The Detroit Free Press reports that city emergency manager Kevyn Orr has contracted Christie’s to appraise a portion of the Detroit Institute of Arts‘ city-owned collection.  While some have taken this as a further step in the potential selloff of much of the DIA’s collection, Orr himself spoke out on the contrary: “There has never been, nor is there now, any plan to sell art. This valuation, as well as the valuation of other City assets, is an integral part of the restructuring process. It is a step the city must take to reach resolutions with its creditors and secure a viable, strong future for Detroit and its residents.” (more…)

Collector Charles Saatchi has announced that he will offer 50 of the largest sculptures and installations from his collection for auction at Christie’s this fall, in order to support the Gallery’s education program. The October 17th auction, held in London, will be shown in an out of use postal depot before the auction, with the offered works targeted for sale to public institutions. “We think it’s really important to open things up and give museums a chance to have a crack at acquiring these works – they need to be enjoyed and shown.” Says Saatchi Director Philippa Adams.

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Graham Beal, the current Director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, has published a letter in the New York Times, asking journalists and analysts to refrain from overt speculation and panic on the future of the city’s museum.  “True, any successful effort to liquidate D.I.A. art would precipitate a series of events likely to lead to its closing, but we are a very long way from actions that would ‘denude its prestigious collection of its most valuable artworks. ‘We believe that a healthy D.I.A. is, in fact, a crucial component in any recovery of the city of Detroit.”  He writes. (more…)

Robert Wilson, Stargazer Beds (2013), courtesy Matthew Teti for Art Observed

This year’s Watermill Benefit, the annual summer event supporting Robert Wilson’s performance lab in Water Mill, New York, welcomed over 1,200 guests to Wilson’s 8-acre property, presenting over 20 site-specific performances, as well as a silent auction featuring over 100 works. Following this, 700 guests dined under a large outdoor tent to watch the Simon de Pury-led live auction of works by Andy Warhol, Jean-Michael Basquiat, Luc Tuymans, and Tseng Kwong-Chi, among others, with master of ceremonies Alan Cumming, and appearances by Winona Ryder, Marina Abramovic, and Lady Gaga.  Titled Devil’s Heaven, the event showcased a diverse group of performances which differed in content, but effectively came together to produce an ominous and sensual atmosphere as guests followed the prescribed path through the foundation’s grounds, appropriately lit by the setting sun and the fire of tiki torches.

View of Watermill grounds, courtesy Matthew Teti for Art Observed (more…)

A number of works from the collection of the late Jan Krugier will go on sale this fall at Christie’s in Manhattan.  The sale, estimated to bring in about $160 million, includes a 1911 landscape by Kandinsky, estimated to bring somewhere between $20 million and $25 million.  “This painting represents a world he loved, one that falls between the figurative into the abstract,” said Conor Jordan, deputy chairman of Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Department. (more…)

This coming fall, Sotheby’s will auction off a seminal work by pre-Raphaelite Dante Rosetti, a chalk drawing depicting Rosetti’s muse Janey Burden as the Greek Goddess Prosperine.  Described by the auction house as “one of the defining images of European art – instantly recognisable and representing the artist at the height of his originality,” the work will sell at auction this November in London, and is expected to command a sales price between £1.2 and £1.8 million. (more…)

The invasion of financiers in the art market, the introduction of art as investment, and the internet have altered the value system of works at auction, placing a new emphasis on the reassurance of well-known artists and established sales records. The new ethos can be see in in recent sales of Giacometti’s L’Homme qui march I,’ which sold for over £65 million at Sotheby’s, London in February 2010. The sculpture was an edition of six, with four additional ‘artist proofs.’ The existence of editions allows for direct price comparisons and understanding of the piece’s artistic standing.

