Kirche in Cassone (Church in Cassone), Gustav Klimt via Sotheby’s

Masterpieces by Pablo Picasso, Gustav Klimt and Henri Matisse that have been unseen for decades will go under the hammer this week at Christie’s and Sotheby’s in London at the first major European auctions of 2010. The appearance of many top-quality, ‘lost’ works marks a distinct change in the attitude of sellers who have been encouraged to put their prized works on the market by the recent success of Impressionist and Modern Art sales – most notable is Sotheby’s November Impressionist and Modern sale in New York that exceeded all expectations when it realized $182m over a high-end estimate of $163m. The sales kick-off with Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art evening sale on February 2 that will offer 86 lots with a total pre-sale value of £56,505,000 to £80,805,000. The sale is led by works by Kees van Dongen, Natalia Goncharova, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Sotheby’s evening sale of Impressionist and Modern Art on Wednesday, February 3 is smaller with only 39 lots but the target of £102million is considerably higher. This high estimate is excelled by three works from Gustave Klimt, Alberto Giacometti and Paul Cézanne that are individually estimated to realize more than £10 million – the auction house sold three works for that price across all categories all last year.

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New MOCA Director, Jeffrey Deitch. Via LATimes

More on  MOCA’s new director, Jeffrey Deitch, who brings his more business-oriented background to the Museum in LA: [Bloomberg] Deitch’s contract with the museum has certain safeguards against conflicts of interest that might arise from his foot in the business world– among the new rules, Deitch must notify the museum’s board of anything he adds to or sells from his collection. [LATimes]

Eli Broad and his Broad Art Foundation reveal that they are considering 3 different Westside locations on which to build and endow a museum for his art collection. The third site was recently revealed as being a ten-acre parcel on the campus of West LA College in Culver City.  [LA Times]

Works by Picasso and Henri Rousseau have been stolen from a private villa in the South of France, marking the country’s second major art robbery in that week– (work by impressionist painter Edgar Degas was stolen from the Cantini Museum in Marseilles only days before). [FT]

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Tall Figure II and Tall Figure III both 1960 Alberto Giacometti. All images via MoCA

To celebrate their 30th Anniversary, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MoCA) are exhibiting ‘Collection: MoCA’s First Thirty Years‘ – an exhibition comprising of more than 500 artworks by more than 200 artists, it is the largest ever installation of works from MoCA’s permanent collection. This comprehensive survey of the past 70 years of contemporary art history fills both of MoCA’s downtown L.A. locations – MoCA Grand Avenue and The Greffen Contemporary.

Big Wheel, Chris Burden (1979) via MoCA

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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.

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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

Related Links:
Christie’s Homepage
Sotheby’s Homepage
Christie’s Impressionist/Modern Evening Sale – Tuesday, November 3, 2009 – E-Catalogue
Christie’s Impressionist/Modern Day Sale – Wednesday, November 4, 2009 – E-Catalogue
Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale – Wednesday, November 4, 2009- E-Catalogue
Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale -Thursday, November 5, 2009 – E-Catalogue
On The Block: Traditional Offerings, Bargain Prices [NYTimes]
New House, Taschen Risking Low Prices for Art at Fall Auctions [Bloomberg]
New York Sales Preview [ArtInfo]
Up For Auction [NYTimes]
The Art World Goes Local [WallStreetJournal]
Art World Watching Sales Starting Next Week for Hints of Market Recovery [Financial Post]
As Art Auctions Shrink, Big Houses Look to the Future [Reuters]
The Art Market: Distress Sales, Iron Curtain Art and France’s Turner Prize [Financial Times]

Head of a Muse, Raphael via Guardian UK

-Offered for the first time at public auction as part of Christie’s Old Masters sale, Raphael’s drawing “Head of a Muse”- a study for a figure in one of his Vatican frescoes, if it achieves its estimate £12-16million, will break the auction record for an old master drawing currently held by Michelangelo’s and Leonardo da Vinci’s works [Guardian UK]

-As art collectors become more cautious with their purchases, dealers at Frieze and FIAC fairs put works on reserve, among them $40 million Mondrian allegedly put on hold for Bernard Arnault [Bloomberg]

-Ms. Temkin, the chief curator of painting and sculpture at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, introduces unexpected changes, unframing certain paintings and subjecting the almost sacralized permanent collection to frequent renewal [The New York Times]

“Your Mercury Ocean” Skateboard by Olafur Eliasson via aarting

-Another collaboration between Mekanism and Olafur Eliasson results in a 13-ply deck 3d patterned skateboard with a mirror coating [aarting]
-In related, Olafur Eliasson commissions by the mayor of Copenhagen to design a bridge for the Danish capital; the artist shares his plans for a transparent bridge in a close vicinity to the water [The Art Newspaper]

– The survey carried out by the Art Fund, the UK’s independent art charity, shows that despite the substantial drop in public funding and investment income, a figure that proves to grow in the context of economic fall is the number of visits to museums [Art Knowledge News]

-In the midst of economic uncertainty, gallery Matthew Marks, which represents artists such as Jasper Johns, and Peter Fischli and David Weiss, plans on expansion with a new space on the West Coast [The New York Times]

To stay apprised of most of the relevant art news for this past week… (more…)

Kirsten Dunst on the set of a production by Takashi Murakami in collaboration with McG via aarting

