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…)

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…)

Following the week’s record-setting contemporary art auctions, CNBC analysts weighed in on the current setting of the contemporary art market, criticizing the easy classification of the market as a bubble set to burst, and noting the ongoing theme of art market commentary asserting a link between money laundering and the increasing speculation on the art market. (more…)

World renowned auctioneer Tobias Meyer during the sale of the Yves Klein sculpture, which ultimately sold for $22 Million

Sotheby’s hosted its contemporary evening auctions last night, with Principal Auctioneer and Head of Contemporary art Tobias Meyer coaxing the audience through the sales with high energy and style.  The sale, which totaled at $293.6 million, trumps last year’s spring auction of $266.6 million, while falling short of the auction house’s record high of $375 million last November. (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…)

Capitalizing on the growing market of private art sales, Sotheby’s Auction House will open a private sales gallery in London, Bloomberg reports.  The move follows the increasing trend of discreet art purchases for blue chip works, avoiding the high-profile spotlight of the auction room.  “It’s very smart. I would do the same,” said the New York-based dealer Christophe van de Weghe. “Sotheby’s will have the same clientele for both their auctions and their gallery sales.” (more…)

Last night’s Sotheby’s contemporary art auction in Doha, Qatar closed with the regional record sales total of $15.2 Million, with 9 records set for artists at auction, including the highest price for a living Arabic artist. The top sale of the auction went to Donald Judd’s Untitled (Bernstein 90-01), which sold for $3,525,000 after a long bidding competition.  Lina Lazaar Jameel, Head of Sale and Sotheby’s International Contemporary Art Specialist, said of the auction: “We are thrilled with the results of this evening’s sale, which achieved records for nine artists and set the highest total for a sale of Contemporary Art in the Middle East region. It is extraordinarily gratifying to see the market’s response to the exceptional range of art we sourced for this evening’s carefully curated auction. Interest grew throughout the pre-sale tour of highlights to both Jeddah and Dubai, culminating in tonight’s exciting auction.”  (more…)

The current strength of the contemporary art market has drastically raised the price for works by female artists.  Nine of the top ten prices for women painters has been set in the last five years, including a new top record for Berthe Morisot’s After Lunch.  “Whereas before we looked at female artists as the land of opportunity, with prices like these, collectors say the window is closing for gender-specificity bargain buying,” said Gabriela Palmieri, a senior vice president and contemporary-art specialist at Sotheby’s. (more…)

This May 14th, Barnett Newman’s Onement VI will go on sale at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction, projected to sell for $30 to $40 million.  While Sotheby’s has declined to name the seller, several dealers have identified the current owner as Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who purchased the painting in 2000.  “Several conservators have seen it and said it is in good condition,” says Tobias Meyer, Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Worldwide head. “It is unlined and on its original stretcher.”  (more…)

Study for Portrait of P.L.(1962), the Francis Bacon painting of his lover Peter Lacy, will go on the auction block next month as part of Sotheby’s May 14th Contemporary Art Auction in New York.  Expected to sell between $30 and $40 million, the painting could serve as a test of the art market’s current health.  Bacon’s current record at auction is $86.2 million. (more…)

Domplatz, Mailand, the 1968 photo-realist painting by Gerhard Richter, will be the preeminent highlight of Sotheby’s spring Contemporary Art Evening Auction in New York, carrying an estimated price of $30-40 million.  The sale comes months after the artist’s Abstraktes Bild (809-4) set a new record for his work at auction, and has a history of impressive sales at auction, setting a previous sales high for Richter 15 years ago.  Says Sotheby’s Worldwide Head of Contemporary Art, Tobias Meyer: “The work represents the pinnacle of Richter’s technical achievement and its scale, power and visual impact rivals his celebrated abstract works. This is the work the market has been waiting for and its sale is certain to be an historic event.”  (more…)

William Ruprecht, the Chief Executive for Sotheby’s, saw a 10 percent decrease in pay last year, taking home $6.3 million, after the auction house saw a 37% drop in profits.  Sotheby’s took home a final profit of $108.3 million in 2012, while auction sales dropped 10% to $3.8 billion and its stock price rose 17% in 2012. (more…)

TEFAF is currently in talks with Sotheby’s and Beijing GeHua Group (China’s state-owned development company) over a new art fair in China.  “TEFAF Beijing 2014” would place a new edition of the world’s largest art and antiques fair  in the world’s second-largest art market.  “We feel now is the time to further develop our presence in China, one of the most important art markets,” said TEFAF Executive Ben Janssens. “Tefaf is committed to contributing to the further growth of the market for European art in China.” (more…)

