Alexander Calder, Portrait for Joan Miró. Private Collection; 2017 Calder Foundation, New York/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Successió Miró, via Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, via ADAGP, Paris 2017.
Calder/Miró: Constellations, on view through June 30, 2017, presents the work of Alexander Calder and Joan Miró at Pace Gallery and Acquavella Galleries, respectively, a two-venue exhibition aiming to present the distinct bodies of work and complementary concepts shared between the two artists while they were separated on either side of the Atlantic during World War II. Presenting approximately 60 sculptures, paintings, and works on paper, the show presents a dialogue highlighting formal, social and political concerns informing the processes of both artists at a distinct conceptual and aesthetic high point for both their careers. (more…)
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Kurt Schwitters, Merzbild 1B Bild mit rotem Kreuz (Merzpicture 1 B Picture with Red Cross) (1919), via Hauser and Wirth
Joining in the celebration of the Dada Movement’s 100th birthday this year in Zürich, Hauser and Wirth gallery has selected a premier group of works by on of the style’s prominent masters, bringing together works by Kurt Schwitters, and simultaneously placing them in conversation with pieces by Hans Arp and Joan Miró. Examining the personal relationships and shared formal interests over the course of each artist’s work in the first half of the 20th Century, the exhibition is a fascinating blend of historical background and visual tour-de-force, bringing together a rare series of works through a less frequently explored series of connections.
Hans Arp, Geometrische Collage (Collage geÌometrique) (1918), via Hauser and Wirth
René Magritte’s Miroir Universel sells over estimate for$6,661,000, via Rae Wang for Art Observed
The November auctions are over, as Christie’s capped its final major evening sale of the year to strong results, with 13 lots going unsold out of the 62 offered, tallying a final of $145,545,000. (more…)
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Hyperallergic has a report on the ongoing allegations behind an Istanbul exhibition of Joan Miró works denounced as fraud by the artist’s foundation, and the lawsuits currently filed against dealer Emre Sefer, who organized the show. Sefer denies the charges, claiming her purchased the works from Canadian dealers Art Brokers West. “The lawsuit over the certificates of authenticity and the action for compensation continue. Those trials will resume in October and November,” Sefer says. “Art Brokers West claims that all the artworks are original. They also said that we could return all of them if we wanted. We do not intend to initiate a legal process against Art Brokers West until the lawsuits in Turkey conclude.” (more…)
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Pablo Picasso, Femme Assise Près D’Une Fenêtre, via Sotheby’s
Last night, Sotheby’s London hosted the first of the spring’s Modern Art auctions, with a number of works quickly soaring to high prices while others struggled to meet their estimates, most notably the centerpiece of the auction, Pablo Picasso’s “Femme Assise Près d’une Fenêtre.” (more…)
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A 1932 painting of Pablo Picasso’s mistress is expected to sell for as much as $56 million at auction next month. Femme assise pres d’une fenetre has been placed on sale by Sotheby’s auction house, and is guaranteed to sell courtesy of a third-party, “irrevocable” bid. The 61-lot auction on February 5th will also include works by Claude Monet and Joan Miró, among other notable surrealist and impressionist painters, and is valued at $240 million.
The repairs and restoration of a Joan Miró painting damaged at the Tate Modern in 2011 has been cited at £203,000. Painting on White Background for the Cell of a Recluse I was damaged when an unidentified museum visitor leaned against it, placing both hands on the canvas. The large damage payment by the UK government to the Fundació Joan Miró includes both restoration costs as well as compensation for depreciation of the work’s value. (more…)
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Kees Van Dongen, Deux Nus Aux Ballons Courtesy Sotheby’s
LOT SOLD. 1,314,500 USD (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium)
Sotheby’s concluded its Impressionist & Modern day sale today, with a sale total (including buyer’s premium) of $39,910,775. The auction house sold 73% of lots in the morning session and 62% in the afternoon session.
Pablo Picasso, Tête d’homme Courtesy Sotheby’s
LOT SOLD. 1,142,500 USD (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium) (more…)
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FIAC Grand Palais, photo courtesy We Want Contrast for Art Observed
FIAC, one of Europe’s main three art fairs, held its vernissage last night in Paris at the Grand Palais. Dealers saw strong blue chip sales, including an $8 million Joan Miro panting, despite concerns over France’s proposed increase in wealth taxes and a strong Frieze and Frieze Masters in London the week before.
Gilles Fuches, President Prix Marcel Duchamp
All photos by Tiphaine Popesco for Art Observed unless otherwise noted
The crowd at FIAC
FIAC has added more contemporary work from the second half of the 20th century in the last two years, attracting big collectors like Francois Pinault, Bernard Arnault, Alberto Mugrabi and Omer Koc.
