July 15, 2011
Filed under: Art Sales — Alan @ 8:31 am
Dr. Tony Ryan, philanthropist, highly successful businessman, connoisseur of fine art and one of the wealthiest Irishmen in modern history died in 2007 at the age of 77. He left an amazing legacy that includes his home, Lyons Demesne in County Kildare, a magnificent Georgian estate that he purchased in 1996 and completely restored to its former grandeur.
As well as co-founding Ryanaire and participating in many other international enterprises, Dr. Ryan had a passion for and a deep committment to fine art. During the restoration of Lyons Demesne, he uncovered and regenerated some of the existing murals and tapesties dating from an earlier century, but he also acquired a vast collection of outstanding art works by Irish masters and many other world-renowned artists.
A relatively small portion of these (about 450) will be sold at auction on July 14th by Christie’s London.
Amongst the treasures to go on the block are paintings, furniture, sculpure and tapestries, some valued at far more than Ryan paid for them, some less. They include the finest work of Irish artist Hugh Douglas Hamilton, whose Portrait of Arthur Hill is expected to bring from £200-300,000; Dr. Ryan paid £377,500 when he bought it at Christie’s in 2000.
Dr. Ryan’s estate is said to contain the finest and most valuable private collection ever seen in Ireland, and this partial sale is expected to realize at least £2 million, with additional sales likely in the future. Spokespersons for the estate have said that since none of Ryan’s heirs will be living at Lyons Demesne, the collection should be made available to the public so others can enjoy this national treasure.
June 29, 2011
Filed under: Art Sales — Alan @ 9:07 am
This week Lord Archer is selling part of his art collection as well as some remarkable memorabilia that has been donated by celebrities all to raise money for charity. He may not be the favorite of everyone but Lord Archer has led a somewhat of an extraordinary life and he has many extraordinarily people he calls friends.
In the House of Commons he has served five years while in the House of Lords he served 19 years and two of those were at Her Majesty’s pleasure. He has amassed book sales of over 250 million, lots of lolly and an art collection than most museums or galleries would do anything for.
Tonight at Christie’s, the world’s most famous auctioneer of fine art, the Granchester author will auction off some things from the rich and famous as he hosts the auction of the items they have donated to him for charity. Over 150 of the his collection he has bought through the years will feature in the second auction this as well with charitable giving on hand, including a donation for the building in Cambridge of a new children’s hospital.
Lord Archer has been doing the first type of auction for years and years. He is as well an accomplished auctioneer and each year he runs over 30 sales all aimed at raising money for charitable causes. However the second auction he says was prompted by the fact he is now older than 70 and has realized its time to put aside certain tendencies and accept he is mortal.
He has asked his family – wife Mary and two sons James and William, to pick out what they would like to see stay with the family and he has also told Oxford’s Asmolena and Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum they also can have six each of what they would most want.
He is then to sell off other works of art at the behest of his wife the chairwoman of the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust which runs Rosie and Addenbrooke’s and donating the proceeds towards the project to build a new children’s hospital.
March 31, 2011
Filed under: Art Sales — Alan @ 2:04 am
The British Arts Council is under fire on several counts, but the suggestion that a substantial portion of the Council’s art collection should be sold off to private collectors and investors has met with special outrage. The proposed sale would include works by Sarah Lucas, Damian Hurst and Anish Kapoor, whose sculptures are currently on special exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery. Some of Kapoor’s works on exhibit are owned by the Arts Council.
The Council was created in 1946 for the purpose of buying art work to be loaned to galleries and museums. There are about 7,500 art works in the collection at present, and until now none have ever been sold. The Council argues that selling off art work is not “a sensible solution” to the ongoing financial problem.
MP’s on the parliamentary select committee on culture have sharply criticized what they call the Council’s wasteful spending and poor leadership. They cited the infamous Public gallery in West Bromwich, built with public funds at a cost of more than £52 million, which was in receivership long before it even opened. A Council spokesperson said that was old news and had no relation to present circumstances.
The Committee’s report also recommends that the Council cut its administrative costs in half, on top of the 30% budget cut imposed last year. This would necessarily involve shutting down a lot of smaller art organisations. However according to committee chairman John Whittingdale, the report also offers suggestions on how these bodies could raise funds from other sources and manage their money better.
In other criticisms, MP’s pointed to the high level of funding for the council, noting an increase of 150% from 1998 to 2010. They expressed mistrust of the council’s administrative decisions, suggesting that it’s spending money in the wrong places and/or ineffectively, and makes a poor replacement for its predecessor, the Museums, Archives and Libraries Council.