A selection of 10 works by Andy Warhol depicting endangered species will go under the hammer later this month at Sotheby’s.  The Endangered Species series, referred to by the artist as “animals in make-up,” include a bighorn ram, Pine Barrens tree frog, African elephant, and others, is expected to sell for £250,000 to £350,000.  “I think he was making a statement by representing these animals in the same way as Monroe, the Queen, and Muhammad Ali. He wanted to highlight the issue of them disappearing.” Says Séverine Nackers, Sotheby’s head of prints in Europe. (more…)

Following in the wake of Christie’s premium increases last week, Sotheby’s auction house has announced that it will increase its buyer’s premiums to 25 percent for the first $100,000 spent; 20 percent for $100,000 to $1.9 million and 12 percent on all exceeding prices.  The increase makes Christie’s a less expensive shopping option, and comes days after the news that Sotheby’s sales incomes have declined since last year. (more…)

Since February of 2011, Sotheby’s stock valuation has been on a slow decline, signaling a potential downturn in the global art market.  Earnings per share, recorded last year at $2.46, are now down to $1.68, and sales are projected to fall 9.4%, caused in part by a weaker asian market than 2011’s record setting year.  Analysts are comparing the current state of the art market to the dot com bubble of the the early 2000’s.  “It hearkens back to what the Japanese were doing with buildings in New York in the late 1980s.” says Yale University lecturer Vikram Mansharamani. (more…)

Christie’s announced this week that it will be increasing its buyer’s premium for the first time since 2008.  The increase changes the percentages and value cutoffs for each premium amount to 25% for the first $75,000, 20% on any sale between $75,001 and $1.5 million, and 12% for any sale over that amount.  There has been no response in price increases from the other auction houses, but a spokesman for Sotheby’s was quoted as saying the company was: “studying the matter and haven’t taken any decisions.” (more…)

The auction room at Christie’s, via Christie’s

With the conclusion of Contemporary Art Auction Week yesterday in London, dealers, collectors and artists headed home, having seen well over $200 million exchanged during what many are calling a particularly successful season.  This year, Asian, Russian, and other international collectors continued to make their presence known, including a number of first- time bidders who swooped in one some of the more highly valued works available.  (more…)

Sotheby’s is being sued by a past seller for damages over a work they allegedly misattributed.  The Cardsharps, attributed by the auction house to a “follower of Caravaggio,” was sold for £42,000, and later identified as an authentic Caravaggio by its purchaser, scholar Denis Mahon, increasing its value to an estimated £10 million.  The claimant, Lancelot William Thwaytes, seeks unspecified damages, interests and costs for the value of the painting above its original selling price, but Sotheby’s is standing by their attribution.  “Our view is also supported by the market, which gave its verdict on this painting when it set the price at £50,400. ”  The company said in a statement. (more…)

A Miami pastor and art dealer has been arrested for attempting to sell several forged works attributed to British artist Damien Hirst.  Kevin Sutherland had approached Sotheby’s in December about selling one of Mr. Hirst’s “spin” paintings at auction, but when the auction house realized the work as forgery, it promptly contacted the New York Police Department.  Working undercover, officers arrested Sutherland after he attempted to sell them several more forged Hirsts in Gramercy Park Hotel last week. (more…)

Pablo Picasso, Femme Assise Près D’Une Fenêtre, via Sotheby’s

Last night, Sotheby’s London hosted the first of the spring’s Modern Art auctions, with a number of works quickly soaring to high prices while others struggled to meet their estimates, most notably the centerpiece of the auction, Pablo Picasso’s “Femme Assise Près d’une Fenêtre.” (more…)

Citing poor profit margins, Sotheby’s Canada branch has announced that it will be exiting the live auction market, and focusing on private sales through their Toronto office.  This leaves the Canadian art auction market dominated by only two companies: Joyner Waddington’s and Heffel Fine Art.  “Private sales is the growth area of this business; it’s not the auction part that’s profitable,” said Sotheby’s Canada president David Silcox. (more…)

Joseph Mallrond William Turner, Heidelberg With a Rainbow, via Sotheby’s

It was an unpredictable time for the art auction this past week, as collectors descended on New York City  for Christie’s and Sotheby’s spring auction of Old Masters and Renaissance art work last week, driving up prices on a number of works while other pieces failed to command bids.

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A recent court ruling has challenged the practice of keeping auction sellers anonymous in New York State, and could fundamentally challenge how art auctions are conducted in the future, allowing buyers to avoid payment if the seller is not identified.  “As of now you can back out of any transaction where the name of the seller is not provided,” said Peter R. Stern of McLaughlin & Stern. (more…)