Tate Modern’s “Pop Life: Art in a Material World,” features a video that is a collaboration between McG – famous Hollywood director, and Murakami – Japan’s king of pop art: starring actress Kirsten Dunst on the streets of Akihabara in Tokyo for “Turning Japanese” by rock band The Vapors [The Wall Street Journal]
A 1984 work by Chinese artist Li Keran sold for $940,000, the most for a print at a Hong Kong auction, where bidding led by mainland buyers has taken many prices several times above estimates [Bloomberg]
Sotheby’s Asia sales in Hong Kong revealed that demand for Chinese paintings, while firm, is mixed; as the market is still vulnerable, less pricey, quality pieces were the ones to realize numbers higher than their estimates [Reuters]
Works including those by Renoir, Pollock, Degas and Rembrandt stolen from the home of a retired Harvard Medical School professor and collector, and his business partner; only authentic pieces were taken, leaving behind impeccable reproductions [Boston Globe via Art Market Monitor] in related Uncooperative and unable to produce evidence that the stolen art existed, Angelo Amadio and Dr. Ralph Kennaugh, become suspects of the theft to which allegedly they are victims [ArtDaily]

Tracey Emin via Guardian UK

Discouraged by British government’s top rate tax, Tracey Emin threatens to abandon England for France where she claims the politicians understand the importance of supporting culture and art [Guardian UK] in related At the London’s Frieze Art Fair, in the booth of New York’s Lehmann Maupin Gallery, Tracey Emin, known for her confessional artwork, is offering to make customized artworks based on answers to fifteen personal questions [Artinfo]
Fanjul paintings nationalized by Cuba in an exhibit in Museo del Prado in Madrid involve legal consequences as the Museum is being investigated by the US department of state for illegal trafficking of a work of art owned by US citizen confiscated by Cuban government [The Art Newspaper]
Turner Prize exhibit at Tate Britain in London this time startles the viewers with the lack of now expected blood, outrage and other shock factors [Bloomberg]
The Bloomberg administration makes an announcement of its plan to give nonprofit cultural groups access to gallery and theater space in city owned properties and help artists develop business plans [Crain’s Business]

Donald Judd concrete constructions in Marfa Texas via Hip-Ster-Krit

6 of 15 concrete constructions built by Donald Judd in Marfa Texas required repair and conservation work, October 10th the works will once again be open to the public [Artinfo]
A look at the Chinese Gao brothers who are shocking their country with brave, politically challenging art works, such as a life-size sculpture of Mao whose body is only reunited with his head on ‘special occasions’ [The New York Times]
When most artists’ prices are decreasing in a recession, a few go up: Italian Maurizio Cattelan is one of those who thrive in the tough economic times, an analysis of his work reveals some truths on the variables of the art market [The Economist]

Damien Hirst posing in front of his work via ARTblog +

A portrait of Damien Hirst built through an interview: his influences, unusual artistic paths (such as painting) and mediums to come, and a subjective depiction of the artist’s personality [Times Online] in related Hirst tells BBC that he will not be producing large scale installations and will rather concentrate solely on painting by applying oil to the canvas with his hands, something he has been secretly doing these recent years [BBC] and in related the FT reports that Hirst lays off much of his staff, closes two studios and is actually making paintings himself; while the galleries give no comments on the unsold works worth millions [Financial Times]
As art fairs struggle to retain exhibitors, a new modern and contemporary fair in Abu Dhabi signs up forty-eight names, including PaceWildenstein, Gagosian, Acquavella and White Cube [Lindsay Pollock] related 50 paintings from the New York Guggenheim Museum to be shown in Abu Dhabi [Arts Abu Dhabi]

‘Fuego Flores’ by Jean Michel Basquiat via Auction Publicity

Sotheby’s October Contemporary Art Auction, estimated to realize in excess of £9 million, will include works by leading artists, such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Anish Kapoor, Andy Warhol, Chris Ofili, Damien Hirst, Gerhard Richter, Antony Gormley and Yan Pei-Ming [Auction Publicity]
Following in the footsteps of Anselm Kiefer and Toni Morrison, Umberto Eco has been named the next guest curator at the Louvre; the show “Vertige de la Liste” (Vertigo of Lists) will revolve around his chosen theme “the list” [Artinfo] in related news, talks are underway to open a McDonald’s restaurant and a McCafé at the Louvre next month [Telegraph]
An art dealer from Stockholm, Sweden has been accused of faking works by heavyweight modernists including Georges Braque, Alberto Giacometti, Edvard Munch, and Egon Schiele [Artnet]

Child of lonely – performance by Terence Koh October 6 at Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery, Photo Olivier Zahm via purple DIARY

Terence Koh prepared his first solo show at the Parisian gallery Thaddaeus Ropac, which takes a form of an imaginary opera in eight acts, the first act taking place October 6, 2009 [The Art Newspaper]
The four artists shortlisted for Turner Prize 2009 are: Enrico David, Roger Hiorns, Lucy Skaer and Richard Wright; the winner is to be announced December 7th [Turner Prize 2009]
Jerry Saltz writes about new galleries emerging despite the economic crises, provides a list of new galleries to see and comments on the effects of the recession on the female artists [New York mag]

The current state of the building to house Sperone Westwater and the computer rendering of it via Lindsay Pollock

