NewsArt market
Christie’s to auction a slice of NFT history for $9m this May
Larva Labs created 10,000 CryptoPunks three years ago—and gave away most of them
NewsArt market
Picasso portrait of Marie-Thérèse to sell for $55m at Christie’s New York this May
The 1932 work was last sold in 2013 at Sotheby's when it seemingly sold to the guarantor for a low estimate £28.6m
NewsWorld Health Organization
‘Mirror pandemic’: art’s vital role in tackling the mental health crisis
A multi-agency $15m initiative backed by the WHO and funded through a series of charity auctions at Christie’s will support artist-led projects to improve mental, social and environmental health
NewsArt market
Gaitonde breaks Indian art auction record—again—but Amrita Sher-Gil painting falls flat in uneven South Asian sales
A number of Indian artists made their auction debut this season, though several established names missed the mark
NewsArt market
Christie’s abandons Impressionist and Modern and post-war and contemporary sale categories
The new 20th and 21st century auction format will launch in New York this May
NewsArt and health
World Health Organization joins art world to launch global campaign confronting mental health toll of pandemic
Year-long series of Healing Arts auctions and events aims to support mental health treatment and recovery in the wake of Covid-19
PreviewObject lessons
Object lessons: from a dagger-brandishing Irma Stern painting to a Munch self-portrait with a turbulent history
Our pick of the highlights from this month's auctions
NewsNFTs
Chinese tech entrepreneur reveals he was narrowly outbid for Beeple’s NFT—and computer said no when he tried to pay $70m
TRON blockchain founder Justin Sun says on Twitter that Christie’s website would not let him place another bid with 30 seconds to go of the online auction yesterday
NewsArt market
WTAF? Beeple NFT work sells for astonishing $69.3m at Christie’s after flurry of last-minute bids nearly crashes website
Everyday: The First 5000 Days is now the third most expensive work by a living artist sold at auction
NewsAuctions
Surrealist collection of Man Ray's assistant sells out at Christie's despite 'serious concerns about ownership' of most of the works
Ahead of yesterday's sale in Paris, the Man Ray Trust called for a delay claiming that Lucien Treillard “stole a substantial number of Man Ray’s works and possessions"
NewsArt market
Rediscovered portrait by India's most famous female painter Amrita Sher-Gil expected to sell for $2.8m
1932 painting of artist's close friend has been out of the public eye for over 90 years but now comes up for auction at Christie's in New York
NewsAuction houses
Christie’s to accept cryptocurrency for first time
The buyer of Beeple's NFT work will be able to pay with ETH later this month
NewsArt market
‘The future of the art market’: Christie’s to become first major auction house to sell a standalone NFT work of art
With investors such as Elon Musk and Chamath Palihapitiya backing the purely digital art form, the trade is beginning to take notice
NewsArt market
Jean-Michel Basquiat's Warrior could become the most expensive Western work of art ever sold at auction in Asia
The 1982 painting will be sold in a single-lot evening sale at Christie's Hong Kong on 23 March with an estimate of $31m to $41m
NewsArt market
Christie's closes access to historic archive due to staff cuts
The vast collection of auction catalogues dates back to Christie's very first sale in 1766 and has been an invaluable resource for dealers and academics
NewsArt market
Undeterred by claims of inauthenticity, Christie's Pre-Columbian sale will go ahead tomorrow
"Christie’s has not been provided with any evidence that would challenge the lawfulness of this sale," a representative says
NewsArt market
Hobby Lobby claims Israeli collector Joseph David Hackmey consigned allegedly looted Gilgamesh tablet to Christie's
The arts and crafts chain has amended its complaint regarding the ancient tablet, which it bought for at auction for $1.67m in 2014. It was seized by US authorities in 2019
BlogAdventures with Van Gogh
Van Gogh’s Japanese girl could fetch record $10m at auction
A Provençal drawing coming up at Christie’s New York is based on a painting in Washington, DC
InterviewArt market
A crisis hits the art market once a decade. What is different this time? Christie's president Dirk Boll assesses the impact of the pandemic
As his new book is published, the auction house chief compares coronavirus fallout to previous economic disasters
NewsArt market
Tech-savvy Sotheby's $5bn global sales beat Christie's $4.4bn in 2020
