Christie’s and the Mugrabi family have announced a settlement to their pending lawsuit, resolving the issue before their dispute over a recently purchased Basquiat went to court.  “Christie’s, Jombihis Corporation and the Mugrabi family are very pleased to have reached an agreement in principle to resolve the litigation,” a joint statement reads.  “We all look forward to continuing our long and fruitful relationship together.” (more…)

Christie’s is filing a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Jose Mugrabi, after the dealer and collector missed a $13 million payment on a Basquiat work he bought at auction last year.  The lawsuit, including fees and interest on the payment, will top $37 million.  “We repeatedly attempted to resolve this matter with Mr. Mugrabi,” said a company spokesperson.  “Unfortunately, our efforts failed, and Christie’s felt it had no other alternative but to litigate.” (more…)

W Magazine Profiles Xin Li, the Deputy Chair of Christie’s Asia, and her unique career path as both a basketball player and model.  “I’ve always played better during the real game than in practice,” Li says of her focus in the auction room. “It’s something I learned from being an athlete and model. I feel the lights and the camera, and I know how to stay focused. But when you are working as a model, it’s all about you. Working in an auction house, nothing is about you. I learned how to switch off my past and become a different person.” (more…)

The New York Times reports that Sotheby’s is quite eager to hire top talent from Christie’s, noting that the auction house has offered waive standing noncompete obligations for former employees in order to hire former executives from Christie’s.  The proposal centered around former Christie’s America head Marc Porter, whom Sotheby’s had recruited as chairman of its new Fine Arts Division. (more…)

Peter Doig, The Architect’s Home in the Ravine (1991), via Christie’s

The first week of 2016’s Contemporary Art auctions concluded this evening, as Christie’s capped a solid sale of works that further disrupted any easy conclusions on a widely rumored market adjustment.  All in all, the sale saw a strong sell-through rate, as only 7 of the sale’s 61 lots did not find a buyer, bringing in a final tally of £58,099,000.  Buyers seemed particularly eager over the course of the night, clamoring for a sizable portion of the work on competitive bids and rapid back and forth between buyers and Jussi Pylkkanen (cheerfully referred to as “good-old-days” bidding by WSJ’s Kelly Crow), pushing the sale quickly through its procession of works. (more…)

Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild (1990), via Sotheby’s

Taking up the second week of London’s early-year, marquee auctions, the Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sales are set to get underway this week with a trio of offerings that will again test the health and enthusiasm of the market in the face of what many have called a “cooling off.” (more…)

Max Ernst, The Stolen Mirror (1941), via Christie’s

A marathon night has concluded at Christie’s this evening, following the auction house’s back to back sales of premier works. The sale provided an solid start to 2016’s winter and spring seasons of sales, and sends an indication of the market’s stability moving forward, even if the astronomical prices of the recent past were notably absent.  All told, the Impressionist and Modern Sale saw a respectable outing, with 12 of the 50 lots on sale going unsold, and reaching a total of £66,430,000, while the Surrealist auction immediately after achieved £29,487,100, with 10 unsold lots.

(more…)

Paul Cézanne, Ferme en Normandie, été (Hattenville) (1882), via Christie’s

With the opening weeks of 2016 drawing to a close, the London auction houses are preparing for the first entries in the year’s sales calendar, presenting two weeks of offerings that will serve as a bellwether for the year. Considering recent concerns (and numerous articles) over the cooling of the market in the early months of this year, the market should offer an initial indication of just how buyers and sellers may respond, and whether recent notes on an increased reliance on Asian customers will be proven accurate. (more…)

The Art Newspaper reports on the strange goings-on behind the $37 million sale of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s The Field Next to the Other Road (1981) at Christie’s this year.  The work was sold by Tony Shafrazi, but documents show that he still owned the work two months later, raising speculation that the buyer backed out.  “We can confirm the lot was sold at auction,” said a spokeswoman for Christie’s.

(more…)

René Magritte’s Miroir Universel sells over estimate for$6,661,000, via Rae Wang for Art Observed

The November auctions are over, as Christie’s capped its final major evening sale of the year to strong results, with 13 lots going unsold out of the 62 offered, tallying a final of $145,545,000. (more…)

Louise Bourgeois, Spider (1997), via Rae Wang for Art Observed

Christie’s continued its impressive run of record-setting sales last night, with a steady, competitive sale tonight that ultimately brought a final tally of $331,809,000, with 13 of the 70 lots offered passing (barring several withdrawn, high-priced lots).  (more…)

Amedeo Modigliani’s Nu Couché sells at Christie’s, via Rae Wang for Art Observed

Dashing through a 34-lot auction in style, Christie’s has entered the November auction week in impressive style, bringing a flurry of sales during its curated “The Artist’s Muse” auction tonight that saw several world records fall, and achieved an impressive tally of over $491 million for the evening, especially considering the 10 lots that failed to sell.