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This coming November, the Dia Foundation will auction a number of its works in order to increase its resources for further acquisitions. The decision follows the Foundation’s recent purchase of the Alcamo Marble building, for its new Chelsea location.  “Dia cannot be a mausoleum, (…) It needs to grow and develop” says Dia director, Philippe Vergne. Among the works to be sold are pieces by Cy Twombly, Barnett Newman, and Richard Chamberlain.  (more…)

Gursky Sells at Sotheby’s, via Sotheby’s

The final auction hammers have fallen for the first half of 2013, concluding June’s London auction weeks. While the results of this week’s Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s were solid, final sales events before the summer break showed a marked tapering off in both sales prices and quantities. With the bountiful auctions, events and fairs, including the $1.1 billion New York auctions, Frieze New York, Art Basel Hong Kong, and the Venice Biennale with its record 86,000 attendance count.

Francis Bacon, Three Studies for Isabel Rawsthorne (1966) via Sotheby’s (more…)

Monet Sells at Sotheby’s, via Sotheby’s

With the closing of this week’s Impressionist and Modern Evening Sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, evidence of a strong art market is not hard to find.  Sotheby’s held a slight edge over its recently successful rival, managing an auction total of $165.9 million, with only 13 of the 71 pieces going unsold.  Two pieces passed the ten million dollar mark, and 29 were sold for more than one-million dollars. The auction also set auction records for Camille Claudel and FrantiÅ¡k Kupka. In contrast, Christie’s achieved a result of $100.4 million over the course of its 44 lot sale. The result lies in between the total pre-sale estimate for the auction house of $82.8 to $118.8 million. Only seven works remained unsold, and two lots were sold for over ten million dollars.

Wassily Kandinsky, Studie zu Improvisation 3 (1909), via Christie’s (more…)

Claude Monet, Le Palais Contarini (1908), via Sotheby’s

With the conclusion of the 6-week long series of art fairs and events this spring, including Frieze New York, the first edition of Art Basel Hong Kong, and the 44^th edition of Art Basel in Switzerland, the final major series of auctions before the summer lull begin today in London. With impressive records set last month for a number of works on the auction block, this week’s Impressionist and Modern Evening Sales will look to continue these trends.

Pablo Picasso, Le Peintre (1967), via Sotheby’s (more…)

As Sotheby’s and Christie’s prepare for the upcoming sales in London this week, the Financial Times has published a profile on the two houses, tracing their competitive rivalry for market dominance, and their divergent tactics regarding private sales, online auctions, and increasing buyers premiums.  Says Sotheby’s President Bill Ruprecht: “We are betting our future on the fact that wealth will continue to be created and there will continue to be an economic elite, and that works of art will be relevant to them all over the world.” (more…)

Michigan’s Attorney General Bill Schuette has spoken out on the proposed plan to auction off parts of the Detroit Institute of Art’s collection to pay off some of the city’s considerable debts.  Speaking on Thursday, Schuette emphasized the public nature of the collection, and its role as part of a public trust.  “The art collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts is held by the city of Detroit in charitable trust for the people of Michigan, and no piece in the collection can thus be sold, conveyed or transferred to satisfy City debts or obligations.”  He said. (more…)

With growing confidence among Chinese contemporary art buyers, Sotheby’s will heavily feature work from the Asian state in its June 26th and 27th contemporary sales in London.  Works by Zhang Xiaogang, Shi Xinning, Yue Minjun, and Zhang Huan will feature prominently in the sales, with a series of works expected to sell anywhere between £120,000 and £450,000. (more…)

With the announcement of Sotheby’s and Christie’s summer Impressionist and Modernist sales this month, analysts are noting that both auction houses have featured top lots from the collection of the Nahmad family, showing the family’s trademark approach of purchasing art in great quantity and reselling when the time is right. “It was once said that the Nahmads propped up this market with their buying when times were tough; now they appear to be propping it up with their selling.” Writes The Telegraph’s Colin Gleadell. (more…)

The late Chinese artist Zhang Daiqian saw impressive auction results this week during both Christie’s and Sotheby’s auctions of contemporary Asian art in Hong Kong.  Daiqian’s Lotus work, consisting of four painted scrolls more than five feet high, sold for five times its estimate at $10.4 million during Christie’s auction yesterday.  In addition, an auction dedicated solely to works by Daiqian reached $42 Million in sales at Sotheby’s on Monday.  Zhang currently stands as one of the top-selling artists at auction worldwide. (more…)

In response to a city proposal to sell off work from the Detroit Institute of Art’s collection to cover a city debt of $15 billion, the Detroit Institute’s director has stated that the work is held “in the public trust,” and cannot be bought or sold. “They’re interested in making a healthy and viable Detroit,” the director, Graham W. J. Beal, said on Friday in a telephone interview. “We believe that that kind of action — diminishing our collection, the cultural value — would not be in the long-term interest.”

