Piet Mondrian, Composition No. III Red, Blue, Yellow, and Black (1929), via Art Observed

The auction week has come and gone, and Christie’s has closed out a major week for both its Impressionist/Modern and Contemporary Departments, as the combined sales of its three Evening events this week have collectively brought in well over a billion dollars in sales.  This Evening, the Impressionist and Modern Evening sale added an exclamation point to the proceedings, bringing in a final tally of $202,608,000 that saw a major new record for Piet Mondrian. (more…)

Pablo Picasso, Les Femmes D’Alger (1955), via Art Observed

The crown for the most expensive artwork at auction has returned to the master, as Pablo Picasso’s Les Femmes D’Alger lived up to its lofty expectations at auction this evening, as Christie’s “Looking Forward to the Past” exhibition kicked off Frieze Week (and a week of Contemporary Sales in New York) in grand style, tallying a massive $705,858,000 for a 35-lot offering that saw numerous records fall by the wayside, and only one lot going unsold, on the way to Picasso’s triumphant evening. (more…)

Claude Monet, Nymphéas (1905), via Sotheby’s

As the art world prepares to jet en masse to Italy this week for the opening of the Biennale Previews, the auction houses are also preparing for their biggest stage of the spring season, with two weeks of major evening sales in both the Impressionist/Modern and Post-War/Contemporary categories set to take place in New York. (more…)

Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Sales in New York this May will be lead by a series of works from the art collection of the late John Whitehead, former chairman of Goldman Sachs.  Whitehead built a museum-quality collection over the course of his career, and will offer works from Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Amedeo Modigliani and Pierre Bonnard, among others, anticipated to bring over $40 million.  “I remained enough of a financier that I took an interest in the prices, and I tried to predict what price an individual piece would go for at auction,” he wrote in his biography. (more…)

Paul Cézanne, Vue Sur L’estaque Et Le Château D’if (circa 1881-1885), via Christie’s

The Christie’s Impressionist, Modern and Surrealist Sales have concluded in London, bringing to close the week of auctions.  In comparison with Sotheby’s record-setting auction last evening, the Christie’s sale seemed content to rely on a strong selection of curated works, putting together a 44 lot auction that ultimately brought in a final sales tally of £80,375,000.  There were few blockbuster lots in comparison with Sotheby’s and its selection of Monets, but a steady stream of sales in the auction house’s surrealism sale kept the auction houses in close competition, bringing in sales of £66,656,000 in its own right.

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Alberto Giacometti, Chariot (1951-52), via Art Observed

Sotheby’s Evening Sale for Impressionist and Modern Art concluded last night, capping a successful if occasionally unpredictable auction that achieved $422.1 million in sales, the highest record of sale for the auction house in its history. (more…)

Christie’s will auction Manet’s iconic Le Printemps (1881) this fall at its Impressionist and Modern sale in New York, the New York Times announced today.  The 1881 portrait has remained in the same family for over a century, and is estimated at $25 to $35 million.  “We’ve given museums advance notice,” says Impressionist and Modern Director Adrien Meyer. (more…)

Claude Monet, Nymphéas (1906) via Sotheby’s

Following hot on the heels of the events of Art Basel just last week, the London outposts for Christie’s and Sotheby’s will open their doors for a pair of highly touted Impressionst and Modern Art Evening sales, beginning two final weeks of major art auctions before the art world moves into the summer lull.

Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red, Blue and Grey (1927) via Sotheby’s

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Juan Gris, Nature morte à la nappe à carreaux (1915), via Christie’s

After the beginning of the February auctions in New York last week, attention will shift across the Atlantic to London, where the Impressionish and Modern art auctions will commence today, February 4^th with Christie’s evening sale.  This year, the modern sale will offer some strong works from both auction houses, boasting impressive estimates that belie a strong offering across the board, rather than a handful of big ticket works. (more…)

Tobias Meyer Opens the Sale, via Aubrey Roemer for Art Observed

“So, the market is alive, right?”  This was the closing statement from Sotheby’s auctioneer Tobias Meyer last night at the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale. The sale totaled $290 million – the second highest ever achieved at Sotheby’s for an Impressionist and Modern Art Sale, and its fourth consecutive Evening Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art that had a sell-through rate of 80%.

