Two of the most valuable works from the Cornelius Gurlitt collection, Woman with a Fan, (1923) by Henri Matisse, and Two Riders on a Beach (1901) by Max Liebermann, will be returned to the families of their original owners. “Thankfully Gurlitt liked our Liebermann and kept it prized on his wall,” says Mr. Matteis, the lawyer representing David Toren, heir to the Liebermann work. (more…)
Sotheby’s Investor Mark McGuire, who holds 9.5% of the company, has reportedly demanded that the auction house issue a $500 million stock buyback, appoint a new CFO, and further, accuses them of willful neglect and misguided policies. McGuire’s letter to the company comes after Sotheby’s placed its new capital plan on hold until a new CEO was found, and places him in opposition to new investor Dan Loeb. (more…)
The New York Times notes the rush of interest by art buyers towards Cuba since President Obama lifted the economic embargo on the country earlier this month, with collectors fighting for first access to the country’s long-praised arts culture. “They’re saying, ‘I want to go before everyone else does,’ ” says dealer Alberto Magnan, who specializes in Cuban art. (more…)
A group of researchers working at Geneva’s Fine Arts Experts Institute have made the claim that about half of all artworks in circulation today are fakes, an estimate “When you buy an apartment, you always get an appraisal first. But in the art world, until recently, you could buy works for 10 million euros without sufficient documentation,” says FAEI chief Yann Walther. (more…)
The nation of Luxembourg has opened a new freeport within its borders, where valuables like fine art can be traded and stored without paying any taxes or customs. “There are a lot more transactions in the art market and it has become far more global, with increasing numbers of collectors in Russia, the Middle East and China,” says Arts Economics researcher Clare McAndrew. (more…)
One of two paintings exchanged by artist Jackson Pollock for the convertible he ultimately crashed and died in will be on sale at Christie’s later this year, the Wall Street Journal reports. Pollock reportedly exchanged his work Number 5 (Elegant Lady) for art dealer Martha Jackson’s Green Oldsmobile, which he crashed two years later. The work is valued between $15 million and $20 million. (more…)
The 27 year-old, Columbian-born Oscar Murillo is the focus of a spotlight in Bloomberg, detailing his recent addition to the David Zwirner roster, and the quickly rising prices for his works. “He’s had the quickest upward trajectory for his age of any artist I’ve seen in 25 years,” said dealer and writer Kenny Schachter. “There’s a lot of money to be made trading Oscar Murillo at this point.” (more…)
