Francis Bacon, Two Studies for Self-Portrait (1977), via Sotheby’s

Concluding a three week series of auctions, the Contemporary Evening Sales are set to take place in London in the coming evenings, offering a perspective on the strength of the market as 2015’s art season gets underway.

The auctions begin on Tuesday, February 10th, with Sotheby’s Evening sale.  The 77-lot sale is carrying a presale estimate of £89.7 million to £127.1 million, led by a large-scale Gerhard Richter Abstraktes Bild from 1986, which is estimated to sell for £14 million to £20 million.  Also topping the list is a rare Francis Bacon double self-portrait, executed in 1977 and carrying a £13 million to £18 million presale estimate.  The painting, executed  just weeks after the suicide of his partner George Dyer, is already commanding impressive buzz, and may turn out to be the night’s most coveted lot.  A Lucio Fontana “slit” work also sits at the top of the sale offerings, estimated at £5 million to £7 million.   (more…)

The recent decision of Marina Picasso, granddaughter of painter Pablo Picasso, to sell off her collection of her grandfather’s works has many market analysts worried about a “flooded” market, even though Picasso has been selling works one by one for some time.  “Instead of having a dealer show them, it’s been an open secret that there are works for sale and people have been asking other people if they would be interested,” says historian John Richardson. “I’ve been asked by odd people who tell me, ‘We are in on a great deal, and Marina is selling all her stuff.’ ” (more…)

Bloomberg takes a look at the current state of the Euro, and its effects on the series of auctions currently taking place in London, considering the ongoing economic crises from a variety of perspectives.  “The euro is just killing Europe, but it’s killing Italy more than anything else,” says dealer Otto Naumann says. “I haven’t seen any Italian collectors buying anything.” (more…)

The New York Times takes a look at the growing number of services catering to financial investment and speculation in the art market, particularly the tech-focused art storage company Uovo, or the market insights platform ArtRank, both of which seem to prioritize contemporary art as a source of financial wealth over a source of intellectual edification.  These new companies demonstrate “something about the way art is functioning, which is less about the artwork saying something or doing something and more about the artwork representing a value,” says one artist, speaking anonymously. (more…)

Claude Monet, Le Grand Canal (1908), via Sotheby’s

The Impressionist and Modern Auction week has begun in London, as Sotheby’s closes its doors on a strong set of evening sales.  It was the first sale since the auction house announced its increase in rates for 2015, but buyers seemed undeterred by the price increases, bring the final sales tally for the 54 lot sale to an impressive £170,274,000. (more…)

Claude Monet, Le Grand Canal (1908), via Sotheby’s

Picking up where last week’s Old Masters auctions in New York City left off, the art market’s attention turns to London this week, as Christie’s and Sotheby’s prepare a set of Impressionist and Modern auctions.   (more…)

In the run-up to this week’s Impressionist and Modern auctions in London, The Guardian looks at the current state of the market, and how works like Claude Monet’s Le Grand Canal (est. £20 milltion – £30 million), have come to be valued so highly in the growing market.  “There is such intense demand for the very best and the rarest,” says Jay Vincze, the international director and head of impressionist art at Christie’s, “This is the kind of painting that will appeal to a masterpiece buyer. Someone who wants the best of everything.” (more…)

As Sotheby’s prepares a new round of auctions in the upcoming weeks, the company has announced a series of increases in its sales percentages.  Buyers at upcoming auctions will now pay 25 percent on the first $200,000 of a work’s hammer price, 20 percent on the value between $200,000 and $3 million, and 12 percent on any amount remaining above $3 million, up from the previous upper threshold of $2 million.  “This will improve Sotheby’s revenue, strengthen the company’s profit margins,” says current CEO Bill Ruprecht. (more…)

Agnolo Bronzino, Portrait Of A Young Man With A Book, via Christie’s

The auction calendar kicks off with its first major sales of 2015 this week, as collectors of Renaissance and Classic works flock to New York City for Sotheby’s and Christie’s Old Masters week sales. With a group of sales lined up for each auction house in the coming days, and a number of impressive works available, the auctions should mark a strong start to the auction season. (more…)

In a recent discussion during the 2015 World Economic Forum in Davos, noted economist and NYU Professor Nouriel Roubini has called for more rigid regulation of the art market.  Roubini is known for predicting the explosion of the US subprime housing market, and noted the art world’s frequent anonymity among buyers as one contributor to the ongoing use of the market to launder money.  “While art looks as if it is all about beauty, as a business it is full of shady stuff,” he said. “We should correct it or it will be undermined over time.” (more…)

The Wildenstein & Company art gallery is suing the nation of Qatar, after the nation reneged on its agreement to purchase the gallery’s Upper East Side location for the record price of $90 million.  “The purchase of the property, and its record price, came under review in Doha, where there was a reluctance to be seen as profligate,” the lawsuit states. (more…)

