AO Art Observed™

Rudolf Stingel, Untitled (2011)

Luxembourg & Dayan‘s Grisaille explores the use of a generally monochromatic color palette in works spanning multiple centuries. The exhibition is divided between the gallery’s new space in London and the 77th Street location in New York; the show began in London in October, overlapping with the New York show throughout November and December. Both shows feature a variety of artists including Albrecht Durer, Alberto Giacometti, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol. The New York gallery also shows new work by Richard Prince and John Currin.

Gerhard Richter, Grau (1974)

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National Gallery of Athens post-exhibition robbed today, with ‘Woman’s Head’ (1939) by Picasso and ‘Mill’ (1905) by Piet Mondrian, and a 16th century Italian sketch all missing. ‘Landscape,’ (1905) also by Mondrian, was dropped by the still-unknown thieves during their exit [AO Newslink]

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Pablo Picasso, Study of a Torso (1895). All Images Courtesy of the Frick Collection.

Picasso’s Drawings (1890–1921): Reinventing Tradition marks Pablo Picasso‘s first showcase at the Frick Collection, featuring more than 60 works on paper from the beginning stages of what spanned into a legendary 80-year career. The exhibition was developed by the Senior Curator at the Frick Collection and Picasso expert Marilyn McCully, as well as Mellon Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Following the Frick display, Picasso’s drawings will be on view at the National Gallery from February through May. This is the artist’s first major retrospective in 20 years, and is accompanied by an extensive series of lectures and seminars.

Pablo Picasso, Self Portrait (1901-1902)

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Gustav Klimt, Litzlberg am Attersee, 1914-15 (est. in excess of $25 million, realized $40.4 million) via Sothebys.com

The Impressionist and Modern art evening auction at Sotheby’s New York on Wednesday night realized $200 million for 57 of 70 lots sold. Business proceeded as usual within the auction house despite the deafening cacophony from protesters stationed outside the building’s main entrance (Sotheby’s has been feuding with their art handlers for months). Earlier today the auction house announced that one of the evening’s top lots – one of Matisse‘s bronze Nu De Dos sculptures estimated to bring $20-30 million- had been withdrawn from the sale after having been sold privately yesterday afternoon (along with the other three in the series, which also belonged to the Burnett Foundation, and which were slated to sell at auction over the next year). Excluding the Matisse, the sale carried estimates of $168-230 million. The $200 million total fell comfortably within expectations and bested Christie’s comparable sale on Tuesday evening. At the press conference Sotheby’s noted that last night’s results at Christie’s were “sobering” and that they did take the opportunity today to talk to consignors and in some cases lower reserves.

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Max Ernst, The Stolen Mirror, 1941 (est. $4-6 million, realized $16.3 million), via Christies.com

Christie’s evening sale of Impressionist and Modern art on Tuesday night brought in $140 million against presale estimates of $210-300 million. Four of the top 5 most valuable lots failed to sell, including the auction’s cover lot – a Degas ballerina sculpture with a presale estimate of $25-35 million. The Degas had been shopped around privately with no luck and carried what many believed to be a very aggressive estimate. The auction house cited those two facts to explain that lot’s failure, as well as the overall performance of the sale. In general, fresh to market material faired best, and hefty presale estimates deterred bidding on the priciest works. What turned out to be the evening’s top lot – Max Ernest‘s The Stolen Mirror – was both fresh to market and carried an estimate in line with the artist’s records and with heightened interest in Surrealist material over the past few auction cycles. The canvas set the record for the artist at auction when it sold for $16.3 million against a high estimate of $6 million. The previous record was set this past June at Christie’s London with a 1923 work that brought $4.4 million.

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Edgar Degas, Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans, executed in wax c. 1879-1881 and cast later (est. $25-35 million), via Christies.com

The November sales will be inaugurated at Christie’s on Tuesday night with a 75-lot Impressionist & Modern auction at their Rockefeller Center location in New York. Seventy-one lots will be offered at Sotheby’s New York on Wednesday evening, and the two sales are expected to fetch close to $400 million. This round of auctions follows closely on the heels of the Frieze Art Fair and the concurrent and comparatively smaller sales of Contemporary art in mid-October. Little has changed between then and now to make buyer’s less anxious about the financial markets, but the auction houses managed to secure a handful of top-tier consignments that may bolster the results of their sales.