Marc Chagall, Noce et Musique (1939) which sold for £2.5 million
Last night at Sotheby’s marked the opening night of three straight weeks of art auctions in London. The evening achieved a few exceptional and even record breaking sales, yet it did not compare with the astonishing May auctions held previously this year in New York. Out of the 48 lots offered only 33 of them sold – a sell through rate of 69%. Still, Sotheby’s total sales for the night reached £75 million – above their low estimate of £73 million.
‬Joan Miró’s “Peinture (Étoile Bleue)” to lead Sotheby’s London auction June 19, estimated to bring £15m-£20m. “[This is] one of Miró’s most important paintings, effortlessly bridging the transition between figurative and abstract art,” says Helena Newman of Sotheby’s Europe.
‪‬Miro’s ‘Peinture’ work, estimated between £7m and £10m, goes unsold at Sotheby’s after his ‘Painting-Poem’ set a record high price for the artist (£16.8m) at Christie’s on Tuesday, both auctions in London [AO Newslink]
‪‬Sale of Joan Miro 1925 ‘Painting-Poem’ breaks artist’s record with hammer price of £16,841,250, nearly doubling the high estimate of £9,000,000 at Christie’s ‘The Art of Surrealism’ Evening Sale last night in London [AO Newslink]
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Installation view, Joan Miró: The Ladder of Escape (2011). All images via Tate Modern.
On view until September 11 at the Tate Modern in London, Joan Miró: The Ladder of Escape brings together work spanning six decades of the internationally renowned artist’s career. Organized with the help of the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, this major retrospective is a rare opportunity to see over 150 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper culled from collections around the world, as well as five of his large triptychs in their first ever coincident display. In addition to an exceptional viewing experience, the Tate has set out to provide a political context for Miró’s work and thereby shed light on the esteemed Surrealist’s oft-overlooked engagement with and dedication to the world around him.
If collectors failed to find anything that struck their fancy at Art Basel they’ll have more opportunities to buy during the summer lineup of sales at the three big auction houses in London over the next two weeks. On Tuesday Christie’s will inaugurate with an immense 92-lot auction of Impressionist & Modern Art, followed by Sotheby’s comparatively petit 35-lot sale on Wednesday evening. Next week Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips de Pury will hold Contemporary Art sales.
Pablo Picasso, Jeune Fille Endormie, 1935 (est. $14.5-19.3 million), via Christies.com
Currently on view at Tate Modern is “Joan Miro: The Ladder of Escape” featuring over 150 paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints in the first London retrospective of the renowned Surrealist artist in over fifty years. Working in a rich variety of styles, Juan Miro (1893-1983) is considered a precursor to Abstract Expressionism. He effectively combined his surrealist style with strong political views to create work which is all at once playful and socially thought-provoking.
Art Observed was on-site December 1st for the VIP Preview of Art Basel Miami Beach 2010, which opened to the public this morning at 10 a.m. Like most international fairs of its scale and scope, the work presented broadly underscores the trends witnessed across commercial markets and throughout museum and gallery exhibitions over the past several months. It also affords individual institutions an important opportunity to distinguish themselves from their peers, and provide fresh and immediate insight into the nuances and complexities of contemporary taste.
Richard Jackson, Upside Down Duck at the Kordansky Gallery Booth
–> Henri Matisse, Nu de dos, 4 état (Back IV), conceived c. 1930 and cast 1978 (est. $25-35 million, realized $48.8 million), via Christies.com
Wednesday evening’s Impressionist & Modern auction at Christie’s in New York featured 84 lots (not including lot 27, which was withdrawn) that were expected to fetch between $198-286.6 million. The sale realized a total of $231.4 million and had a sell through rate of 80% by lot and 88% by value. Like the Sotheby’s sale on Tuesday night, a handful of the top lots found buyers after enthusiastic bidding while the majority of lots were sold within or below presale estimates, or were bought in.
Still, the aggressive bidding that set two artists’ records was largely unexpected. Perhaps garnering the most post auction attention, the sale of Matisse’sNu de dos, 4 état (Back IV), an impressively sized bronze sculpture of a woman’s back, went to Larry Gagosian–on behalf of an anonymous client–for $48.8 million. Similarly, Violon et guitare, a 1913 painting by Juan Gris, generously outperformed its $18-25 million estimate, fetching $28.6 million from a European collector. Though the top buyers identities remain unknown, sources such as the New York Times have speculated the involvement of hedge fund billionaire and collector Steven A. Cohen, who was present at the event and has bought through Larry Gagosian in the past.