A concrete foundation is rising at the site of the future Sperone Westwater gallery designed by the British architect Sir Norman Foster on the Bowery; the 10 story building will rise only one block away from New Museum [Lindsay Pollock]
As opposed to expanding outside their home in LA, Tim Blum and Jeff Poe open a new 21,000 square foot space conveniently located in front of their existing gallery on South La Cienga Boulevard, Los Angeles [Los Angeles Times]

Jacket designed by JR via The World’s Best Ever

A jacket from JR’s Face2Face Project comes in a limited edition of only 100 [The World’s Best Ever] in related A video interview with JR in Paris about his project Women are Heroes, which allows the viewers to call a number and hear an interview with one of the chosen women for the project [Vernissage TV]
An interview with Dasha Zhukova that notes her easy acceptance in the art world [Guardian UK]
28 as opposed to 40 exhibitors had pulled out of the Frieze Art Fair, yet despite the equally disappointing numbers, many lesser known, but in no way inferior galleries, will get a shot at the famous art fair [Telegraph]

Miranda July via Vice

Miranda July creates a series of photographs to imitate and bring attention to the extras in iconic movies [Vice]
An Italian professor, Dr Seracini, has been working on technology that can enable the search for the largest painting Leonardo da Vinci ever painted – The Battle of Anghiari, a work he believes to be hidden underneath the frescoes in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio [The New York Times]
MoMA received an unexpected gift this month – an estate, estimated to be worth more than $10 million, belonging to the late Michael H. Dunn, a bachelor from Derby, Vermont [The New Yorker]

Marc Quinn’s Blood Head Self-Portrait displayed in a refrigeration unit at The National Gallery in London via Guardian

The National Portrait Gallery in London acquires and shows the most recent of Marc Quinn’s self-portraits created with the use of artist’s own blood [Bloomberg]

Titian, Diana and Acteaon via Artdaily

In related, Titian’s Diana and Acteaon, one of the six large-scale mythologies inspired by Ovid, acquired by The National Gallery in London, is to be displayed at Trafalgar Square [Artdaily]
Three paintings attributed to Adolf Hitler were sold at Weidler’s auction house in Germany for an accumulative price of  $60,000 to three phone bidders [The New York Times]
The Museo National del Prado’s is exhibiting 2 Sorolla paintings of the Fanjul family that were illegally confiscated by the Cuban government which may cast the museum’s directors legal bind [Reuters]
A private European collector helps settle a 7-Year discord between the Swedish Moderna Museet and heirs of a Jewish businessman over a Nazi-looted Nolde painting and in related, Dutch Museums will return 13 artworks lost during Nazi occupation to heirs of Jewish collectors [Bloomberg]

Velázquez, Portrait of a Man via The New York Times

After restoration and cleaning of “Portrait of a Man” in MET’s collection, the author of the painting attributed to Vélazquez’ workshop is confirmed to be Vélazquez himself [The New York Times]
Phillips de Pury auction house, known for its focus on contemporary art, is adding 18 new sales for the upcoming year and a half [The Wall Street Journal]
As the market fluctuates, art collectors seize opportunities of investment, yet the auction market based on no identical units, making calculated predictions almost impossible, turn investing into gambling [NYTimes]
The Glyndebourne Opera House, England to sell a painting by the Italian Old Master, Domenichino; estimated at $16.5 million [Bloomberg]
Bill Viola declines an invitation to participate in a culture summit, organized by Pope Benedict XVI in an attempt to reconcile spirituality and artistic expression, supposedly due to the artist’s disagreement with policies put forth by the Vatican and the Catholic Church [Artnet]

Six of the missing works by Andy Warhol via Telegraph

$1million is being offered for a lead to locating the “Athletes” series by Andy Warhol from Richard Weisman’s collection that has been stolen from the collector’s Los Angeles residence [Telegraph]
Pencils from an installation by Damien Hirst were stolen by a 17-year old artist named Cartrain [The Independent] who had been stripped of his artwork for incorporating Damien Hirst’s ideas into his collages [ArtObserved]
“You can be immortalized in an artwork” says Damien Hirst in his search for a numerous sets of identical twins to literally become part of his artwork at Tate Modern [Guardian]

Charles Saatchi with his wife Nigella Lawson via The Independent

“My Name is Charles Saatchi and I am an Artoholic”, a book written by Charles Saatchi, who almost never gives interviews, is released without a loud PR campaign and is written in a format of potential interviewer’s questions and answers [Guardian UK]
Aleksandra Mir’s installation at Collective gallery in Edinburgh consists of rows of a limited edition cookbook titled “The How Not to Cookbook: Lessons Learned the Hard Way” [The Moment]
German police uncover a thousand fake Giacometti bronzes in the possession of  a man who tried to sell them as originals [Art Market Monitor]
An editorial on the state of galleries dictated by the financial market provides an encompassing snapshot of what a gallery represents in the art-world and how it is likely to function in the current economic condition [NYTimes]

Bruce Nauman’s skywriting fittingly reads “Leave The Land Alone” via Los Angeles Times

On September 12 in Pasadena, artist Bruce Nauman realized his skywriting project, reading Leave the Land Alone, after a 40 year wait [Los Angeles Times]
Frédéric Mitterrand’s appointment to the post of French minister of culture is well received by most for his extensive previous background  and involvement in the world of art and culture [The Art Newspaper]
London’s Outset Contemporary Art Fund brings artwork to a fair to be seen publicly and then purchased by the Tate [Bloomberg]
The story of Tony Shafrazi, art terrorist and later gallerist [Artnet]

