On February 27th, Fernand Léger’s (1881-1955) L’usine or Motif pour le moteur sold at Christie’s London at the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale for over 1.9 million pounds ($2.9 million), far exceeding the auction house’s estimate of nine hundred thousand to 1.2 million pounds.
Art News
Featured in Christie's upcoming "Beyond Imagination: Outsider and Vernacular Art Featuring the Collection of Marjorie and Harvey Freed" auction on January 19th, is a large work by Henry Darger, a key figure in outsider art. On the auction block is an over six-foot long double sided page, 93 At Jennie Richee, are chaced for long distance by Glandelinians with blood hounds.
Sotheby’s auctioned off an extraordinary collection of Tiffany Masterworks December 13th. Collected by William A Richardson, the ensemble showcased a number of extraordinary Tiffany Lamps, including the iconic Dragonfly Lamp, and included rare examples of Tiffany mosaics, fancy goods and leaded glass windows. The entire collection sold for $7,309,500 USD, with many items going for three to four times the estimated value.
An auction of the estate of Harriet Gould is bringing new works by big names to the public. According to the auction house, John McInnis Auctioneers, Gould's son, Jon Gould, was the former Vice President of Paramount pictures, and a close friend of Andy Warhol's. Upon Jon Gould's death in 1986, his belongings, including works by Warhol, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, were stored in his mother Harriet's attic in Amesbury, Massachusets. Now that her estate is being sold, these newly rediscovered treasures are up at auction.
At the upcoming Phillips Design Evening Sale, on December 12, 31 beautiful objects are up for auction. These include a George Nakashima coffee table and several pieces designed by Alberto Giacometti. Standing out among an impressive collection of design objects is Peter Voulkos’ monumental clay sculpture, Rondena.
The griffins that adorn this 18th-century ormolu, bronze, and marble clock might be reminders of Harry Potter, but it will take someone with the purse of JK Rowling to bring it home. The clock, offered at auction by Christie's on October 24, has a pre-auction estimate of $70,000 to $100,000. This spectacular timepiece traces its roots to Dominique Daguerre, a marchand-mercier in Paris who likely commissioned this piece. The tail-tale sign are the Wedgwood insets, of which Daguerr
The secondary art market is seeing a steady increase in sales and prices for pieces by modern British artists, and that decade-old trend is likely to continue into 2018.
The secondary market for 20th century Asian artists has seen an uptick in sales and prices in recent years. Bonhams, Sotheby's, and Christie's have all realized massive sales of work by artists who traveled to Europe and absorbed Western ideas that they fused to Eastern artistic concepts, and buyers like what they see.
Sangorski & Sutcliffe is synonymous with fine binding and is often hailed as the “Rolls Royce of Bookbinding.” At the turn of the twentieth century, Francis Sangorski and George Sutcliffe wowed their fellow craftsmen with elaborate and innovative leather binding designs. Ornate jewelled bindings—featuring inset semi-precious stones—became one of their specialties.