Public reaction to the committee report is certainly varied. On one side there’s the cry that England’s art, culture and heritage is about to be sacrificed to the government’s financial quandary. On the other side is the cry that the Arts Council is squandering public money and spending too much on itself and its pet projects.
Pretty much regardless of public opinion at this point, the word on public funding allocations is due out on Wednesday, and it is already clear that about half of the 1,300 grant applications will be denied.
March 18, 2011
Filed under: Art Sales — Alan @ 4:44 pm
In a report published last Monday, Britain’s position as the second largest art and antiques auction market has been superseded by China. Writing for the European Fine Art Foundation, whose annual art and antiques fair will open in Maastricht this week, economist Clare McAndrew reported that auction sales in China rose to nearly 6 billion Euros which accounted for 23 % of the world market in 2010, a huge growth which hardly featured in any report 5 years ago.
The UK has fallen to 3rd place with 22%, a drop of 5% since 2006, while USA continues to lead with 34%. The Government has been warned by the British Art Market Federation that the proposed artist resale royalty tax (Droit de Suite), which is due for implementation next year, on the sale of all works by European artists who died up to 70 years ago, i.e. Bacon, Picasso including the biggest money earners, could further reduce market share by diverting trade away from the UK.
This would negatively influence the cultural economy of Britain. The report does not provide any statistics which prove that the Droit de Suite, already in effect in the UK on the works of living European artists, has had any impact on the art trade here.
Brian Adam Douglas, an American street artist, has opened his first UK exhibition at the Black Rat Press Shoreditch, East London and has enjoyed a total sell out with his return to the standard framed picture style.
March 10, 2011
Filed under: Art Sales — Alan @ 7:33 am
The painting by Pablo Picasso that last year broke all records for the price paid for a single work of art is to be displayed in public in the UK. Nude, green leaves and bust is being loaned to the Tate Modern by its owner, who remains anonymous. Sir Nicholas Serota, the director of the Tate, is understandably delighted at being able to display such an iconic painting. Picasso created this masterpiece one day in 1932, and it is part of a sequence of paintings depicting his love at time – Marie Theres Walter.
It was in May 2010 that this seminal work of art entered the record books, selling at New York auction house Christie’s for £66m, $106.5m. Previous to this sale, it had been in the same hands since 1951, when collectors Sidney and Frances Brody bought it for a mere $19,800. During their entire ownership it was only shown publicly once, to mark Picasso’s 80th birthday in 1961.
He painted Nude, green leaves and bust at the height of the passionate affair he enjoyed with Ms Walter, who was just a young girl of 17 when Picasso first met her in 1927. He apparently accosted her coming out of a Paris metro station and grabbed her arm, declaring who he was and his intentions towards her. The liaison lasted for 8 years until Picasso met Dora Maar in 1935, and swapped his affections. The painting clearly depicts the submissiveness of the subject, giving it almost as many critics as fans.
There has been endless supposition as to who the actual owner is, and the story that the owner is British has gained credence with it being displayed at the Tate. The New York Times suggested at the time that one bidder had been Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea FC.
February 20, 2011
Filed under: Art Sales — Alan @ 3:49 am
An Andy Warhol portrait that had not previously been displayed was immediately sold to an anonymous bidder for 10.8 million. The painting had just been exhibited at Christie’s in London, when it was quickly bought for twice the estimated value.
The painting is 6x6ft and displays the face of Warhol in half shadow and half light, the colours red and white. The work itself is derived from his very important period around 1967 and marks the time when he gained international fame.
It is a part of a series of 11 works from that time. The New York Museum of Modern Art owns some of these, while the rest are found in San Francisco, Munich, and in the Tate collection. This painting has been kept privately since 1974.
November 17, 2010
Filed under: Art Sales — Alan @ 2:49 am
The late actor, Dennis Hopper had an art collection of about forty pieces, featuring works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Keith Hammer. The works were auctioned off at a Christie’s contemporary art auction, which was later celebrated by Hopper’s eldest daughter Marin, investor Richard Turley and Marin’s co-executor Alex Hitz.
Marin confirmed that Hopper’s youngster daughter, Galen 7, will hold 40 per cent of the proceeds n trust. There has been a messy legal battle between Hopper’s estate and his wife; Victoria Duffy has filed a $45 million legal suit.
The talented actor was an enthusiastic collector, painting, and photographer in his own right.