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‪‬Tate Britain to explore “the impact of Picasso’s art on British art” this February, exhibition will include English National Ballet residency [AO Newslink]

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Suspect may have panicked and trashed 5 stolen masterworks following “one of the biggest art heists ever” in Paris last May. The works stolen from the Musée d’Art Moderne were Dove with Green Peas by Pablo Picasso, Pastoral by Henri Matisse, Olive Tree near l’Estaque by Georges Braque, Still Life with Candlestick by Fernand Leger and Woman with Fan by Amedeo Modigliani. [AO Newslink]

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Two oil paintings by Pablo Picasso, “Tete de cheval” (1962) and “Verre et pichet” (1944), both stolen from Pfaeffikon, near Zurich, in 2008, and loaned by the Sprengel Museum in Hannover, Germany have reportedly been found in Serbia [AO Newslink]

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New York’s Metropolitan Museum announces record attendance (5.6 million), fiscal year includes blockbuster exhibitions “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” and Picasso [AO Newslink]

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Accused Picasso thief kept “small museum” of stolen art at home, with more Picassos, a Léger, Basquiat Photo [AO Newslink]

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Gertrude Stein (1905-1906) by Pablo Picasso, via The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Currently on view at San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art is “The Steins Collect” an exhibition devoted the collection of the Stein family, notable patrons of early modernism. The large show covers the entire fourth floor of the museum and contains a variety of pieces spanning the entire history of the family’s collections. The chronologically-arranged exhibition truly makes clear their influence and significance in the emerging world of Modern Art.

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Egon Schiele, Hauser Mit Bunter Wasche (Vorstatd II), 1914 (est. $35.7-48.7 million, realized $40 million), via Sothebys.com

Sotheby’s 35-lot sale of Impressionist and Modern art in London on Wednesday night realized $157 million for 32 lots sold against estimates of $124-178 million. The evening’s top lot was a rare Schiele cityscape that brought in $40 million (or $35.5 million without fees) and set a record for the artist at auction. The painting was sold by the Leopold Museum in Vienna to raise the $19 million necessary to settle the restitution case of another Schiele in their collection. The previous artist record was set at Christie’s in 2006 with the sale of a cityscape for $22 million.

Alberto Giacometti, Trois Hommes Qui Marchent II, 1948 (est. $16.2-24.3 million, realized $17.3 million), via Sothebys.com

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Claude Monet, Nymphéas, c. 1914-1917 (est. $27.4-39.7 million), via Christies.com

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

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Qi Baishi, A Long Life, A Peaceful World (1946). Via China.org.cn

On Sunday night, Chinese artist Qi Baishi maintained an international auction record with the ink-wash painting “A Long Life, A Peaceful World,” when it sold for 425 million yuan, or 65.4 million American dollars at the Guardian Spring Auction at the Beijing International Hotel Convention center which brought in 1 billion yuan or 649 million American dollars.  With this sale, Qi Bashi became the third bestselling artist at auction behind Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol. “A Long Life, A Peaceful World,” was purchased at the Guardian Spring Auction at the Beijing International Hotel Convention center, an event with overall sales totaling 1 billion yuan — 649 million American dollars in full.

Portrait of the artist via Chinapage.com

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Maurice de Vlaminck, Paysage de Banlieue, 1905 (est. $18-25 million, realized $22.5 million). All images via Christies.com.

The second and final Impressionist and Modern art evening sale in New York this spring was held Wednesday night at Christie’s. The auction realized $156 million, just below the low presale estimate of $162.3 million. Ten of the fifty-seven lots offered failed to find buyers, giving the sale a sell through rate of 82% by lot and 81% by value. The evening progressed much like the Sotheby’s sale last night. There was frenzied interest in a few lots, but otherwise buyers seemed unimpressed by the offerings and hence hesitant to bid. First place was shared by two works – Maurice de Vlaminck‘s Paysage de Banlieue and Monet‘s Les Peupliers both sold for $22.5 million. The Vlaminck was sold by billionaire collector Steven Cohen and just about doubled the artist’s previous auction record set in 1990 for $10.8 million.

Claude Monet, Les Peupliers, 1891 (est. $20-30 million, realized $22.5 million)

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Alexej von Jawlensky, Frau mit Grunem Facher, 1912 (est. $8-12 million, realized $11.3 million). All images via Sothebys.com.

Tuesday night’s auction of Impressionist and Modern art at Sotheby’s New York, which carried presale estimates of $158.9-229.7 million, realized $170.5 million for forty-four of fifty-nine lots sold. The sale had a sell through rate of 74.6% by lot and 84.8% by volume. In reflecting on the evening at the press conference, Simon Shaw, head of the Impressionist and Modern department at Sotheby’s New York, noted that while bidding was “not euphoric,” there was still solid bidding both in the room and on the telephone. The sale’s top lot – Picasso‘s 1934 portrait of his muse Marie-Thérèse Walter – did not reach its low estimate when it sold for $21.4 million (allegedly to an Asian buyer), and several other top lots were bought in. Still, the evening saw spirited bidding for a few works, and several artist records were set.

Paul Gauguin, Jeune Tahitienne, c. 1893 (est. $10-15 million, realized $11.3 million)

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Pablo Picasso, Femmes Lisant (Deux Personnages), 1934 (est. $25-35 million), via Sothebys.com

The New York spring sales begin this week as Sotheby’s and Christie’s hold their Impressionist & Modern evening auctions on May 3rd and 4th, respectively. Sotheby’s 59-lot sale is estimated to fetch $158.9-227.9 million, while Christie’s 55-lot sale is expected to bring in at least $160 million. Five works to hit the auction block (one at Sotheby’s and four at Christie’s) carry estimates of $20 million or more. The headlining work at Sotheby’s is a 1932 portrait by Picasso of his mistress, Marie-Thérèse Walter. The painting is similar to the portrait of Walter that led the February Impressionist and Modern sale at Sotheby’s London and sold for £25.4 million (about $42.4 million) against a high estimate of £18 million ($30 million). Femmes Lisant (Deux Personnages) last changed hands in 1981 and is expected to fetch between $25-35 million.