A view of Sol LeWitt’s unveiled mural at 59th street via Gothamist

Sol LeWitt’s mural, comprised of 250 porcelain tiles, is installed at Columbus Circle subway station in Manhattan[Lindsay Pollock]
Run by oligarch Viktor Pinchuk, the PinchukArtCenter in Kiev announces a new art Prize and the shortlisted 20 nominees [ArtReview]
Gagosian’s plan for a gallery in Paris’ prestigious 8th arrondissement promises to gain instant success by providing access to Picasso’s work [Bloomberg]
In related, Gagosian is to open a bookstore on Madison avenue in Manhattan selling books, catalogues, magazines and Jeff Koons puppy vase that come in an edition of 3,000 [Art fag City]
UBS, a global financial services firm, is to close its gallery in Manhattan in an attempt to cut back on costs [Artinfo]

A photograph of Emmanuel Perrotin via The Selby

The Selby visits Emmanuel Perrotin at his gallery in Paris [The Selby]
Research shows that visitors to museums housing modern art are likely to respond emotionally, while those viewing ancient artworks are more prompt to describing their experiences in more cognitive terms [Miller McCune via Artinfo]
“The Art of the Steal”, a documentary film by Don Argott, explores the Barnes Foundation, a Post-Impressionist and early Modern art collection [The New York Times]
John Currin interviewed by Glenn O’Brien speaks about art, the art market and shares personal stories [Interview Magazine]
The rating service Moody’s estimates the current financial troubles and hence auction market distress to persist and drops Sotheby’s corporate credit rating by one level [Bloomberg]
Kara Walker’s participation in Whitney’s Biennial is manifested in an email correspondence with the organizer of the show documenting the artist’s refusal to participate in the Biennial [Artnet]

Centquatre art space in Paris via The Daily Undertaker

A site of the Municipal Funeral Services in Paris is now turned into an arts center providing the capital’s northern reaches an art initiative it has been lacking [Financial Times]
A survey of artistic practice based on technology and its move towards the usage of the Internet as means of expression [The New York Times]
Thomas Campbell, director of Met, shares his plans for the museum in an interview with The Art Newspaper [The Art Newspaper]
American artist Greg Wyatt’s 22-thousand-pound bronze sculpture “Two Rivers” is being transported to Piazza della Signoria in Florence, “the soul of the world of sculpture,” where it is to become the first American displayed at that location [Bloomberg]
An interview with the billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad, who spoke about democratization of art and educational reforms [The Wall Street Journal]

The show is comprised of works by 63 artists, with some pieces showing publicly for the first time. The sweeping comprehensiveness of the exhibition allows for a juxtaposition of artists rarely seen. Paintings by Claude Monet accompany those by Cy Twombly and Paul Signac. Cubist Georges Braque brings the cartoons of Jean Dubufett into sharper relief. Included are Paul Cézanne and Abstract Expressionists Mark Rothko and Sam Francis, in an exhibition that shows even the pop art of Andy Warhol and the Surrealist paintings of Salvador Dalí.

Ferdinand Hodler, “le Grammont,” at Fondation l’Hermitage. Image courtesy of the museum.

Yves Klein, “ANT 20,” at Fondation l’Hermitage. Image courtesy of the museum.

Initially founded in 1984 with the Bugnion Family collection, Fondation l’Hermitage now boasts over 600 works, shown in rotation along with its temporary exhibitions. The Fondation is also home to a collection of 12th-19th century Chinese porcelain, donated by the Vergottis Foundation and on permanent display in its underground space.

René Magritte, “La Ruse Symétrique,” at Fondation l’Hermitage. Image courtesy of the museum.

Paul Klee, “Felsenlandschaft,” at Fondation l’Hermitage. Image courtesy of the museum.

Edgar Degas, “Danseuses (Danseuses au repos),” at Fondation l’Hermitage. Image courtesy of the museum.

– R. Fogel

A glimpse of the Sol LeWitt mural, ‘Swirls and Whirls,’ being constructed in the Columbus Circle subway station, via NY Times

A mural designed for the Columbus Circle subway station in New York by Sol LeWitt in 2007, just before his death, is nearly complete [NY Times]

In related, Turner Prize winner Richard Long designs the cover for the London Tube Map [FAD]
The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid has seen visitor numbers quadruple since the opening of its Henri Matisse exhibit [Art Daily]
Following the success of earlier Beyond Limits exhibitions, Sotheby’s announces its fourth contemporary sculpture exhibit at Chatsworth including works by Henry Moore, Marc Quinn, Zhan Wang, among others [Auction Publicity]

Jeff Koons via the Telegraph UK

Jeff Koons sits for lunch with the Financial Times and discusses his love of inflatables and how the custody battle for his son has affected his work [Financial Times]
MoMA’s PS1 in Queens will soon reprise its Greater New York exhibit, which will be its 3rd [LindsayPollack]
On Miuccia Prada and her still to be built €25 million, 20,500 square meter Prada Foundation in a south Milan industrial complex [ArtNewspaper]
Sotheby’s CEO William Ruprecht sells 5% of his equity holdings; he retains a 1% stake in the company [Barron’s via Art Market Monitor]

