Stories

An artist with a difficult past and the subject of an HBO documentary, Gianni Arone constructs a reference-heavy world through his emotive character NFTs.

Five years ago, a lost bust by Antonio Canova was rediscovered. The work had been made when the noted Old Master sculptor visited Caroline Bonaparte and her husband Joachim Murat. The portrait bust of Murat had been held in the aristocrat's family for generations.

Michael Armitage’s work is currently on view in a group show at the Drawing Center in New York. Later this year, in May, he will have a solo show at Kunsthalle Basel. Also in the Spring, there will be an exhibition of Armitage’s work in London at White Cube, which has represented the artist since 2015. 

Demand for emerging art continues to out-pace supply but the momentum slowed slightly at Sotheby's

Demand for Drexler, Bontecou, Schnable, Ismail, Omofemi and Hughes drive the mid-season market. Christie’s mid-season Post-War and Contemporary art sale in New York totaled $26,117,178, which reflects a strong hammer ration of nearly 1.4 with a sell-through rate of 82% on the 184 lots offered.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was gifted a cast of Pablo Picasso’s Tête de femme (Fernande) by Leonard Lauder. The well-known bronze head of Fernande is being sold to fund new acquisitions

Eddie Martinez, Kaws, Kerwick and Condo top the strong middle market sale. Phillips New Now made $8.4 million with a 169 lost sold out of 195 offered for a sturdy 89% sell-through rate continuing the strength of the market for emerging artists.

The works get sold under the heading of Modern British and Irish art but many of the artists have become leading lights of the Modern art market—like Bridget Riley and Barbara Hepworth—while others continue to be highly prized by collectors like L.S. Lowry and David Bomberg.

London’s Winter auction cycle, the first market feedback of 2022, tells us that despite the deeply unsettled global economic environment the art market remains a place where a lot of money is being spent. With a few lots auctioned in Shanghai and the remaining 810 or so going on the block in London, the sales had a com

A market that favors emerging talent plays to Phillips strength. Phillips Evening sale in London made £30.1 million or $39.5 million with 39 of the 41 lots offered sold. Another six lots were withdrawn pre-sale.

The total for Sotheby’s London Evening sales was $296,145,253 with 65 of the 76 lots offered finding buyers. That 85% sell-through rate would have been a very strong sale in the age before auctions were so heavily managed.

With the addition of a Surrealism sale, the auction house achieved solid results in a market that is equalizing between buyers and sellers. Yesterday at Christie’s, the total sale was more than $334 million with an average lot value of $3.24 million. The sell-through rate was a very well-managed 93% with 36% of the lots selling above the estimate range.