Last night Christie’s hammered an impressive $31.7 million across 33 contemporary works in a charity auction organized by Leonardo DiCaprio. Thirteen new artist records were set, with many works doubling their pre-sale high estimates. The night had a total high estimate of just $18 million and most of the proceeds from the auction, titled the Read More
At the Impressionist and modern art auction at Christie’s earlier this evening, auctioneer Andreas Rumbler hammered down an uneventful sale that brought in $158.5 million to the house.
The mood was quiet as most lots sold to the phone, usually with only one or two underbidders. Read More
Christie’s has planned a major philanthropic auction with the actor Leonardo DiCaprio and his Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation that is estimated to raise between $15 and $20 million to benefit what a leaked promotional item called “compelling environmental projects selected by [the foundation] and Christie’s.” Early talks had the auction scheduled for May 8 and a source close to the auction said it will reportedly feature work by Mark Grotjahn, Carol Bove, John Currin and Elizabeth Peyton, among others. (Visitors to Ms. Peyton’s recently opened exhibition at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise may have noticed a portrait of Mr. DiCaprio in the show.) Read More
Both Christie’s and Sotheby’s saw unexpected gains and failures last night at their respective Old Masters sales, Albrecht Dürer: Masterpieces from a Private Collection and the evening session of Property from the Estate for Giancarlo Baroni. Read More
Christie’s and Sotheby’s kick off Old Masters Week tonight, each with a relatively modest single-owner auction that will be followed by several big-ticket sales in the coming days. Christie’s is opening with Albrecht Durer: Masterpieces from a Private Collection, which includes a rare first edition print of the engraver’s iconic, crustacean-like Rhinoceros and even more valuable works like Knight, Death and the Devil (estimated from $500,000 to $700,000). Sotheby’s will start its series of sales with Property from the Estate of Giancarlo Baroni, an eclectic collection topped by The Entombment of Christ, a dramatic early panel by El Greco estimated from $1 million to $1.5 million (look for the artist’s mentor, Titian, painted in among the spectators). Read More
The fall’s auction season in New York is turning out to be a record-breaking one. Tuesday night Sotheby’s made its highest-ever total with a postwar and contemporary auction that came to $375.1 million. And earlier this evening, a Christie’s sale in the same category brought in $412.3 million, the highest total ever for an auction of contemporary art. Led by house auctioneer Jussi Pylkkänen, the lively sale, which topped its high estimate of $411.8 million, saw new records for Richard Serra, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Franz Kline, Richard Diebenkorn, Donald Judd, Mark Grotjahn and Jeff Koons. Mr. Koons is now the second most expensive living artist at auction, after Gerhard Richter. Read More
The fall auction season kicked off not with a bang but a whimper last night, with a particularly sleepy Impressionist and Modern Art Sale at Christie’s. Andreas Rumbler, an auctioneer new to the house’s New York salesroom, hammered down a modest $204 million worth of artworks, below estimate for a sale that was expected to take in between $209 million and $314 million. Read More
“Were you waiting for someone?” Jeff Koons asked a scrum of photographers this morning, as he walked up to his sculpture Tulips (1995-2004), which has been installed in a black pool outside Christie’s in Rockefeller Center. The sculpture, seven tulips of varying colors fabricated from mirror-polished stainless steel in an edition of five, is part of Mr. Koons’s “Celebration” series and is expected to bring in between $20 million and $30 million at Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale on Nov. 14. Until then, the enormous gleaming bouquet, which Christie’s in a statement called the artist’s “most complex technical creation to date,” will remain on view for the public to take in. Read More
Christie’s has just announced that it has named Doug Woodham the president of Christie’s Americas. The former president, Marc Porter, who took on the new position of international head of private sales, will continue his role as chairman of Christie’s Americas. Read More
Christie’s International Real Estate has announced that it will serve as the “official luxury real estate partner” for Art Miami, the long-running fair that is held each year at the same time as Art Basel Miami Beach, as well as its sister event, Context. During the fair, the auction house’s real-estate branch will have a booth showcasing luxury real-estate offerings. Read More
