Today, the 34.98-carat Beau Sancy, fancy diamond that it is, fetched a whopping CHF 9,042,500 ($9.7 million) at Sotheby’s Geneva — almost five times the pre-sale estimate of CHF 1.85-3.65 million ($2-4 million). Once owned by Marie de Medici, the blue-blooded but gloriously dumb Queen of France who was briefly the wife of Henri IV until his assassination in the early 17th century, the diamond has been passed around several European royal families over the past four hundred years, and was most recently in the possession of the Royal House of Prussia.
News and commentary on the art market by Shane Ferro
ABOVE THE ESTIMATE: News and commentary on the art market by Shane Ferro
Fancy Beau Sancy Soars to $9.7 Million at Sotheby’s Geneva
May 15, 2012, 9:12 pm
Christie’s Rakes It In at Lily Safra Jewelry Sale in Geneva
May 15, 2012, 2:32 am
Monday in Geneva, Christie’s white-glove Lily Safra jewelry sale brought in $37.9 million, almost double the estimate, once again confirming that high quality and famed provenance is a killer combination in the jewelry market. Safra is a renowned as a philanthropist and socialite who, notably, purchased Alberto Giacometti’s “Walking Man I” (1961) for $104.3 million at Sotheby’s in 2010.
UPDATED: Sotheby’s S2 Heading to Brazil for Crazy Times at Art Rio
May 14, 2012, 10:29 pm
Sotheby’s announced today that its private sales gallery, S2, which exists within the auction house’s New York headquarters, will participate in Art Rio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil September 12-16. According to the auction house, it is increasing its focus on Brazil — last year it opened an office in São Paulo, and sends increasing amounts of art to the country for client events.
Lower-End Contemporary Art Soars at Freeman’s, Bonks at Bonhams
May 14, 2012, 9:09 pm
It wasn’t only the big three holding contemporary sales last week. Bonhams hosted its inaugural contemporary evening sale, to unpleasant results, and Philadelphia-based Freeman’s had its semi-annual modern and contemporary auction, which was stellar. The results paint a muddled picture of the state of contemporary art at low-to-mid market prices. The low end is doing almost as well as the high end. But in the middle it is less clear.
Christie’s Homepage Taken Over by… Christie’s Contemporary Department
May 14, 2012, 3:44 pm
Not Much to Scream About: Sotheby’s Reports a $0.16 Per Share Loss for Q1
May 10, 2012, 8:30 pm
Sotheby’s reported its first quarter earnings today (that’s Jan. 1-Mar. 31), and after a 23 percent decrease in the number of lots sold over $1 million as opposed to Q1 of 2011, the auction house posted a loss of $10.7 million, or $0.16 per share. In Q1 of 2011, the company reported a net gain of $0.03 per share. But while the 16-cent loss is the headline number, it’s not a huge surprise. The market is generally slow in the first three months of the year, and the loss is exactly what analysts predicted.
Market in Motion: Demand for Alexander Calder’s Sculpture Is Heating Up
May 10, 2012, 3:13 pm
One of the trends that struck me while watching the contemporary auctions over the last two days is the skyrocketing prices for Alexander Calder works. There is a frenzy of demand for the late artist’s wire sculptures. At Christie’s on Tuesday evening a new artist record was set when “Lily of Force,” 1945, sold for $18.6 million, above a $12 million high estimate. The one pictured at left just hammered down for $2.5 million at the Sotheby’s contemporary day sale this morning, three times the $800,000 high estimate.
RECORDS RECORDS RECORDS
May 9, 2012, 5:25 pm
Sotheby’s Annual Shareholders Meeting: An Update on (Static) Corporate Affairs
May 9, 2012, 4:59 pm
Nothing changes. Everything stays the same.
After yesterday’s annual Sotheby’s shareholders meeting — a possible beacon of hope for those who sympathize with the locked out art handlers — the corporate landscape of the auction house is hardly altered. The attendees voted to endorse all proposals put forth by the management — although, in a twist, Bloomberg reports that “a Teamsters proposal opposing automatic executive payouts in a takeover got 39 percent of votes.”
Pop Legend Irving Blum Talks Lichtenstein, Warhol and Ferus Gallery in Sotheby’s Interview
May 8, 2012, 6:15 pm
Recently, Irving Blum, the legendary Los Angeles gallerist and partner in the 1960’s West Coast pop art hub Ferus Gallery, sat down with Sotheby’s worldwide head of contemporary art, Tobias Meyer for a video interview now posted on the auction house’s website. It is part of a three-video series about the Roy Licthenstein work “Sleeping Girl,” which will go under the hammer tomorrow evening at Sotheby’s contemporary auction.
