Art Highrollers Feeling No Pain
Wednesday at Sotheby's:
Picasso, Rodin, and Max Beckmann all fetch premiums at Sotheby's last night. Hopefully the plastic in your wallet has no limit as some of these masterpieces reach prices approaching 20 million a pop. That's the high end even in downtown Greenwich.
Thursday at Sotheby's, from the NYT:
"Christie's sale totaled $142.8 million, far above its low estimate of $111.2 million but not quite reaching its high estimate, $149.6 million. Of the 59 lots offered, only 7 failed to sell. Sotheby's sale totaled $91.2 million, after a low estimate of $127.3 million, with 20 of the 65 lots unsold. "It was day and night," said Franck Giraud, a former director of Christie's Impressionist and modern art department, who is now a private dealer. "It restored confidence overnight."
The art market has bounced back according to the insiders. Everyone can get a goodnight's sleep now. The euro continues to rise and the Americans are cutting their losses but the "Big Boys" like Lauder, Newhouse and cohorts continue to spend money like it does grow on trees. Good news for the artists--oh wait a minute-they are dead. Posthumously enjoying themselves to be sure.
"The undisputed star of the evening, and the most expensive work, was "Bird in Space," from Brancusi's well-known series of sculptures. This one, a delicately carved piece of gray-blue marble with its original box and limestone base, was made in 1922-23. Scholars did not know of its existence until an expert at Christie's discovered it in an attic in France. Last night about six serious bidders wanted the sculpture, and by the time the price had risen to $23 million, two unidentified telephone bidders were determined not to lose. The hammer fell at $24.5 million, and with Christie's commission the price shot up to $27.4 million, a record for a sculpture at auction and more than twice the $12 million high estimate. They audience burst into applause."
Art Market Bounces Back in 2nd Night of Spring Sales - New York Times