The Wall Street Journal looks at the current state of museum fundraising, with a number of museums competing for donations and gifts in what some call a crowded market.  “These big capital campaigns for the gold-plated arts and cultural institutions probably put the most pressure on the people who are on that party circuit,” says Michael Hamill Remaley, senior vice president for public policy and communications at Philanthropy New York. “But the 1% is not hurting.” (more…)

Sotheby’s February 3rd auction of Impressionist works in London will include a Claude Monet deaccessioned from the collection of MoMA, the New York Times reports.  The work, Les Peupliers à Giverny is anticipated to bring $13.8 million to $18.4 million. (more…)

The New York Times notes the increased willingness by auction houses to guarantee sales on their highest price lots, a practice that had fallen out of practice since the financial crisis of 2008.  But some critics note that the growing practice is actually a result of stiff competition and minuscule profit margins.  “They are trying to fix eroding margins by getting more of the upside from the guarantee,” said Michael Plummer, a partner at Artvest.

(more…)

Following the reception of Stefan Simchowitz’s profile in the New York Times, Jerry Saltz has taken to the New York Magazine website, publishing a considered analysis of both the article and the art world’s response to Simchowitz’s aggressive approach, noting the conditions that may generate such mixed feelings on the collector.  “More and more artists now appear resigned to a cynicism that basically says, ‘The whole art world sucks; Simchowitz doesn’t suck anymore than anything else.'” He writes. “Many now see Simchowitz as an outlaw/do-gooder ‘disrupter’ invading the closed domain of the bad gallery world and spreading the wealth around.” (more…)

The New York Times takes a look at the changing atmosphere of China’s contemporary art market, and interviews some of the players driving the market’s new focus on emerging artists.  “Buying a work of contemporary Chinese art is buying a little piece of history and a window into how society is changing,” says Tom Pattinson, Director of Surge Art. (more…)

Christie’s Old Masters Week sale later this month will feature a rare early Caravaggio, titled Boy Peeling a Fruit.  The work is valued at $3 million to $5 million. (more…)

Global art sales topped $16 Billion in 2014, according to the new figures released this week by Artnet, with Andy Warhol at the top of the list of top-selling artists for his $653.2 million in sales.  “The headline number is not so much a comment on the art market as it is on global wealth,” says Jeff Rabin of advisory firm Artvest Partners. “We haven’t seen a considerable increase in the number of objects sold. We have seen price appreciation at the top end.” (more…)

With two art fairs this January, Los Angeles is making a play as one a global city for fine art, preparing to open Art LA in two weeks, and Art Los Angeles Contemporary  later this month.  “In the short span of six years, Art Los Angeles Contemporary has managed to turn an otherwise anti-art-fair town into a place where both emerging and established galleries from around the world can connect with an important West Coast audience,” says art attorney Joshua Roth. (more…)

Art News previews the selection of solo shows and specially focused exhibitions that will be on view at March’s ADAA Art Show at the Park Avenue Armory, including Haim Steinbach at Tanya Bonakdar, Michelangelo Pistoletto at Luhring Augustine, and a show of Arte Povera works at Marian Goodman. (more…)

The Metropolitan Opera, currently in need of cash, has collateralized two of its Marc Chagall works as part of a line of credit from Bank of America.  The organization has placed The Triumph of Music and The Sources of Music as collateral, both of which hang in its lobby, until it can balance its budget. “Recent changes at the Met – including the implementation of our historic new union agreements, and a program of institution-wide cost controls – are expected to lead to balanced budgets in fiscal year 2015 and fiscal year 2016 while significantly strengthening the long-term financial prospects of the institution,”  says Met spokesman Sam Neuman. (more…)

The Detroit Free Press reports on the $100 million sale of Paul Cézanne’s La Montagne Sainte-Victoire vue du bosquet du Château Noir by the The Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in 2013, which would make it one of the 15 most expensive works ever sold.  “This was really a once-in-a-lifetime offer,” says Ford House president Kathleen Mullins. “The family thought it was a way to guarantee the estate would be taken care of the way Eleanor would have wanted.” (more…)

As the U.S. renews diplomatic relations with Cuba, critics and market leaders are predicting a new rush of interest in the island’s arts community.  “I believe Cuban art has been a best-kept secret among a few collectors,” says collector Howard Farber, “and now that Cuba is opening up to us I think more people will discover a genre that’s fresh and great.” (more…)

The LA Times reviews the departure of both Christie’s and Sotheby’s CEO’s this year, and investigating the motivations behind each’s departure.  “I think it makes dramatic copy to characterize boardroom confrontations,” says William Ruprecht, the soon to depart Sotheby’s head.  “The fact is, the board and I have had extremely civilized conversations. Dan has been respectful to me and only respectful. It has been an orderly and thoughtful process.” (more…)