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Pierre Bonnard, Terrasse à Vernon, 1923 (est. £3–4 million, realized £7.2 million ), via Christies.com

Christie’s London hosted two back-to-back sales on Wednesday evening that brought in a combined total of £84.9 million. The forty-five lot Impressionist and Modern sale realized £61.9 million for thirty-five lots sold. The estimate of £54-80 million for that auction included a Franz Marc painting that was withdrawn from the sale (it carried an estimate of £900,000-1.4 million). Thirty-one lots at the “Art of the Surreal” sale that immediately followed realized £23 million for twenty-five lots sold. Including a withdrawn De Chirico, the Surreal sale carried a presale estimate of £19-28 million. Bidding stopped at £5.8 million for a featured Gauguin painting (est. £7-10 million) that carried the highest presale estimate of any work offered at both sales. Instead, the evening’s top lot was a fresh-to-market Bonnard painting that broke the auction record for the artist when it sold for £7.2 million against a high presale estimate of £4 million. At the press conference the auction house revealed that the seller of the painting intended to use the proceeds to purchase land in France in order to “save horses.”

The sale room at Christie’s London on Wednesday evening, via Art Observed

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Alberto Giacometti, Grand Buste de Diego Avec Bras, executed 1957, cast 1958 (est. £3.5–5 million, bought in), via Sothebys.com

Tuesday evening’s forty-two lot sale of Impressionist and Modern Art at Sotheby’s London brought in £68.8 million (or $111 million) for thirty-two lots sold. The auction house reports being “very pleased” with the total, which is the fourth highest ever in the department at the London location. The featured lot, Picasso’s La Lecture, exceeded its presale estimate after slow, thoughtful bidding by at least seven interested parties that increased in increments of £500,000. It sold to a telephone bidder for £25.2 million against a presale estimate of £12-18 million (estimates do not include the buyers premium, prices realized do). The real surprise, though, came when both Giacometti lots which carried the second and third highest presale estimates failed to sell. Bidding for an oil on canvas portrait of the artist’s brother ended at £2.7 million and a bronze sculpture of the same subject passed at £3.2 million.

The sale room at Sotheby’s London on Tuesday, via Art Observed

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Pablo Picasso, La Lecture, 1932 (est. £12–18 million), via Sothebys.com

February’s round of major art auctions begins in London next week with Impressionist & Modern sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s.  On Tuesday evening Sotheby’s will offer forty-two lots estimated to bring between £55-79 million. Sotheby’s will also hold a 60-lot sale of Impressionist, Modern, and Contemporary works titled “Looking Closely: A Private Collection” on Thursday, February 10th that is expected to fetch up to £54 million.  All the works in that sale are from the collection of George Kostalitz, a Geneva-based collector who died last year. Christie’s forty-six lot evening sale on Wednesday is estimated to bring £54-80 million and, as was the case last year, will be immediately followed by a thirty-one lot auction of Surrealist works estimated to fetch an additional £19-28 million. While it is uncertain whether these auctions will produce a buzz-worthy sale on par with last year’s £65 million paid for Giacometti’s L’Homme Qui Marche I, both houses are offering a number of strong works led by canvases by Picasso and Gauguin.

Alberto Giacometti, Diego, 1958 (est. £3–5 million), via Sothebys.com

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Hannah Hoch, Roma (1925). Via Focus.de

Chaos and Classicism: Art in France, Italy, and Germany, 1918-1936, currently on at the Guggenheim, is more history lesson than study of art object.  A mix of known artists with the unknown, names like Hannah Hoch, Picasso and the  little remembered Amleto Cataldi (whose third Google result is someone’s Facebook profile) are shown contextualized within this period of political transformation.  Curated by Kenneth E. Silver—author of Esprit de Corps: The Art of the Parisian Avant-Garde and the First World War, 1914-1925, which is considered an authority on interwar modernism—Chaos and Classicism offers an illustration of how art can just as easily support, as it does challenge, institutional power. Traveling up the Guggenheim’s ramp, the exhibition lays bare the changing sentiment of the period—from a reliance on the order and beauty of Classicism after the horrors of the first world war to fascism’s adoption of those same classical themes for world take over.

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Pablo Picasso, Portrait d’enfant: Paloma, 1952. Via Gagosian Gallery

Titled Important Paintings and Sculpture, Pablo Picasso‘s latest solo exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery on Madison Avenue is a diverse collection spanning roughly 20 years of his work.  Though without a professed exhibition theme, like the landmark Mosqueteros, the works mainly hail from his years spent in the south of France, sharing pieces with his recent London exhibition The Mediterranean Years (1945-1962).

Installation view

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