Endeavor is exploring a potential sale of the British art brand

The $6.2m banana, Frank Auerbach remembered, Lindokuhle Sobekwa’s photographs of addiction in South Africa—podcast

Exploring this week’s New York auctions, which included Maurizio Cattelan’s now-infamous fruit, plus a tribute to the late German-British artist Auerbach and a chat with Sobekwa about a work from his powerful series, on view at the UK’s Sainsbury Centre

Works by Basquiat, Haring and Hockney help Christie's 21st century evening sale net a healthy $106.5m

However, despite assistance from big names, it was emerging artists who were the real stars of the show

Rediscovered Emily Carr painting bought for $50 sells for 5,000 times original price

The Carr painting was one of the star attractions at the Heffel Fine Art Auction House’s marquee autumn sale in Toronto, alongside works by Tom Thomson, Marcelle Ferron, Kenojuak Ashevak and Chief 7IDANsuu James Hart

Art marketanalysis

How luxury buyers are changing art as we know it

The trade is increasingly reliant on an ultra-wealthy international clientele that lives what may be termed a ‘luxury lifestyle’

Art fairsanalysis

Abu Dhabi Art 2024 is bigger than ever—but conflict in Lebanon and Gaza looms large

Meanwhile rumours of Art Basel parent company MCH investing into the fair were being widely discussed

Untitled Art fair will expand to Houston in 2025

According to its organisers, this latest addition to the art-market calendar will be a boutique invitational fair

Art marketanalysis

Beyond the banana: Sotheby's contemporary art night nets a modest $112m

Despite Maurizio Cattelan's Comedian selling for a staggering $6.2m, The Now and contemporary auctions in New York made 63% less than last year

‘The world's most expensive banana’: Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian fetches $6.2m at Sotheby’s New York

The buyer, the collector and crypto investor Justin Sun, immediately vowed to eat the banana

Magritte gets star billing at Christie's $410m 'solid as a rock' evening auction

The interior designer Mica Ertegun's Surrealist L'empire des lumières sold for a record $121.1m in New York last night, with a new high also set for Ed Ruscha

Phillips's contemporary art auction in New York, hampered by Basquiat flop, brings in slim $44.2m

The night’s total take took a major hit when it was revealed that its second-biggest lot, a Basquiat self-portrait, had failed to sell

Art marketanalysis

Sotheby's New York delivers white glove auction of Sydell Miller collection but patchy Modern evening sale

Kicking off November's marquee evening sales, the house brought in a total of $268.6m from 49 lots

Art marketanalysis

Bollywood and billionaires: Art Mumbai sees ‘very healthy’ sales at expanded second edition

The fair welcomed 71 galleries this year, while local competition intensifies

Art marketcomment

Comment | EU’s new anti-looting law is another blow for legitimate trade

Though laudible in its aim to kerb trafficking of stolen goods, planned rules will impose unreasonable burdens on lawful and genuine trade

Rudy Capildeo

Sotheby's pays over $6m to settle tax evasion case

The terms of the settlement in New York allowed Sotheby's to resolve the issue without admitting any wrongdoing

Accra Cultural Week shines a light on Ghana’s burgeoning art scene

A host of globally recognised artists, a growing number of art world tourists and a domestic gallery boom are all contributing to the country’s reputation on the international stage

Art marketfeature

Auction houses expect this month's New York sales to bring in as much as $1.6bn

The most valuable lot of the week is a record-breaking Magritte with a third-party guarantee, but the most talked-about is a conceptual still life by Maurizio Cattelan

Yves Bouvier should stand trial over stolen Picassos, court says

Paris prosecutor has requested that the Swiss art dealer and his business partner Olivier Thomas should face charges relating to the disappearance of dozens of works more than a decade ago

Booksreview

The arts should be recognised as a key part of what it means to be human, argues a new publication

An urgent treatise on the decommodification of culture by the professor of cultural economy Justin O’Connor

Painting by Ernst Klimt—completed by his brother Gustav—to be offered at Sotheby’s

After Ernst Klimt’s sudden death at 29, Gustav completed "Hans Wurst Delivering an Impromptu Performance in Rothenburg" and signed it in his brother’s name

Art marketanalysis

How ‘high street’ art galleries are achieving serious sales success

They might not be hailed by the critics, but the likes of Opera and Halcyon are forging ahead