The Starns Brothers’ cover for the fifth anniversary of T Magazine, via NY Times

T Magazine celebrates its fifth anniversary with specially designed covers by Mike and Doug Starns, Jeff Koons, Francesco Vezzoli, Jenny Holzer, and Frank Gehry [NYTimes T Magazine]
Christie’s abandons its plan to establish an art-investment fund and a lending division [Bloomberg]
In related, Leibovitz creditor Goldman Sachs has stepped in to help negotiate the photographer’s financial troubles with Art Capital Group [Artforum]
The recession in the art world has not stopped bartering of valuable works between contemporaries [TimesUK]

Creative Time’s short shorts for sale at Creative Time

Creative Time is selling limited edition short shorts, and the campy video is here [CreativeTime via Artnet on Twitter]
On collecting phenomenon Herb and Dorthy Vogel’s gift of 50 works to 50 US States [Wall Street Journal]
Interpol allows online access to its 34,000 work database of stolen art [ArtDaily]
In related, roughly 1,000 Alberto Giacometti counterfeit sculptures seized in Germany [GlobeandMail]

Dasha Zhukova via Style.com

Dasha Zhukova, rumored pregnant with 2008 top collector Roman Abramovich’s child, as new editor of Pop magazine has a Damien Hirst work on the cover [NYMag]
Russian oligarchs invest enough money in the Constructivist and Suprematist art of the beginning of 20th century to provoke forgeries, more than half of items bought of these movements are reported to be inauthentic [The Independent]
In related, as Princeton Architectural Press claims to have discovered Frida Kahlo’s lost archive, scholars involved with the artist’s work refute the possibility of it being authentic [GuardianUK]
A new high intensity x-ray developed by Cornell University has already revealed a lost NC Wyeth illustration [ArtInfo]

Stephen Power’s Hold My Own Iverson’s Arm

2007 Fulbright Scholar Stephen Powers, known as ESPO, is completing his Love Letter project, comprised of murals by multiple artists stretching across his home town of Philadelphia that can be seen from one train [A Love Letter For You]
Shepard Fairey calls his decision to graffiti-proof the brick walls of his studio personal preference and rebutts claims of hypocrisy [Street Level] and separately he is to unveil a large scale mural produced by the gallery Country Club at Art Basel Miami Beach [ArtDaily]
Are Museums crossing the line by granting curatorship to corporations? [The New York Times]

Terence Koh’s window display at Opening Ceremony which reads “The Whole Family” via this hearts on fire

Terence Koh sends a very Terence Koh letter regarding his latest project with Opening Ceremony, a window installation [Hint]
On the relatively accessible yet potentially financially rewarding decision to invest in the works of MA students [The Guardian]
The Bortolami Gallery building is up for sale at $6.1 million by collector Adam Lindemann as Stefania Bortolami prepares to move to another location in Chelsea [Lindsay Pollack]
Matthew Barney and Bjork buy a four bedroom townhouse in Brooklyn Heights listed for $4.2 million [NYMag]

Jonathan Meese, “mutter mit roter Brille und roetlicher Perlenkette,” part of “The Figure and Dr. Freud,” a group exhibition on at Haunch of Venison New York.

Haunch of Venison’s New York branch is showing “The Figure and Dr. Freud,” a group exhibition by 31 artists from the last century.  These include past and currently producing artists, from the sculptor Alberto Giacometti to the painter Daniel Richter.  The show, which closes on August 22, focuses on the human figure as the artists have rendered it, through the lenses of the late Dr. Freud’s psychoanalytic theories.

Related links:
Haunch of Venison
Sigmund Freud [freudfile]

David Salle, “With All Due Respect Sir, We Need Modesty Blaise,” at Haunch of Venison.

More images and story after the jump…

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Ezra Merkin, via Guardian UK.

After weeks of negotiation with the Attorney General’s office, J. Ezra Merkin has agreed to sell an art collection appraised by Christie’s at $310 million.  After taxes and other fees — the New York Times reports that Merkin was paying $60,000 a month on insurance, and owed $42 million to previous owners as well as $19.3 million on a loan used to purchase the artwork — profits from the sale amount to $191 million, to be frozen in escrow pending the outcome of the Attorney General’s suit against the suspected Bernie Madoff feeder.

Related links:
Statement from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on the Sale of J. Ezra Merkin’s Collection
Merkin Reaches Accord with Cuomo on Art Sale [New York Times]
Madoff, Merkin, and the Murals [Wall Street Journal: The Wealth Report]
Merkin Selling Art Frozen in Lawsuit for $310 Million [Bloomberg]
Andrew Cuomo Unveils Deal to Sell Art Collection of Ezra Merkin, Bernie Madoff’s Associate [New York Post]

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Pablo Picasso’s ‘Homme à l’épée’ sold for £7 million, falling squarely within estimates of £6-8 million, via Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale last night in London yielded fairly strong results, due mainly to a slimmed down offering of high quality works. The 27 lot sale realized £33.5 million, towards the higher end of estimates of  £26.8-37.3 million, with only 4 lots going unsold and a sold-by-lot rate of 85.2% and a sold-by-value rate of 90.8%. Despite trouble finding sellers, choosing lots carefully paid off for Sotheby’s with spirited bidding throughout the auction. The sale’s big star, Picasso’s ‘Homme à l’épée,’ sold for £7 million against estimates of £6-8 million. Another late Picasso painting, ‘Nu debout,’ was the second-highest lot, selling for £4.3 million, above estimates of £3-4 million.

Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale Results [Sotheby’s]
Sotheby’s Lean Strategy Pays Off [NY Times]
Sotheby’s London auction hits target at $55 million [Reuters]
Picasso’s $11.5 Million Musketeer Tops Sale as Bargains Hunted [Bloomberg]
Homme a l’epee Sells for 7 Million and Leads Sotheby’s Sale of Impressionist & Modern Art [Artdaily]
Lot by Lot: Sotheby’s I/M London Evening Sale [Art Market Monitor]
Picasso Musketeer Tops Sale by Sotheby’s [NY Times]
En Garde! Sotheby’s Sells Picasso Musketeeer Painting for $11.5 Million [WallStreetJournal]
Picasso musketeers duel at London auction houses [The Art Newspaper]
Sotheby’s Imp/Mod Sale Small but Solid [Artinfo]
Summing Up Sotheby’s I/M Evening Sale in London [Art Market Monitor]
Homme a l’epee Leads Sotheby’s Sale of Impressionist & Modern Art [Auction Publicity]

AO coverage of Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on Tuesday

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A look at the sculptures of Alberto Giacometti, featured in an exhibition at Fondation Beyeler.

The summer exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler, showing from May 30th until October 11, features 150 sculptures by the late Alberto Giacometti.   The exhibit is comprised of sculptures, drawings, paintings and more, drawn from museums, family holdings, and private collections.  Also displayed are works by Giacometti’s father, the painter Giovanni Giacometti; his brother Diego, a sculptor; and his uncle Augusto, who worked in paint and mosaics.

Related links:
Fondation Beyeler – Giacometti
Giacometti/Fondation Beyeler [Vernissage TV]
Fondation Beyeler Opens Exhibition Including Works by Alberto Giacometti and His Family [Artdaily]
Alberto Giacometti Biography [artDirectory]
Biography of Augusto Giacometti [Rai International online]
Art in Review: Alberto Giacometti [New York Times]

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Pablo Picasso’s ‘Femme au Chapeau,’ via Christie’s, sold by Julian Schnabel, went for $7.7 million, slightly under the estimate of $8-12 million

Last night’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale at Christie’s fared better than Sotheby’s auction on Tuesday covered here by AO, with 38 of the 48 lots selling, realizing 94% of potential value, bringing in a total of $102.7 million, falling within estimates of $86.7-125.2 million. Highlights include two late Picasso paintings and a Giacometti sculpture, in contrast to the pricey Picasso and Giacometti works offered by Sotheby’s which failed to sell. Picasso’s ‘Mousquetaire aÌ€ la Pipe,’ offered by Madoff victim Jerome Fisher, was the highest selling lot at $14.6 million, falling between estimates of $12-18 million. Julian Schnabel sold his own Picasso, ‘Femme au Chapeau,’ to recover debts due to construction costs at his West Village townhouse. The painting sold for $7.7 million, just shy of its low estimate of $8 million. The Giacometti sculpture, ‘Buste de Diego (Stele III)’ sold for $7.7 million, surpassing its high estimate of $6.5 million.

Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale [Christie’s]
Picassos Sell at Christie’s Auction, After Faltering at Sotheby’s [NY Times]
Christie’s Bests Sotheby’s With $102.7 Million Sale [WSJ]
Works by Picasso and Giacometti Lead Christie’s Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art [Artdaily]
Madoff Victim Sells Picasso for $14.6 Million at Christie’s [Bloomberg]

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Picasso’s ‘La Fille de l’Artiste a Deux Ans et Demi Avec un Bateau’ via AP. Failed to reach its reserve, attracting one bid at $12.25 million, falling short of the $16-24 million estimate.

Hours after Standard and Poor’s downgraded Sotheby’s credit rating to junk status, citing the depressed art market, the auction house’s spring Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale got underway last night in New York, yielding mixed results. The auction brought in $61,370,500 against estimates of $81.5/1-8.8 million, and was 80.6% sold by lot. This year’s figure represents slightly more than a quarter of last year’s sale, which realized $208.63 million. The auction’s highest priced lots, Picasso’s ‘La Fille de l’Artiste a Deux Ans et Demi Avec un Bateau,’ put up by a victim of the Madoff Ponzi scheme, and a rare Giacometti sculpture, ‘Le Chat,’ both failed to sell.  For both pieces, the $16-24 million reserve was cited as overreaching in an uncertain market.

However, the auction did have its highlights.  A 1934 painting by Piet Mondrian, ‘Composition in Black and White, with Double Lines,’ nearly doubled its high estimate of $5 million, selling to an anonymous caller for $9,266,500 after extensive bidding.  Four paintings by Polish Art Deco artist Tamara de Lempicka, from the collection of German fashion designer Wolfgang Joop, sold for a total of $13.8 million. ‘Portrait de Marjorie Ferry’ sold for $4.9 million, a new record for the artist.

Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art Totals $61,370,500, Picasso and Giacometti Go Unsold [Artdaily]
Modern Masters Suffer at Auction [NYtimes]
Sotheby’s $61.3 Million Sale Disappoints; Picasso Goes Unsold [Wall Street Journal]
Top Lots Flop at Sotheby’s Imp/Mod Sale [Artinfo]
Sotheby’s Impressionist Sale Hits 7-Year Low as Picasso Flops [Bloomberg]
$80 Million? Try a Tenth of That. Art’s New Numbers. [NY Times]
What a Difference a Year Makes [Artinfo]

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Bust of Diego (1955) by Alberto Giacometti, via the Tate Museum

Alberto Giacometti left an indelible mark on 20th century sculpture, influencing two generations of artists since his death in 1966.  The Swiss sculptor and painter is so influential, in fact, that his likeness appears next to ‘Three Men Walking,’ one of his most famous works, on the Swiss 100 Franc bill.  Giacometti’s work is the focus of an extensive, large-scale retrospective at Kunstal Rotterdam, marking the first time the artist’s work is displayed in the Netherlands in over 20 years.  The exhibition, organized exclusively for the Kunsthal by the artist’s estate, covers his entire oeuvre of paintings, drawings, and sculptures, and is the latest installment in a series of retrospectives of major 20th century sculptors such as Hnery Moore, Isamu Noguchi, and Jean Tinguely.

