On Monday December 7, 2009, while most of the art world was nursing their Basel hangovers, the Tate Modern announced that Richard Wright had won the Turner Prize.  For a change, some art commentators commended the choice.  Wright is known for his large scale patterns on walls that he destroys after the exhibit is over.  How will this affect the art market? Probably not at all; he destroys all his work so who can buy it?

While the art was not nearly as hot as anticipated, the heirlooms including cuff links, pendants, cigarette boxes and other collectibles evoked bidding wars.  Maybe it was the stellar provenance (they were owned by the Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich and his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlona) or the workmanship, but either way the lots did very well at Sotheby’s “Romanov Heirlooms.” The lots sold100% by value and by lot, with a total of £7M ($11.6M), which was over seven times greater than the presale high estimate of £900,000.

Artist:
Tamara de Lempicka

Title:
Trois roses dans un vase, c. 1952

Media:
Oil on Canvasboard

Size: 14 x 10 inches

Artist:
Fernando Botero

Title:
Seated Woman, 1983

Media:
Charcoal on Paper

Size: 17 x 14 inches

Happy Hanukah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May the coming year bring health, happiness, prosperity, and peace to all! Please note our Manhattan location at Madison Avenue and 65th Street is now fully functioning and a grand opening in the second week in February is in the works.  We will display an array of Botero works in bronze sculpture, paper and canvas.  We will keep you posted as we solidify details.

We wish you and your families a happy holiday season!

Very truly yours,

David Benrimon

After four days indoors at the various convention centers throughout Miami and South Beach, we can safely say we have seen over 15,000 artworks, some of which were very interesting.  While Basel contained its fair share of celebrity sightings and even celebrity paintings (see these canvases none other than Sylvester Stallone completed), the atmosphere remained upbeat but more discrete than ever.  Nary would a dealer complain about the volume or flow of sales, but the red dots were scant and the paintings were not changed terribly often.  If the galleries were selling as many works as they claim, surely they would have put up more works.

New York Magazine had it right when describing the crowd by saying “seemingly every 20-year-old New Yorker who thinks porkpie hats are still in fashion” was in attendance but this did not distract us from buying some serious art.

Two magnificent museum quality works were sold by Christie’s during the Old Master’s sales in London in early December.  A rare and fantastic chalk drawing of a woman’s head by the Renaissance master Raphael fetched $48M (£29.1M) including auction house fees.  This was the highest price paid for a work of art at auction this year, the highest price for a drawing ever, and the second highest ever paid for an Old Master (for those keeping score a Rubens entitled “Massacre of the Innocents” sold at Sotheby’s in 2002 for over $70M).

Then there was Rembrandt’s “Portrait of a Man, Half-Length, With Arms Akimbo,” most likely from Barbara Piasecka Johnson, the widow of the Johnson & Johnson estate. This stunning work sold for $33.2M (£20.2M) including premiums, just above the low estimate of $28M without commissions.  The Christie’s total was $112.4M (£68.3M), which was comfortably above the $102M high estimate for the sale.

Sotheby’s sale was significantly smaller, with the last self-portrait of Anthony Van Dyck selling for an impressive $24.6M (£15.1M) including fees.  The Van Dyck portrait, probably painted in the last months of his life, was in the possession of the Earls of Jersey for almost 300 years.  Sotheby’s and Christie’s bought had buy in rates above 33% which could be indicative of the economy or the works being offered.  The other highlight of the Sotheby’s sale was an unfinished Rubens, which passed with a low estimate of £4M.  The sale total at Sotheby’s was $24.6M (£15.1M), a rather paltry sum given Christie’s phenomenal total.

The eminent commentator on the art market, Souren Melikian questioned the depth of both auctions.   But there is an overall lesson to be learned from early December, there were the Russian heirloom and art auctions in London, the contemporary fairs in Basel, the Old Masters in London, and the American Art auctions in New York.  In essence the beginning of the month demonstrated the depth and variety of the art market and while each of these events had their stellar moments and share of disappointment, the Art Market continues to thrive in comparison to other commodities.

Other commentators noted that the best works attracted buyers but the rest of the lots were rather flat.  Georgina Adam of the Financial Times noted on the Christie’s Sales, “Of the sale total of £68.4m, a whopping £58.6m was accounted for by just three pictures, Raphael’s lovely, sensual “Head of a Muse” (£29.2m), Rembrandt’s solemn “Portrait of a Man with Arms Akimbo” (£20.2m) and Domenichino’s expressive “Saint John the Evangelist” (£9.2m). Of the other 40 paintings in the sale, 15 were bought in, and another 10 sold below the low estimate.”