Archive for the 'Auction' Category
Monday, November 17th, 2008
Christies Sued Over Forged Basquiat
A lawsuit filed against auction giant, Christies, for consciously selling a fake Basquiat may proceed, concluded a ruling handed down by NY State Court. In 2001 Guido Orsi purchased the bogus painting from Tony Shafrazi Gallery for $185,000, after the gallery had acquired it for $242,000 from a 1990 Christie’s auction. The suite claims Christies passed off the painting as genuine, despite Basquiat’s estate identifying it as counterfit and requesting it be withdrawn from the auction.
As stated in the suit: “If as plaintiffs alleged, Christie’s fraudulently misrepresented the Painting’s provenance, and published that misrepresentation in its catalogue, which Christie’s could reasonably anticipate would be relied upon by bidders at its auction, as well as subsequent purchasers, it may be liable to those who relied upon its misrepresentation.”
Orsi had initially filed suit against Tony Shafrazi Gallery in Milan, but opted to withdraw and joined Tony Shafrazi in suing Christies in the United States. Representation for Shafrazi and Orsi remarked on the significance of the decision, which ”allows third-parties who did not bid at an auction … to rely on the catalogues sold and distributed by [an] auction house as representations of authenticity,” permitting such parties to recover
If successful, Shafrazi and Orsi will be awarded a total of $7 million - $2 million in damages based on the increase of Basquiat’s market value since the original 1990 sale, and an additional $5 million in “exemplary” damages.
Christies denies any wrong doing and “considers that the suit is without merit.”
Source: law.com
Thursday, November 13th, 2008
Dismal Results at Sotheby’s + Christies
Image: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
The latest returns from this season’s contemporary art auctions are in, and the less than stellar results reinforce the notion that this is a buyer’s market, with overall gains receding back to 2006 levels. The November 10th contemporary auction at Sotheby’s struggled to raise $125.1 million, far beneath the low estimate of $202.4 million. Out of 63 lots, 20 (32%) failed to find buyer, with Sotheby’s taking a hit and losing millions on several lots it had guaranteed to sellers.
The November 12th sale at Christie’s did not fare much better, bringing in a total of $113.6 million, far below the low estimate of $227 million. Again, nearly one-third of the lots on the block failed to sell. Even the famed Basquiat, Untitled (Boxer), 1982 (a highlight of the auction due to its owner, Lars Ulrich of heavy metal band, Metallica, and inclusion in the Brooklyn Museum 2005 retrospective) only found two bidders. Ultimately, the piece sold for 13.5 million (including auction house commission), with an estimate of $12-16 million. Perhaps the most disappointing result was a self portrait by Francis Bacon. What was expected to be a focal point of the sale, estimated at $40 million, failed to find even one bidder.
With these results, one thing has become abundantly clear - the art market has not escaped the financial crisis. “It was a half-price sale, said one Sotheby’s buyer, ”who, In under 90 minutes, dropped more than $8 million (including fees) on works by Ed Ruscha, Jeff Koons, Robert Rauschenberg and Donald Judd.
Source: The New York Times, Mixed Results for Contemporary Art Sale at Christies / A Dreary Night for Contemporary Art at Sothebys
Friday, October 24th, 2008
Market Watch::Saturday @ Phillips
The Art Collectors will be keeping a close eye on tomorrow’s Saturday at Phillips auction lots. Here is a selection of interesting pieces on the block. We’ll report back with results and let you know how the sale fared in the wake of the anticipated art market slowdown and mixed results of the international auctions of the past week. Read the rest of this entry »
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008
Homecoming for Mark Dean Veca
With his recent relocation from New York to California, Mark Dean Veca has wasted no time getting back to work. The artist is currently prepping Phantasmagoria, an ambitious installation at his alma mater (Veca is a 1985 alum), Otis College of Art and Design. The exhibit coincides with Veca’s residency at Otis and the college’s 90th anniversary. From the looks of these images, some exciting new artist references are emerging in Veca’s imagery, including nods to Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons and KAWS. Exhibit runs Oct. 11- Dec. 6 at Otis’ Ben Maltz Gallery.