Giacometti, whose father was also a painter, studied art in Paris with Antoine Bourdelle, where he also later was inspired by his discovery of Cubism as well as art from Africa and the Pacific Islands, whose forms and aesthetic were a crucial influence for many of his contemporaries.  Later, Giacometti became an influential sculptor in the Surrealist movement, before melding his classical training and more modern experimentation to create groundbreaking representations of the human body and its fragility, the subject he has become best known for and which he continued to explore for the rest of his life and career.

ALBERTO GIACOMETTI RETROSPECTIVE
through February 8th, 2009
Kunsthal Rotterdam
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Exhibition Page: Alberto Giacometti

more story and images after the jump…

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“Livre, pipe et verres” (1915) by Juan Gris, Christie’s, via Artnet

CHRISTIE’S IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN ART, New York, Thursday November 6th

Total Lots Offered: 82
Total Lots Sold: 46
Total Sales Value: $146.7 million
Total Sales Pre-Auction Estimate: $240.7 million

This is the first of five articles that will summarize in parts the auction results following AO’s last covered Wednesday November 5th Christies Auction covered by AO here. Following a day where the Dow Jones industrial average dropped over 400 points, overall, Christie’s Impressionist and Modern art auction, the second evening sale of the week, was perhaps successful versus others in the week. Though overall sales were poor, the six guaranteed works sold. In total, 44% of the lots failed to sell, or rather, of the 82 pieces offered 36 works were brought in (37% by value). Auctioneer Christopher Burge quoted to Bloomberg after the sale: “Obviously, prices have changed, we’d be foolish not to recognize that.”

The auction totaled $146.715 million against a pre-sale estimate of $240.7 million to $337.2 million. Marquee works from Juan Gris, Pablo Picasso, and Wassily Kandinsky brought high prices but works by Claude Monet and Henri Matisse met little to no interest. New world auction records were set for Cubist master Juan Gris, Henri Laurens, American artist Alice Neel and for Seurat and Magritte for works on paper. 27 of the 46 works that did sell earned in excess of $1 million. 61% of buyers were Americans, 26% Europeans and 11% (other) with 2% going to Middle Eastern buyers.

Gris Sets Record in Slow Christie’s Auction [New York Times]
World Record For Juan Gris at Christie’s New York – “20.8 Million For Livre, pipe et verre” [Art Daily]
Christie’s Impressionist Sale Falls Short; 44% Fails to Sell [Bloomberg]
Some Gloom, Some Records at Up-And-Down Night at Christie’s [ArtInfo

more detail and pictures after the jump…

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Danseuse au Repos, the 1879 painting by Edgar Degas is a highlight of this evening’s Sotheby’s auction though it remains to be seen if it will sell for its estimated $40 million, via NY Times

After extremely high sales in May which tallied $1.56 billion, and then more recently lackluster sales in London which missed low estimates by up to $40 million, as covered by Art Observed here, the art world is up for a major test in the next two weeks as Sotheby’s and Christie’s begin tonight selling contemporary, impressionist, and modern works that add up to high estimates of $1.76 billion, including a work by the Russian Kazimir Malevich (“Suprematist Composition” 1916, a $60 million geometric work) and a $40 million self-portrait by Francis Bacon and other works from high profile financiers Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. co-founder Henry Kravis and Lehman Brothers Chief Executive Officer Fuld.

Despite Pablo Picasso’s 1909 painting ‘Arlequin’ (which was estimated at $30 million) being pulled before the Sotheby’s auction recently, this evening’s Sotheby’s impressionist and modern art sale is slated to tally about $320 million and includes 71 lots including “Danseuse au repos” by French Impressionist Edgard Degas which is expected to go for $40 million (pictured above).

This auction will be followed by Christie’s $153 million high estimate November 5th sale which includes works from the estates of the widows, Rita Hillman and Alice Lawrence, and then a November 6th sale, comprised of art from various owners, estimated to total up to $344 million. Sotheby’s November 11th sale of contemporary art could total up to $281.6 million and features works by John Currin, Richard Prince, and Yves Klein. Following that is Christie’s November 12th sale with a high estimate of $321.7 million, featuring Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich’s Jean-Michel Basquiat painting of a boxer at an estimate of $12 million.

