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The sales of Old Masters in London in December showed that contrary to dire expectations of a market fall, in line with recent world events, the appeal of buying Old Master paintings remains strong. Further proof was given in the last week of January when New York hosted its sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s from the 23rd to the 25th of January. Despite the recent pasting Sotheby’s received during the Taubmann case (see Daily Gabrius news 23/01/2002), they came out as the winners over their rivals by a long shot.
(Andrew Moore)
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| Sir Anthony van Dyck ,
Bust of the apostle Peter |
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The Impressionist and Modern Art auctions that will be staged by Christie’s and Sotheby’s on the 4th and 6th of February are the first major London sales of 2002. The art world is keeping a watchful eye on the outcome of the sales as an indication of market tendencies for this year.
(Luisa Vassallo)
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| Pierre-Auguste Renoir,
Le premier pas |
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High quality works of art and impressive figures appear to be the characteristics of the first auctions in New York in 2002 dedicated to old master paintings and drawings. Christie’s will kick off on the 23rd of January, followed by Sotheby’s the next day. The outcome of these sales will give an insight of the future orientation of the market for old masters in the United States.
(Matilde Marzotto)
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| Urs Graf,
A Woman wearing a plumed hat |
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Sotheby’s and Christie’s Italy battled it out in their sales of nineteenth
century paintings held on the same day, the 12th of December, before
the break for the Christmas holidays. Christie’s included their 294 lots in
their Old Master Paintings catalogue obtaining a success rate of 66%, while
Sotheby’s opted for a smaller but separate sale catalogue that comprised 187
lots with only 47% selling.
(Luisa Vassallo)
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| Eugenio Cecconi,
Bivacco di cacciatori |
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Christie's and Sotheby’s held their Old Masters sales in London on the 12th and 13th of December with Sotheby’s stealing the show as a new record was set for Gaspar van Wittel, better known as Vanvitelli.
(Andrew Moore)
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| Clara Peeters,
Slices of butter on a Wanli 'kraak' porselein plate |
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Sotheby’s in Milan, Neumeister’s in Munich, Bonhams in London – these auction houses rounded off December with their sales of Old Master paintings. Christie’s and Sotheby’s in London followed with Tajan in Paris (19.12.01) and Koller in Zurich (21.12.01) giving bidders the opportunity to splash out for Christmas.
(Andrew Moore)
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| Francesco Trevisani,
Madonna and Child |
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After the New York and London sales of 19th Century Paintings, it was Italy’s turn to tackle this section of the market from the end of November. Finarte took its stand first in Milan with its 19th Century Paintings sale on the 27th of November, followed by the auction held at its Rome premises on the 4th of December. As expected, the first sale was the most successful, as witness the results, but there were no major surprises.
(Luisa Vassallo)
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| Giovanni Fattori,
Raccolta delle foglie |
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At the end of November the London auctions
focused on British and Irish works of art. Christie’s hosted a British Week,
devoting an evening sale to Important British & Irish Art and two day sales
to British Pictures 1500-1850 and Victorian Pictures, while Sotheby’s held a
broadly based sale comprising Important British and Irish paintings, watercolours
and drawings. Bonhams, in association with James Adam, has chosen Dublin as
the backdrop for its sale of Important Irish Paintings on the 5th
of December.
(Luisa Vassallo)
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| Sir Joshua Reynolds,
Portrait of Omai |
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Finarte’s sale in Milan of Old Master paintings on the 20th of November saw a mostly flat sale with little competitive bidding in the saleroom (only 41% of lots found buyers). The star lot for the evening, Saint Monaca with two children was a small and very rare tempera on board by Paolo Uccello, made a new record as a work of art but you wouldn’t have guessed it from the saleroom’s muted reaction.
(Andrew Moore)
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| Paolo di Dono called Paolo Uccello,
Saint Monaca with two children (Santa Monaca e due fanciulli oranti) |
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Following the 19th century art sales held in New York at the beginning of November, Christie’s and Sotheby’s have been holding their 19th Century European Art auctions in London over the last two weeks. Sotheby’s sale was considerably more successful, with over 75% of sales coming from the first session dedicated to Spanish paintings.
(Luisa Vassallo)
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| Gustave Moreau,
Sainte Cécile (Les Anges lui annoncent son prochain martyre) |
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