–> The room fills at Christie’s Impressionist & Modern Evening Sale in New York, via Art Observed
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Amedeo Modigliani, Nu Assis Sur un Divan (La Belle Romaine), 1917 (est. $40 million), via Sothebys.com
Sotheby’s and Christie’s will both hold Impressionist and Modern sales in New York during the first week of November. Sotheby’s will offer 61 lots during the Evening Sale on November 2nd, with Christie’s Evening Sale following on the 3rd. The latter is comprised of 85 lots, and is expected to bring at least $200 million.
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Currently on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is “Miró: The Dutch Interiors,” an exhibition featuring three surrealist works and the two seventeenth-century Dutch genre paintings that inspired them. Joan Miró first encountered the domestic scenes of Jan Steen and Hendrick Sorgh when he visited the Rijksmuseum during a 1928 trip to Amsterdam. The impact of these works on the Catalan artist resulted in The Dutch Interiors: a series of three paintings in which Miró re-envisions the Old Master works as abstract compositions, nearly four-hundred years after their original production. The exhibition, which debuted at the Rijksmuseum earlier this year, is the first occasion on which Miró’s reinterpretations of these scenes have been displayed with the works upon which they are based.
–> Hendrick Sorgh, The Lute Player, 1660. Image via the Rijksmuseum.
At PMA, “Head of a Woman” (1937-38). Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
AO visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, which are both showing survey exhibitions of the avant-garde in Paris in the early twentieth century. “Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris,” at PMA, is an exhaustive display of thirty years of Picasso, from 1905 to 1945, following him through the development of Cubism and artist communities in Paris. The Guggenheim’s show is smaller and less concentrated on Picasso; it includes thirty works by Picasso, Léger, Chagall, Braque, and more, where the PMA’s 200-strong exhibition includes works by Picasso collaborators and contemporaries as they interact with his own.
At the Guggenheim, Pablo Picasso, “Mandolin and Guitar (Mandoline et guitare)” (1924). Oil with sand on canvas Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
More images, story, and relevant links after the jump…
“There’s a lot less ornament and a lot more substance,” declared Micky Wolfson Jr., founder of Miami Beach’s Wolfsonian Museum – this phrase sums-up many reflections on the eighth edition of Art Basel Miami Beach closed on Sunday, December 6 where smaller parties dominated and collectors purchased cautiously. In keeping with tradition edgy Contemporary pieces were bestsellers at Art Basel Miami Beach with larger, museum-targeted pieces dominating the booths along with traditional works by Popular Latin American artists such as the Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco. Interestingly, while many Asian and European buyers skipped the fair, additional Portuguese speakers were hired to aid Latin American buyers who were out in force.
Santigold performs at the Raleigh Hotel
Much more text, images and a full round-up of related links after the jump…. (more…)
Jeune Arabe, Kees Van Dongen (1877) sold for $13.8 million – a new record for the artist
In contrast to the slim pickings made available to buyers at Christie’s Modern and Impressionist Evening sale on November 3, last night’s sale at Sotheby’s offered many iconic works that had bidders excited and which resulted in an auction that Simon Shaw, Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Department in New York described as “a shot in the arm for the art market. A real vote of confidence.” The evening’s auctioneer Tobias Meyer, Sotheby’s Worldwide Head of Contemporary Art, commented that after all his time at Sotheby’s he had never seen such an active sale. And indeed it was, with a grand total of $181,760,000 over a high-end estimate of $163,600,000, this sale marked the first time since May 2006 that Sotheby’s in New York have exceeded their top estimate.
L’Homme qui Chavire, Alberto Giacometti – an instantly recognizable icon of the modern era cast in 1951. Sold for a remarkable $19,346,500.
More text, images, related links and video after the jump….
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TeÌ‚te de femme, Pablo Picasso (1943) estimated to sell for between $7,000,000 and $10,000,000 at Christie’s Modern and Impressionist evening sale tonight. via Christie’s
Christie’s Modern and Impressionist sale this evening, November 3, marks the beginning of the fall auction season in New York. Headlining tonight’s sale are works by Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Piet Mondrian and Henri Matisse. Tomorrow Sotheby’s will follow with their Modern and Impressionist evening sale which is highlighted by Alberto Giacometti’s bronze Falling Man, estimated to sell for $8 million – $12 million along with works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro and Giacometti’s fellow modern masters Wassily Kandinsky, Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso. The combined total of the evening and day sales from both auction houses is estimated at as much as $607 million, down from $1.7 billion just two years ago.
ArtObserved will be on site to cover the proceedings on twitter at the show and in a review tomorrow. We are set to continue our auction season coverage next week when the Contemporary sales kick-off on Tuesday, November 10, at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips de Pury & Company.
L’Homme Qui Chavire (Falling Man), Alberto Giacometti (1951) via Sotheby’s