September 14, 2010
Filed under: Art Sales — Alan @ 9:30 am
Christie’s has published the new catalogue for the upcoming sale of the artwork that framed the headquarters for Lehman Brothers that will be auctioned off on September 29th and the collection looks more like what you may find at a manor house or from the East India Company than what you would expect to find from a former investment bank.
Regardless, there will be 300 lots up for grabs on the exact date of the second year since the investment bank’s collapse was announced. Despite the randomness of the collection, a few pieces in particular may spark some interest from contemporary art collectors such as a piece by Matthew Ritchie that is predicted to go for about £100,000.
Also listed in the catalogue of interest is a drawing by Jim Hodges titled ‘All To One’ expected to grab around £50,000 and a painting from Gary Hume listed at about £100,000.
When you get into the contemporary works of art what you will find is that most are unique one-offs such as two Chinese garden seats that could fetch up to £2,000, a pair of binoculars fashioned out of faux croc skin listed for about £600, and an ornate mirror made of giltwood expected to fetch about £1,500.
Also included in the collection are a wide array of books and Victorian prints including notable collections such as volumes by John Glasworthy valued at £800 and a collection of books by Lord Byron which may fetch between £200 and £300.
Altogether the administrator of Lehman Brothers, PricewaterhouseCoopers, is hoping that the auction will take in at least £2m which is only a small portion of the billions that the firm owes creditors.
August 21, 2010
Filed under: Art Sales — Alan @ 12:32 am
Art dealers are looking into how they can get one of the most valuable paintings in Wales valued around £40m. The painting by Rembrandt is called Portrait of Catrina Hooghsaet and is currently on display in Gwynedd at the Penrhyn Castle in Bangor.
Stephen Somerville, the art adviser to the Penrhyn Settled Estates, said that over the last month he has received three calls regarding the painting.
Three years ago the Dutch Culture Ministry attempted to purchase the painting for an Amsterdam museum but they were unable to come up with enough funds for the high £40m price tag. After negotiating for six months, the museum was forced to pull out with only £26.4m available in funds.
Somerville stated that even though the painting is not actively available on the market as part of his job responsibilities he does pass on interest and inquiries to the Penrhyn Settled Estates Trust. The trust acts for the Douglas Pennant family who originally owned the Rembrant and is its true owners.
The family also owns the castle and trustee and poet Richard Douglass Pennant still lives on the castle grounds along with his wife although the home itself is actually owned now by the National Trust.
Somerville stated that during last month while he was in Italy he received three inquiries about the painting from agents and dealers that stated they wanted to get a client intrigued in purchasing it. As of the moment he added that that nothing had happened any further with the inquiries.
The last painting the Douglass Pennant family sold was the Jan Steen piece, The Burgomaster of Delft.
August 11, 2010
Filed under: Art Sales — Alan @ 3:45 am
Almost two years ago Lehman Brothers were the largest victim of the financial fallout when the titan collapsed and fell off Wall Street. Although time has passed, administrators are still sorting through the mess as they are working to start auctioning off the art collection from the company in an effort to pay some of its creditors back.
Christie’s will hold the auction as denoted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and sell off a large amount of precious porcelain, paintings, and sketches that used to adorn its old Canary Wharf headquarters.
Even more as part of an attempt to get as much money as possible out of the auction old cigar boxes, tea caddies, and books from the headquarters will also be listed on the auction.
Those who want a more obvious piece of the company can bid on the building’s front sign predicted to go for anywhere from £2,000 to £3,000.
Back before the credit crisis, Lehman would entertain its top guests and clients by treating to the gallery of the London hallways and then offering them a gourmet lunch.
The auction for the Lehman goods is scheduled for September 29th with 300 lots on the rooster.
Included in the collection will be Gary Hume’s Madonna, which is estimated to fetch anywhere from £70,000 to £100,000 and works by the old masters as well such as Thomas Luny’s Dover Coast expected to fetch from £10,000 to £15,000.
PricewaterhouseCoopers partner Barry Gilbertson stated that there are many people spread out throughout the world that would love to have their hands on a piece of art from the Lehman connection.
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Dr. Tony Ryan, philanthropist, highly successful businessman, connoisseur of fine art and one of the wealthiest Irishmen in modern history died in 2007 at the age of 77. He left an amazing legacy that includes his home, Lyons Demesne in County Kildare, a magnificent Georgian estate that he purchased in 1996 and completely restored to its former grandeur.