Pablo Picasso, Tête de Femme (1935), via Sotheby’s (more…)

Pablo PIcasso, Tête de Femme (1935), via Sotheby’s

The fall New York auction season is set to commence this evening with Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale, followed by Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Sale on Wednesday evening.  The following is a preview of sales of the week.

Fernand Léger, Élément Méchanique (1920), via Sotheby’s (more…)

Acquavella Galleries New York. All photos by Caroline Claisse for Art Observed.

Running alongside the hustle and bustle of Frieze’s Contemporary Art proceedings next door, the Frieze Masters section is showing an exceedingly strong set of galleries and works, albeit somewhat removed from the spotlight its adjacent fair receives each year.  Mixing classic works by artists like Francis Bacon and Picasso with works by still active artists like Robert Long and Richard Serra, the fair offered a more subdued, but equally impressive offering.     (more…)

Alberto Giaccometti’s iconic Diego en chemise écossaise will be on sale at Christie’s November 5th auction of modernist and impressionist art in New York. A classic portrait of the artist’s brother, it is anticipated to sell for $30-$50 million.  “With this masterpiece, Alberto Giacometti establishes himself as one of the greatest portrait painters of the 20th Century, paving the way for the likes of Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud.” Andreas Rumbler, Deputy Chair of the Impressionist and Modern Art at Christie’s says. (more…)

Edvard Munch, The Scream (1893), Courtesy Munch Museet

Edvard Munch is enjoying somewhat of a timely spotlight, having just has his iconic 1895 pastel The Scream set the global auction record at almost $120 million last May, just one year short of what would be the 150th year since his birth.  This correlation is not lost on the Norwegian city of Oslo, where Munch grew up, and 2013 has been dedicated to the pioneering abstractionist, with a pair of landmark shows compiling almost 300 works from Munch’s groundbreaking career in Oslo, Paris, and Berlin.

Edvard Munch, Workers on Their Way Home (1913-1914), Courtesy Munch Museet (more…)

Monet Sells at Sotheby’s, via Sotheby’s

With the closing of this week’s Impressionist and Modern Evening Sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, evidence of a strong art market is not hard to find.  Sotheby’s held a slight edge over its recently successful rival, managing an auction total of $165.9 million, with only 13 of the 71 pieces going unsold.  Two pieces passed the ten million dollar mark, and 29 were sold for more than one-million dollars. The auction also set auction records for Camille Claudel and FrantiÅ¡k Kupka. In contrast, Christie’s achieved a result of $100.4 million over the course of its 44 lot sale. The result lies in between the total pre-sale estimate for the auction house of $82.8 to $118.8 million. Only seven works remained unsold, and two lots were sold for over ten million dollars.

Wassily Kandinsky, Studie zu Improvisation 3 (1909), via Christie’s (more…)

Claude Monet, Le Palais Contarini (1908), via Sotheby’s

With the conclusion of the 6-week long series of art fairs and events this spring, including Frieze New York, the first edition of Art Basel Hong Kong, and the 44^th edition of Art Basel in Switzerland, the final major series of auctions before the summer lull begin today in London. With impressive records set last month for a number of works on the auction block, this week’s Impressionist and Modern Evening Sales will look to continue these trends.

Pablo Picasso, Le Peintre (1967), via Sotheby’s (more…)

With the announcement of Sotheby’s and Christie’s summer Impressionist and Modernist sales this month, analysts are noting that both auction houses have featured top lots from the collection of the Nahmad family, showing the family’s trademark approach of purchasing art in great quantity and reselling when the time is right. “It was once said that the Nahmads propped up this market with their buying when times were tough; now they appear to be propping it up with their selling.” Writes The Telegraph’s Colin Gleadell. (more…)