Cavaliere by Marino Marini sold for $1,082,500
Posted on Nov 10 - Filed Under Arts | View Comments
Marino Marini’s sculpture titled Cavaliere was sold for $1,082,500 at Sotheby’s Impressions & Modern Art Evening Sale on Nov. 9, 2009 in New York.
From the lot’s note:
“A dominant theme of Marini’s art, the subject of horse and rider underwent a number of stylistic transformations throughout the decades, from the simple, rounded forms of the early 1940s, to the highly stylized, almost abstract manner of his late works. With its solid forms, the pronounced vertical and horizontal lines, and the figure of the rider firmly seated on the horse’s back, .Cavaliere. recalls the calmer, more harmonious renderings of the theme, which culminated in the famous wooden sculpture .The Town’s Guardian Angel. of 1949-50, and its monumental bronze variant dominating Palazzo Venier dei Leoni in Venice. While the horse is represented in a moment of tension, its head and neck raised upwards, the rider still appears unperturbed, unlike the more dramatic, falling figures that dominated Marini’s sculpture of the 1950s.In choosing the subject of horse and rider, Marini draws on a long established tradition of equestrian painting and sculpture, that had its prominent place in more or less every period throughout the history of Western art, from small-scale votive renderings of early civilizations, to the grand, triumphant statues of modern-day rulers and military leaders. While firmly grounding his art in this tradition, in contrast to the often bombastic and politically motivated sculptures created by his predecessors, Marini’s horses and riders are the embodiment of a new, raw, elemental force. Having lost its significance in the sphere of transportation and warfare, the horse in Marini’s vision acquires a more spiritual character and, unified with the image of a nude rider, becomes a symbol of humanity. Carlo Pirovano wrote about Marini’s riders executed around this time: ‘The frenetic progress of Marino’s tragic allegory of modern man, compressed between superior idealities and uncontrollable irrationality, reached the point of greatest psychological tension in the early Fifties.The cause of this was the fundamental uncertainty of the outcome of a conflict that was increasingly linked to the primary nature of the protagonists rather than the perverse development of contingent events”
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Painting by William Barak – the last chief of the Yarra Yarra tribe – sold for 504,000 AUD
Posted on Aug 7 - Filed Under Arts | View Comments
William Barak’s painting, the Corroboree, was sold for 504,000 AUD ($421,797) at Sotheby’s during the “Aboriginal Art” auction event. The whole auction brought in some 2,581,560 AUD and William Barak’s painting was sold for the highest price, for 2 times of the pre-auction estimate.
A Diamond Pendant by Harry Winston
Posted on Apr 25 - Filed Under Jewelry | View Comments
It was all about diamonds this time at Christie’s and Sotheby’s jewelry auction events on the 22nd and 23rd of April (respectively).
Christie’s produced a few million-dollar sales including a diamond pendant by Harry Winston that was sold for $986,500 including buyer’s premium. See below:
The Pearl Carpet of Baroda sold at Sotheby’s for over $5 million
Posted on Mar 24 - Filed Under Antiquities | View Comments
Sotheby’s recently sold one of the most exquisite carpets for $5,458,500 in Doha on March 19. As the catalog note says: “The Pearl Carpet of Baroda is an extraordinary work of art that is a true testament to the wealth, sophistication, and grandeur of the legendary courts of the maharajas as well as an extant example of the fabled riches of India.”
Hold your breath: This legendary carpet is made of approximately 1.2-1.5 million pearls and around 2,500 table cut and occasional rose cut diamonds. The total estimated weight of the pearls is 30,000 carats and the diamonds are estimated to be 350-400 carats in total, all set in silver topped gold or possibly blackened gold.
Below are a few pictures. For high resolution, zoomable view please visit the image viewer on Sotheby’s website
Contemporary art million-dollar sales: Warhol, Fanzhi, Dubuffet
Posted on Feb 20 - Filed Under Arts | View Comments
Recent million dollar contemporary art sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s
As usual, the competing auction houses were running similar events around the same time. February 5, London, New Bond Street and February 11, London, King Street respectively.
Turtleneck by Andrew Wyeth
Posted on Jan 16 - Filed Under Arts | View Comments
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American realist painter Andrew Wyeth died today at age 91. He was considered to be one of the greatest contemporary painters in the US. In memory of Wyeth, see below his painting titled “Turtleneck”, which sold in 2007 for $1,105,000 |
Turtleneck – Andrew Wyeth – sold at Sotheby’s
Degas’s “Petite danseuse de quatorze ans” to be sold by Sotheby’s
Posted on Jan 13 - Filed Under Arts | View Comments
Sotheby’s will have an amazing auction coming up on Feb 3, 2009 in London during which Degas’s most important and iconic sculpture, the “Petite danseuse de quatorze ans” will be on the block with an estimated selling price of £9 – £12 million
Below is Sotheby’s press release:
LONDON, 6 January 2009 – Sotheby’s is delighted to announce that it is to offer Petite danseuse de quatorze ans in its next sale of Impressionist and Modern Art in London on the 3rd of February 2009. Estimated at £9 – 12 million, Petite danseuse de quatorze ans is one of the most ambitious and iconic of Degas’s works and a groundbreaking sculpture from the Impressionist period. The bronze cast to be offered at Sotheby’s is one of only a handful of casts remaining in private hands. This sale therefore represents a rare opportunity to acquire an icon of Impressionist art.
French and Chinese Antiquity Sales
Posted on Dec 30 - Filed Under Antiquities | View Comments
An ormolu-mounted and brass-inlaid commode by Charles Cressent was sold at Christie’s auction in Paris on Dec 16 for €994,600 ($1,363,334). The commode is dated circa 1730.
Portrait of Arturo Lopez-Willshaw
Posted on Nov 30 - Filed Under Arts | View Comments
Alexander Evgenievich Yakovlev’s painting titled “Portrait of Arturo Lopez-Willshaw” was bought for 713,250 GBP ($1,097,049) during the Russian Art Evening auction at Sotheby’s.
More about Yakovlev on Wikipedia
McLaren F1 breaks record at the Automobiles of London auction
Posted on Oct 30 - Filed Under Cars | View Comments
A month ago, we wrote about the upcoming McLaren F1 auction to be held on Oct 29 by RM Auctions in association with Sotheby’s. Partial, unconfirmed results are in through Ultimatecarpage.com
The McLaren F1 auction sets record with the £2,530,000 (~$4,194,234) hammer price
Other high value sales at the same event include:
1965 Ferrari 250 LM Berlinetta – £2,255,000 (~$3,738,339)
1959 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France – £2,255,000 (~$3,738,339)
1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante – £660,000 (~$1,094,148)
Both Sotheby’s and RM Auctions removed the auction details from their websites. I assume only for the time being until they record the results. Once we have confirmed information from either of them, we’ll update this post.
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