A magnificent Rembrandt portrait is coming to auction at Christie’s in London on December 8th. “Portrait of a Man, Half-Length, With His Arms Akimbo,” was most likely painted in 1658, and has a low estimate of around $30M (£18M). The work has not been seen in public for almost 40 years and if sold near the high estimate, would be the most expensive Rembrandt ever at auction and the second highest total paid for an Old Master. Ironically, this expensive canvas was painted after the artist declared bankruptcy and moved to a small studio. The seller of this work is Barbara Piasecka Johnson, who inherited her fortune from her late husband J. Seward Johnson (the son of the founder of Johnson & Johnson pharmaceuticals).

Michelle and Barack Obama have taken the liberty of redecorating the White House with more Contemporary art tastes. We wonder if Obamas’ artwork choices will result in a rise in their art market prowess for the artists. The collection tended towards abstract expressionism and bold colors with selected works by Richard Diebenkorn, Mark Rothko, and Jasper Johns but they did not neglect early American art as indicated by the George Catlin paintings, nor did they shy away from racial based art with the selection of “Black Like Me No 2” by Glenn Ligon, William H. Johnson, and Alma Thomas. They also did not neglect European Modernist works—they selected a stunning Degas bronze and canvases by Giorgio Morandi. The works come from storage of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Gallery of Art and the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

L’Shana Tova. May everyone be blessed with a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. For those waiting for the market to hit bottom or to pick up bargains, this may be the best time. We have advocated before that prices are low but it looks like the market will turn and rock bottom prices will soon disappear. If you are heavy in cash holdings and interested in exploring purchases in any price range, feel free to call the gallery.

All the best,

David Benrimon

October’s auctions in London are upon us. But many collectors are unwilling to part with their artworks in this unstable economy. The estimates for the Contemporary Art Auctions are down 81 percent from 2008 prices. The Frieze Art Fair, which is timed to coincide with the Contemporary sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips de Pury, has an estimated total of just above $33M (£21M). ArtTactic believes that Contemporary prices may have dropped as much as 50%. But numbers can be misleading because private sales at the auction houses still remain strong. For example, Christie’s claims that their private sales of Contemporary artworks for the first half of 2009 totaled $213M (£133M), exceeding their Contemporary auction sales over that time period.

Important Contemporary artists are still commanding impressive sums. For instance, London will feature works with estimates above £1M from both Martin Kippenberger and Peter Doig.

Mr. Tim Goodman, the chairman, chief executive, and shareholder of First East Auction Holdings Limited, in a rare move has purchased Sotheby’s Australia branch. Mr. Goodman is also chairman and chief executive of Bonham & Goodman auction house, but as a result of his recent acquisition of Sotheby’s Australia, will end his relationship with Bonham’s.

“It's an extraordinarily audacious move to convert oneself from Bonhams & Goodman to Sotheby's,” said former Sotheby's Australia managing director Mark Fraser. “It's also extraordinary that Sotheby's Holdings, the parent company in New York, has decided to move in this direction. In most other countries they have simply closed down the operation. I would say this is unprecedented…. Sotheby's has not liked licensing their name.”

In broad daylight on September 24, 2009, masked men came into a Brussels art museum and stole a nude portrait of Rene Magritte’s wife after breaking the glass casing the work was held in. The artwork is estimated to be worth over $4.4M (£2.75M). This robbery continues the trend of important artworks being stolen from low security museums throughout Europe. While it will be difficult to sell such an artwork on the open market, it will probably find a home on the black market. It is time for museums to increase their security so thefts like this stop.

Many non-English words that have no English translation have come to be adopted by America vernacular. The Yiddish word ‘chutzpah’ and the French word ‘fiancé’ come to mind. But there is also the German word ‘schadenfreude,’ which basically means taking pleasure in someone else’s sorrow or misfortune. There is no other way to describe how Christie’s must feel about the 50% decline in business seen by China’s leading auction house, Beijing Poly International Auction. You may remember that the chairman of this auction house bid big at the Yves Saint Laurent sale in February, where he took Chinese cultural “replevin” into his own hands but winning “looted” bronze heads from the auction and refusing to pay.

We are currently developing a monumental sculpture catalogue which will be available upon request in the near future.