Mark Dean Veca - Phantasmagoria
Oct. 11 - Dec. 6
Opening Reception: Oct. 11, 5-7pm
Ben Maltz Gallery at Otis College
9045 Lincoln Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90045
Read the rest of this entry »
Wednesday, September 17th, 2008
It’s Hirstory
Image: Steve Forrest for The New York Times
Excuse the questionable title…Following months of equal parts anticipation and speculation, the results are in on Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, Damien Hirst’s unprecedented auction at Sotheby’s, London. While many forewarned weak results, others hoped the market could somehow insulate itself from a deepening recession and the past week’s global economic crisis.
Recent announcements of the near bankruptcy of financial service provider, Lehman Brothers, the government bailout of AIG, and the impending collapse of mortgage corporations, Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac (both are under federal control), have certainly shaken confidence in an already uncertain art market. A Sept. 12th Bloomberg report cited last weeks’ 9% drop in Sotheby’s stock and 40% drop in shares over the past year as a sign of things to come, going as far as quoting one dealer who said, “it’s very simple, Damien Hirst will fail.”
Not all observers were skeptical. According to The New York Sun, art market research company ArtTactic’s poll of 51 market insiders concluded the auction would fare well and close within Sotheby’s published estimates.The report can be viewed in more detail here
When the final hammer dropped on Tuesday afternoon, the 223 lots on the block had grossed a total of $198 million USD (£111.7 million), breaking initial auction house estimates of $116.5 million USD (£65 million), and yielding sales more than 40% higher than anticipated. Some of the biggest successes of the two day sale were Hirst’s spin and butterfly paintings (both of which the artist has announced he will stop producing), and several formaldehyde encased animals, including a tiger shark entitled The Kingdom, which sold for $17,115,756 USD (£9,561,250), shattering its high estimate of $10.885,573 USD (£6 million). However, not all pieces fared as strongly, with some even going unsold or below estimate.
Reporting on the auction’s strong results, The New York Times quoted Tobias Meyer, Sotheby’s head of contemporary art, who stated, “Damien Hirst is a global artist who can defy local economies,” and Hirst’s personal business manager, Frank Dunphy, who said, “I woke up this morning in the teeth of the gale of recession, but we came out as confident as ever.” While Hirst may have defied the odds of a gloomy economic climate and re-solidified his position as a global art juggernaut, time will tell if these astounding results will transfer into a larger resurgence of art buyer confidence.
Read on for detailed results and auction highlights.
Thursday, September 11th, 2008
Phillips de Pury Contemporary & Street Art Results
This past Saturday, Sept. 6th, marked the much anticipated Contemporary and Urban Art Auction at Phillips de Pury, London. To date, this is largest sale of its kind, with several artists coming to auction for the first time. Speculation over the past few years, coupled with the recent dip in market confidence had many collectors watching closely as the results rolled in. The Art Collectors highlights the sale after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Saturday, August 16th, 2008
Hirst to Retire…
Well, not exactly. In a recent Sotheby’s online promotional video interview, Damien Hirst revealed plans to cease production of several of his hugely successful series by the end of 2008. These include the artist’s butterfly and spin paintings, medicine cabinets, and eventually his formaldehyde animals. The announcement comes just in time for Hirst’s self-consigned fall sale at Sotheby’s, where several works from the soon to be retired series will be on auction. Scheduled for September 15th and 16th, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever will feature 223 new works by Hirst, spanning his entire creative output, and is expected to garnish an estimated $130 million. Public viewing of the exhibition runs September 5th to 15th. In addition, all lots and estimates can be viewed online now at Sotheby’s.
Watch the interview here and a video preview of the auction here. Click through for more auction pics. Read the rest of this entry »