The two rivals have made record online and private sales as pandemic overturns traditional live auction format
NewsArt market
Grime stars: paintings set new records for Domenico Ghirlandaio and Jan Davidsz de Heem despite being covered in dirt
Christie's end of season Old Masters evening sale in London totals £22.8m, despite last-minute withdrawal of Bernadino Luini's Nativity
NewsArt market
Christie’s and Sotheby’s ordered to disclose dealings with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
Sales of paintings by Cézanne and Picasso worth a combined $139m are also under scrutiny by the US Virgin Island attorney general
NewsAuctions
A tale of two cities: Christie's 20th-century relay sale sees six records set in Hong Kong before slower New York finish
In demand contemporary artists hit big in Asia but several Modern stalwarts failed to make a splash in multi-city hybrid auction
NewsMuseums
A date with Mona Lisa? A painting by Soulages? Louvre's fundraising auction offers all to the highest bidder
Online sale seeks to support a new space for art education and outreach that will open in the autumn of 2021
NewsArt market
Carphone Warehouse billionaire David Ross did buy the Royal Opera House's $12.8m Hockney—now he is loaning it back
The portrait of David Webster will return immediately to the opera house before going to the National Portrait Gallery in 2023 for its reopening exhibition
NewsBanksy
An AI bot has figured out how to draw like Banksy. And it's uncanny
GANksy aims to produce images that bear resemblance to works by the UK's most famous street artist
NewsAuctions
The Royal Opera House's David Hockney painting sells for £12.8m at Christie's amid deaccessioning debate
The auction house's four-part £90.2m "20th Century: London to Paris" sale saw small bursts of energy for quality lots in the wake of Frieze and Fiac's cancellations
NewsArt market
Christie's sale in collaboration with cancelled La Biennale Paris fair flops
Online auction of art and antiques that would have been exhibited at Parisian fair achieves €1.5m with 21 of 91 lots sold
NewsArt market
Deutsche Bank to auction Kandinsky and Schiele works from collection
Three works are to be sold at Christie’s in Paris this month; further sales to follow
NewsAuctions
T-Rex takes on Twombly at Christie's $341m 20th-century evening sale
Unusual $32m Jurassic-era offering stole the high-tech livestreamed show in New York, but buyers kept bids cautious elsewhere
AnalysisArt market
V.S. Gaitonde's £3.4m record-breaking painting leads strong South Asian sales season
Glut of collections have come to auction this month, with strong results for lesser-known Indian Modernists broadening a narrow market
NewsDeaccessioning
Cranach, Courbet and Corot: a closer look at what the Brooklyn Museum is selling off
The institution is deaccessioning its only Cranach and 11 other works to finance care of its collection
NewsArt market
Status of $4.8m Modigliani painting challenged as legal battle over artist's catalogues raisonnés ramps up
French expert Marc Restellini claims substantial modifications to Italian painter's 1915 portrait of Beatrice Hastings were not mentioned by Christie's when the picture was sold—twice
NewsArt market
Christie’s to hold marquee sales in New York in early October—but will Sotheby's follow suit?
With no Frieze Art Fair, contemporary art London sales at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips will now take place at the end of October, when Fiac is due to open in Paris
NewsArt market
Christie's exhibition of Black art is not about virtue signalling, curator says
Destinee Ross-Sutton has co-organised the online selling show Say It Loud which features works by 22 artists including Nelson Makamo and Yoyo Lander
NewsArt market
Christies winds up belated summer auction season with £21.2m Classic Art sale led by £4m Rubens
16th century Italian marble attributed to Antonio Lombardo steals the show, but auction house's digital face is showing its age against stiff competition
BlogDiary
From John Lennon and Nicole Kidman images to Grayson Perry’s handbag: Christie's auction benefits cancer charity
AnalysisArt market
Sanyu, Zao Wou-Ki and Liu Ye: the Asian masters fetching millions at the Hong Kong auctions
Despite pandemic delays and the new National Security Law, the spring sales in the city last week fetched solid results
NewsArt market
How a £3m Soulages almost sank off the coast of Tasmania
The MV Merino had gone aground on its way to Hobart for an exhibition of Modern French art in 1953
NewsArt market
Christie's $420.9m global relay sale was ambitious—but did they really need four auctioneers?
