Modigliani portrait fetches $42 million at auction

 

A staff member discusses ''Jeanne Hebuterne (au chapeau)'' from 1919 by Amedeo Modigliani, at Christie's auction house in London February 1, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Suzanne Plunkett

LONDON | Wed Feb 6, 2013 6:47pm EST

LONDON (Reuters) - A portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne painted by Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani a year before his death in 1920 sold on Wednesday for 26.9 million pounds ($42.3 million), above the high estimate set by Christie's auctioneers.

"Jeanne Hebuterne (au chapeau)" was the leading lot at the impressionist, modern and surrealist sale in London which brought in a total of 136.5 million pounds, a record at Christie's for the equivalent auction in London in February.

The total underlines the strength of the high-end art market, with ultra-wealthy buyers and institutions from markets like Russia, China and the Middle East bidding against more established collectors in Europe and the United States.

Modigliani met Hebuterne towards the end of his life and they had a child together. The day after the artist died aged 35, his inconsolable partner jumped out of a window killing herself and their unborn second child.

Another notable success on the night was 19th Century French painter Berthe Morisot's "Apres le dejeuner" which fetched seven million pounds, well in excess of expectations of between 1.5 million-2.5 million pounds.

The total was a record price for a female artist at auction.

Morisot was famously captured by Edouard Manet wearing a black hat, a work which is currently hanging at a Manet exhibition at the Royal Academy near Christie's headquarters.

Rival Sotheby's had the top lot of two days of major sales in London, with Picasso's portrait of his mistress Marie-Therese Walter selling for 28.6 million pounds on Tuesday.

Overall Sotheby's sold art worth 121.1 million on the night.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

View the original article here

Paintings from Andy Williams' collection could fetch over $30 million

NEW YORK | Fri Feb 8, 2013 5:17pm EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Paintings from the private collection of U.S. singer Andy Williams, amassed over six decades, could fetch more than $30 million when they are sold at auction in May, Christie's said on Friday.

Works by Willem de Kooning and Richard Diebenkorn are expected to be the top sellers of the portion of the collection that will be auctioned at Christie's Post-War & Contemporary Art sale on May 15-16.

De Kooning's 1984 "Untitled XVII" and Diebenkorn's 1976 "Ocean Park #92" are expected to sell for about $5 million each.

"Williams' highly personal choices in Post War and Contemporary artworks reflect the dynamic energy of New York and Los Angeles in the 50s and 60s," Robert Manley, an international director at Christie's, said in a statement.

Christie's described de Kooning's "Untitled XVII" as a masterpiece of his final years of painting.

"The lyrical 1984 work demonstrates the artist's supreme confidence at the height of his fame, after six decades of painting," the auction house said.

Williams, best known for his rendition of the song "Moon River," died in September at the age of 84. The paintings in the collection are from his two homes and his Moon River Theater in Branson, Missouri.

Williams was first interested in Modern Art and had purchased works by Picasso, Paul Klee and Henry Moore before turning to the other painters.

Picasso's 1927 painting "Figure Feminine Sur la Plage," from Williams' collection, will be up for sale during Christie's Impressionist & Modern Art sale in New York on May 8-9.

"He had the exceptional ability to recognize quality in every category that he turned his attention to - a rare gift among collectors," Manley said about Williams.

The remainder of the collection will be sold this year in sales in New York, London and Paris.

(Reporting by Noreen O'Donnell; Editing by Patricia Reaney and Eric Beech)

View the original article here

Picasso fetches $45 million at Sotheby's sale

1 of 2. Sotheby's employees straighten ''Femme assise pres d'une fenetre'' from 1932 by Pablo Picasso at Sotheby's in London January 31, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Suzanne Plunkett

LONDON | Tue Feb 5, 2013 7:44pm EST

LONDON (Reuters) - A Pablo Picasso portrait of his mistress and "golden muse" Marie-Therese Walter sold for 28.6 million pounds ($45 million) on Tuesday, leading an important Sotheby's auction of impressionist, modern and surrealist art.

The sale was the first of a series held in London this month by Sotheby's, Christie's and smaller auction houses in the latest barometer of the strength of the high-end art market.

Prices for the most sought-after works have soared in recent years despite broader economic concerns, with collectors in China, Russia and the Middle East joining more established patrons in Europe and the United States.

Subtracting the buyer's premium of more than 10 percent, the amount realized for the 1932 Picasso was at the lower end of pre-sale estimates of 25 million-35 million pounds.

Nonetheless, it was comfortably the top lot of an evening when a series of works on paper by Austrian artist Egon Schiele arguably stole the limelight.

Schiele's 1914 "Lovers (Self Portrait With Wally)" fetched 7.9 million pounds, an auction record for the artist for a work on paper.

Also sold by the Leopold Museum in Vienna was his "Self Portrait in Green Shirt with Eyes Closed" which sold for 5.1 million pounds, well above expectations of between 1.8 million and 2.5 million pounds.

The combined tally for Schiele works, sold by the museum to help settle a long-running restitution case involving art deemed to have been stolen by the Nazis in the 1930s, was 14 million pounds.

Other lots fared less well, notably Max Beckmann's "Before the Ball - Two Women With a Cat" which went unsold despite pre-sale estimates of 5 million-8 million pounds.

Overall the evening brought in 121.1 million pounds in sales, within expectations of 103 million-149 million. Sotheby's said it was their second highest total from an equivalent sale in London.

"Bidders, both new to the market as well as seasoned buyers, reacted with great enthusiasm, in particular to the selection of impressionist works that were considered to be the strongest offering in many years," said Helena Newman, chair of Sotheby's impressionist and modern art in Europe.

Christie's, the world's largest auction house, holds its sale in London on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Christopher Wilson)

View the original article here