On Auctions Overall:
Big Prices, Big Risks at Fall Art Auctions [NY Times]
NY art auctions under microscope amid financial crisis [AFP]
Art world dreading declines at upcoming key NY sales [Reuters]
Kravis, Fuld Brace for N.Y. Auctions as Collectors Lower Prices [Bloomberg]
Falling under the hammer [Financial Times]
It’s not a pretty picture Christie’s, Sotheby’s may be on the hook [New York Post]
Art sales face acid test in midst of credit crunch [Financial Times]
Exceptional Work by Francis Bacon Leads Christie’s New York Post-War & Contemporary Art Sale [ArtDaily]
Things Are Cold, Clammy at City Auction Houses [NYObserver]

From ArtObserved:
Metallica’s drummer to sell Basquiat painting at Christie’s New York, November 12th auction; ‘Boxer’ to be displayed during Frieze Art Fair in London [ArtObserved]
Sotheby’s hopes to smash Russian art at auction record with $60 million sale of Malevich painting in New York on November 3rd [ArtObserved]

On withdrawn Picasso:
Picasso work withdrawn from Sotheby’s sale [Reuters]
Picasso painting pulled from sale [BBC News]
Picasso Work Is Withdrawn From Sotheby’s Sale [NY Times]
Sotheby’s Withdraws Picasso’s Arlequin From Impressionist and Modern Art Sale [Art Daily]
Picasso Withdrawn From Sotheby’s Imp-Mod Sale [Artinfo]
Picasso painting withdrawn from Sotheby’s auction [Associated Press]

Auction Information:
Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale – Sotheby’s November 3 [Sotheby’s]
Christie’s Impressionist/Modern Evening Sale November 5th [Christie’s]

more pictures from the Sotheby’s Sale and other auctions after the jump…

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George Michael via TelegraphUK

At Frieze, George Michael and partner annouce plans for 10,000 sf Dallas space for $200 million in British contemporary art [FirstPost]
Emily Rauh Pulitzer gives $45 million for Harvard’s collection, as well as 31 works, incuding Picasso, Modigliani, and Giacometti valued at an additional $200 million [Boston Globe]
Jackie Wullschlager summarizes 20 years following Damien Hirst’s curated “Freeze” show of YBA ‘s [FinancialTimes]
Two new London outposts for existing galleries: Yvon Lambert across from White Cube and Pilar Corrias in Rem Koolhaas-designed space in Fitzorivia [ArtReview.com]
A Fernando Botero video interview on his Circus series, and part two here [Vernissage]
In new Moscow Museum of Modern Art branch, Sotheby’s previews 50 20th-century works, including Bacon, Warhol and Picasso to be sold for estimated $200 to $300 million in New York in November [The Moscow Times] more on that, and Christie’s Moscow previews, here [NYTimes]

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Baroque Egg with Bow (2006), Jeff Koons via Gagosian

New York art magnate Larry Gagosian brings an eclectic mix of avant-garde art to Moscow in his new show, For What You Are about to Receive. Entitled in spirit of the Bolshevik revolution, “Red October” is the name given to the former chocolate factory in which Gagosian Gallery will showcase over 100 works by approximately 50 post-war artists. Never-seen works by Jeff Koons, Anish Kapoor, Cy Twombly, Richard Serra, and Edward Ruscha will be included in addition to works by Roy Lichtenstein, Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, Takashi Murakami, Aaron Young, and Yayoi Kusama. A statement by the gallery maintains that the exhibition, “investigates the twin pillars of twentieth century art: the readymade and pure abstraction, reflecting on the sublime through a self-conscious engagement with material and process.” For What You Are about to Receive is Gagosian’s second showing in Moscow, following an auspicious exhibit at Barvikha Luxury Village one year earlier. The show also inaugurates “Red October” as a new contemporary arts center in Moscow, however, Gagosian denies inquiries about opening a permanent establishment in the city.

Gagosian Plans Moscow Show in Former Chocolate Factory [Artinfo]
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For What Your Are About to Receive [Gagosian]
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Gagosian To Host Second Moscow Exhibit [NYSun]
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Gagosian Gallery in Moscow [Artnet]

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Tete de Diego, Giacometti sculpture found in apartment, via FBI

On Monday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation posted 137 artworks on their homepage as part of a two year long effort to track down their rightful owners. In 2006, a Manhattan eccentric who went by the alias William Milliken Vanderbilt Kingsland passed away, leaving behind an extensive collection of art piled inside his one bedroom East 72nd Street apartment. Christie’s has valued the higher-end works at around $2.4M.

Looks for owners of Stolen Paintings [Artdaily]
NY Art World Shock: Stolen Paintings in Famous Collection [New York Post]
Two Years Later, the F.B.I. Still Seeks the Owners of a Trove of Artworks [NYtimes]
Stolen Art Uncovered: Is it yours? [FBI] and a gallery on the website of the recovered works here

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partying at the Art Basel via the New York Times

The 39th Annual Art Basel, visited by 60,000 guests over the course of the fair, proved to be a very successful showcase of the world’s most famous artists. Basel, on the Rhine where Switzerland meets France and Germany, created a perfect setting for wealthy collectors, art enthusiasts, and 300 international exhibitors to network and indulge among the most stylish and cultured of the art world.

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Brad Pitt Buys Table at Art Basel; Mittal, Abramovich Browse [Bloomberg]
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The 39th Edition of Art Basel Closes With Outstanding Results [artdaily]
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Ellsworth Kelly, Basking in Basel [New York Times]
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Pre-Partying With the Jet Set of the Art World [New York Times]
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Russians Help Art Basel Shake Economic Woe, Falling U.S. Demand [Bloomberg]
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The Art Fair Explosion and Its Fallout [WSJ]
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In Basel, Contemporary Art Enjoys a Bounty of Friends [NYTimes]
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Picture perfect [Financial times]
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Art Basel, Switzerland, Is On, Right Now [Art Observed]

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