Amedeo Modigliani, Nu Couché (1917-18), via Christie’s (more…)

(more…)

Amedeo Modigliani, Paulette Jourdain (circa 1919). All photos by Rae Wang for Art Observed.

A marathon auction calendar is set to open in New York this week, bringing a massive trove of premier works to the city’s top auction houses.  With 7 major sales over the course of the next week and a half, spectators can expect an almost unprecedented number of high value works changing hands, with major records already forecasted to fall during the proceedings at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips. (more…)

Loic Gouzer has been promoted as Christie’s Deputy Chairman, Post-War and Contemporary at Christie’s, Art News reports.  “I’m not really impressed by people’s titles, I’m impressed by what they do. I guess in Europe there isn’t really the culture of titles,” Gouzer says, ”but it is in America, so I’m happy.” (more…)

Peter Doig, Cabin Essence (1993-1994), via Christie’s

The sales have concluded in London tonight, after Christie’s capped a tightly run 54-lot auction that saw a final tally of £35,562,500, with 9 lots going unsold. (more…)

Christie’s has announced another of its highlight lots for its November auctions in New York, this time pointing to Roy Lichtenstein’s Nurse, from 1964.  “He’s completely concentrated the image, taken away the words,” says Brett Gorvy. “There’s fear in her face — you’re not quite sure what the narrative is. You bring your own narrative.” (more…)

Twelve works from the collection Miles and Shirley Fiterman will hit the auction block at Christie’s this November in New York, including works by Roy Lichtenstein and Pablo Picasso.  “They have artists in great depth,” says Laura Paulson, Christie’s chairwoman of postwar and contemporary art. “Miles and Shirley were incredibly passionate — it really can’t be overstated — they were actively involved as a couple in collecting. They had deep relationships with their dealers and with the artists they collected.” (more…)

Agnes Martin, Untitled (1999-2000), via Sotheby’s

With the opening days of the Frieze art fair in London also come the annual fall auctions at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips, launching another season of marquee sales at the auction houses.  Starting on October 14th, one day after the fair opens its doors for the VIP viewing, the sales will offer a second opportunity for collectors to vie for top works. (more…)

Christie’s has announced plans for a new division of sales this coming April in New York, centering its calendar around the Revolution sale, focusing on 18th to 20th century art.  “Most of our collectors are buying in five or six different fields,” says President Jussi Pylkkanen. “Ten years ago, they may have been buying in one or two fields.” (more…)

The New Yorker profiles the Korean art group Tansaekhwa this week, as the group of post-war conceptualists prepare a selling exhibition of work split between Christie’s locations in New York and Hong Kong.  “I am unbelievably happy,” says included artist Ha Chong-Hyun. “I’m eighty-one years old. Back in the day, Koreans didn’t live this long. I shouldn’t be here. But to have this happen in my lifetime, I can’t be more thankful.” (more…)

Christie’s has appointed Sonya Roth as the auction house’s new Southern California head. “Many in the community know Sonya already as a great convener of individuals who are passionate about great art and collecting,” says Brook Hazelton, Christie’s president for the Americas. “She brings a wealth of experience and creative leadership to a vibrant region that is ripe with exciting and engaging opportunities.”  (more…)

Christie’s has announced an ambitious follow-up to its successes earlier this year with another full week of auction sales this November in New York.  At the top of the sales will be an Amedeo Modigliani painting estimated at around $100 million, a price that would easily top the artist’s $70 million record.  “This is quite simply one of the most important paintings I have handled in my long career at Christie’s,” states Jussi Pylkkänen, Christie’s Global President and Chief Auctioneer. “There are a very small number of masterpieces that we dream of handling: this magnificent Modigliani has always been one of them.” (more…)

The Financial Times profiles Patricia Barbizet, Christie’s newly minted chief executive, who moved from her early work with Renault through her longtime career working under François Pinault.  “My mother was an artist, my brothers and sisters are film and theatrical producers, my father was in cinema. I chose Renault — spot the odd one out,” she jokes. (more…)