ARTnewsletter Archive

Sotheby’s Hong Kong spring sale series, held April 2–4, totaled HK$2.4 billion ($316 million), compared with a total last spring of HK$2.6 billion ($337 million). Read More

Less than a month after Christie’s held a sold-out, $6 million auction of new, large-edition works by photographer William Eggleston (ANL, 3/20/12), a New York financier and collector of Eggleston’s work has filed a lawsuit against the artist, alleging that the value of works he owns have been damaged as a result. Read More

A 1970, untitled William Eggleston dye-transfer print (part of the artist’s “Los Alamos” series), depicting dolls in frilly dresses sitting on a shelf, was the top lot at the Swann Galleries April 4 sale of photographs and photobooks. Read More

Untitled Film Still #49, 1979, by Cindy Sherman was the top seller at Phillips de Pury & Company’s two-part photography sale on April 4, realizing $626,500 and outstripping the $300,000/400,000 estimate. Read More

Sotheby’s April 3 sale of photographs realized a total of $3.8 million for 203 lots offered, down from last spring’s $5.8 million realized for 173 lots offered. Read More

Spring photography auctions, held immediately after the major annual (Association of International Photography Art Dealers) show (ANL, 4/10/12), pointed to an overall healthy market, though volume was down from last spring and buying appeared to be selective. Read More

The March 29 Urban Art sale held at Bonhams, London, realized £747,300 ($1.2 millon), falling within the £720,000/1 million estimate and indicating healthy demand for this relatively new sale category at auction. Read More

This year’s edition of the Art Paris art fair, held at the Grand Palais from March 29–April 1, presented artworks by 120 galleries and welcomed a total of 48,000 visitors. But, whereas attendance remained stable and was comparable with 2011 levels, this year’s fair promoted change—new leadership under fair manager Guillaume Piens, the former artistic director of Paris Photo who took over from Lorenzo Rudolf—and a focus on renewed quality and coherence of the works on display. Read More

Three sales held by Sotheby’s, Christie’s and ArtCurial that coincided with the city’s prestigious Old Master drawing fair, the Salon du Dessin, pointed to a lively and vibrant market for Old Master through modern drawings. Ketty Gottardo, director of the department of Old Master and 19th-century drawings at Christie’s France, said: “Old Master and 19th-century drawings once again inspired vivid interest in international collectors, who expressed a particular taste for masterpieces from the 17th and 18th centuries, such as drawings by Claude Lorrain.” Read More

The Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD) recently wrapped up its annual show (March 29–April 1) at the Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan. Toronto photography dealer Stephen Bulger, who is completing his second two-year term as head of the AIPAD, told ARTnewsletter: “Everyone I spoke with sounded pretty happy. I’ve never been happier or more relieved.” Read More

London print sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s (March 28–29), ranging from Old Master to modern and contemporary works, saw solid demand and yielded healthy overall totals. Read More

Two major Manhattan galleries have announced plans to expand their operations in the Chelsea gallery district. Read More