A thorough forensic study dating Francisco Goya’s private series “Witches and Old Women” has resulted in an exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery in London, showing the works in chronological order for the first time.  “His work is all about capturing that human spark,” says Goya scholar Juliet Wilson-Bareau.  “From his youth onwards, he observed everything that life had to offer. He was utterly fascinated by the human animal form from the word go.” (more…)

A Cy Twombly blackboard painting may have sold for $60 million in a private sale, Marion Maneker of the Art Market Monitor reports, taking the news from active Twombly collectors.  If confirmed, the price would come close to the record-setting sale of a similar work last year by Nicola Del Roscio, Twombly’s former assistant and head of his foundation. (more…)

Sotheby’s has announced a partnership with Drake, welcoming the rapper to partner with the auction house during an exhibition and private sale of works by black artists in the coming months.  The artist will select music to play during the exhibition, part of Sotheby’s increased focus on private sales. (more…)

The Telegraph profiles Christie’s upcoming London sale of works from the Essl Collection, Austria’s largest private collection of contemporary works.  The sale, featuring pieces by Gerhard Richter, Paul McCarthy, Louise Bourgeois, and Alighiero Boetti, is estimated to bring in up to £60 million next month, making it the most valuable sale of a single collection in auction history.   (more…)

Chinese-Indonesian collector Budi Tek is preparing to open his newly established Yuz Museum in Shanghai, showcasing a broad selection of contemporary Asian works from his collection.  “I don’t have any say, it is done by the curator, who will select from the whole of the collection,” Tek says. “We are very careful to collect and exhibit the best works considered historical to Chinese contemporary art.”  Tek says. (more…)

Amy Cappellazzo, Christie’s Chairman of Postwar and Contemporary Art Development, has announced that she will be leaving the company this February to work as a private dealer.  Cappellazzo joined the auction house in 2001, and is frequently touted as the reason Christie’s has experienced such profound success in the past years, but has decided to focus on more private sales and transactions.  “When I think about private sales,” she said in 2012, “I think about matchmaking—it’s literally about arranging love.”  (more…)

Collector Budi Tek’s Yuz Museum in Shanghai is looking to be the first museum of Contemporary Western Art in China, showcasing the flexibility and freedom that privately-owned museums hold as an advantage over government-run institutions.  The trend looks to continue, with 400 new private museums already opened in the country this year. (more…)

Both Christie’s and Sotheby’s are planning exhibitions of smaller works by Andy Warhol in the Chinese cities of Shanghai and Hong Kong, respectively.  The exhibitions, which are set to open next month, will include a number of the artist’s lower-priced works, intended to encourage private sales.  “In our first online Warhol sale in February, 8 percent of bidders were Chinese, a higher percentage than we have previously seen,” says Amelia Manderscheid, associate specialist on e-commerce for Christie’s. (more…)

Capitalizing on the growing market of private art sales, Sotheby’s Auction House will open a private sales gallery in London, Bloomberg reports.  The move follows the increasing trend of discreet art purchases for blue chip works, avoiding the high-profile spotlight of the auction room.  “It’s very smart. I would do the same,” said the New York-based dealer Christophe van de Weghe. “Sotheby’s will have the same clientele for both their auctions and their gallery sales.” (more…)