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Online auction site Paddle8 has moved to acquire a 3% share in art sales database and auction site Artnet.  The stake previously belonged to Redline Capital Management, which attempted a takeover of Artnet last year. “We see a lot of strength in Artnet, and feel that the two businesses are complementary,” says Paddle8 co-founder, Aditya Julka.  “Paddle8 will benefit from Artnet’s price database and listings business, contributing to a winning formula in leading the online auction space. This is not a takeover but rather a move towards collaboration in the future.”  (more…)

Alexander Gilkes takes the Podium at Phillips to Begin the Auction

Last evening, Philips held its contemporary art sale at its Park Avenue headquarters, offering a total of 37 lots. The sale concludes a very successful run of strong contemporary art auctions in New York during the past week, and the saleroom was high in energy and anticipation as a result, a clear carryover of enthusiasm from the ground-breaking sale held at Christie’s the previous evening. (more…)

Pollock’s Number 19 Sells to Applause at Christie’s, via Charles Shoener for Art Observed

Christie’s contemporary evening sale made history last night in grand style, storming through its 72 lots to realize a world record $495 Million sales total that included new auction records for Jackson Pollock, Roy Lichtenstein, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and 13 other artists, aided auction house’s impressively assembled catalog.  Hailing a “new era in the art market,” according to auctioneer Jussi Pylkkanen, the show achieved an almost unheard of sell-through rate of 94%, with only four works failing to find buyers.  The sale also continues Christie’s growing dominance in the auction market, eclipsing the previous night’s sale at Sotheby’s with little difficulty.

The top selling lot of the night, Jackson Pollock’s Number 19, 1948 (1948), via Christie’s

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Actor Leonardo DiCaprio’s charity foundation held a charity auction this week at Christie’s, in New York, realizing a staggering $38.5 Million in sales, and surging past estimates of $13-18 Million.  Benefitting several conservation projects for endangered species around the world, the auction allowed money paid over the estimated value to be counted as a tax deductible contribution, encouraging rampant spending that set impressive auction records for artists Rob Pruitt, Robert Longo, Mark Grotjahn, and several others.  As DiCaprio said before the event began: “bid as if the fate of the planet depends on us.”  (more…)

Francis Bacon, Study from Portrait of P.L. (1962), courtesy of Sotheby’s

After last week’s busy schedule of fairs (Frieze, Collective Design Fair, Pulse, Nada, Wishmeme, Cutlog, and many more) the contemporary art hub of New York City will serve as the stage for another set of high-profile art sales this week, as Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips host their Evening Post-war and Contemporary Art Sales. Sotheby’s will hold their sale of 64 lots on May 14th, Christie’s on the 15th with 72 lots and Phillips on the 16th with 38 lots, featuring the familiar auctions and price tags for by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter and Agnes Martin, alongside a number of newcomers and unique pieces that define this month’s evening auctions as a major event.

Gerhard Richter, Domplatz Mailand (1968), courtesy of Sotheby’s (more…)

The Art Newspaper has published an article by Whatever Press on the increasing clout of art fairs worldwide, noting the diverse contemporary art offerings for visitors, bringing galleries from around the world to a single location.  The downside, it notes, is the distracting, overwhelming environment not conducive to experiencing works past a superficial sampling.  “Fairs are great for a scan of the pulse of the moment. One thing they are not is ideal for looking at art.”  Says Maxwell Anderson, the director of the Dallas Museum of Art.

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This month’s upcoming arts auctions are projected to see over $1 Billion in art change hands in the next few weeks, with a number of major works by Gerhard Richter, Barnett Newman and Fernand Léger all expected to command impressive auction prices.  Analysts are pointing to new focuses on artist’s early work, and aggressive price setting by the auction houses as evidence that the market is ripe for sale, which could lead to a number of record-setting transactions. (more…)