The four-hour event was intended to illustrate the auction house's global and democratic nature, but it also showed that less is often more
NewsAuctions
Waning market for African artefacts? Controversial Benin bronze fails to sell at Christie's
Academics challenge the provenance of the Edo plaque as well as two Igbo alusi figures that sold under estimate for €212,500
NewsAuction houses
Christie's merges Impressionist, Modern and contemporary art departments into one as it restructures and cuts costs
New 20th and 21st Centuries department will be led by Alex Rotter and Giovanna Bertazzoni
NewsArt market
Strong sales as France restarts live auctions
Artcurial, the first auction house to reopen, doubled its sale estimate as lockdown seems to have "sharpened" buyers' appetite
NewsAuctions
Just the one: Christie's scraps major June New York sales in favour of a 'global relay' auction in July
Hybrid sale of 20th century art and design will take place over four live-streamed sessions in Hong Kong, Paris, London and New York
NewsArt market
Christie's and China Guardian Auctions team up for sales and exhibitions series in Shanghai
Collaboration, dubbed 2020+, will take place in late September: Christie's says it is not a reaction to easing of coronavirus lockdown in Chinese city
NewsAuction houses
Christie's settles $16.7m in tax claims with New York District Attorney
Manhattan prosecutors say the auction house failed to collect sales tax on $189m in private sales over five years
NewsArt market
Christie's and Phillips move May 'giga-week' New York sales to end of June due to coronavirus
Expanded 20th century art week in US will swallow up London auctions. Sotheby's has yet to make a decision about its New York Spring sales
NewsArt market
In a drastic move, Christie's shuts most locations and postpones sales due to coronavirus
Auction house has closed New York saleroom along with other offices—Sotheby's follows suit while Phillips has postponed all events and sales until mid-May
AnalysisArt market
Christie’s contemporary sale fails to pack a punch as auction house records lowest total in a decade
Brexit casts a shadow over consignments in London, but young American female painters add some pizazz
NewsArt market
And all that jazz: upbeat sale at Christie's sees Tamara De Lempicka portrait beat record set just three months ago
Impressionist, Modern and Surrealist art auction last night made £106.8m, 35% down on last year—but with three works sold for over £10m
AnalysisBuyer's Guide
How to buy a...Charles White
He chronicled the African American experience when white male abstraction ruled. Now record prices for his work are frequently reset
NewsAuctions
Sale prices soar past estimates at auction of decorator Mario Buatta's estate at Sotheby's
Christie's also holds its own at an auction of American furniture and folk art
AnalysisOutsider art
Outsider art pulls an 'in' crowd in New York
The city's Americana week saw works by 20th century self-taught artists edging out traditional folk art and antiques thanks to a growing celebrity-studded client base
NewsArt market
Christie's cancels Dubai sale of Middle Eastern art
March auction will return to the Emirate in spring 2021, but is cancelled this year due to new strategy and constrained supply of works
NewsAuction houses
2020 vision: the big year of change for auction houses?
Supported by transformational new technology, the sector is ditching its traditional business model in favour of the luxury goods market
NewsArt Basel in Miami Beach 2019
Art Basel helps Hong Kong exhibitors offset extra costs
Fair organisers says the discounts are not "incentive to do the fair" but are "part of an effort to mitigate their additional expenses"
AnalysisArt market
Tiepolo and Giovanni di Paolo spark excitement in underpowered Christie’s Old Master sale
Auction raised more than last year but supply still limited as Brexit-dominated general election looms
AnalysisArt market
Randomness rules New York's $42m American art sales
Small works won out at Sotheby's and Christie's as top lots went for their low estimates or were withdrawn
NewsArt market
Marina Abramovic’s The Life to become first mixed reality work ever auctioned
Christie’s will sell the piece with a £600,000 price tag next October to coincide with artist’s Royal Academy retrospective
AnalysisAuctions
New York's autumn sales were subdued but not necessarily septic
Overall sales were down by around 30% but beyond the disappointing headline figures, women and minority artists shone
CommentAuctions
The complicated history of Boccioni sculpture is no barrier to record price at Christie's in New York
Futurist bronze sculpture cast from another bronze in the 1970s sells for $16.2m—four times its estimate
PreviewArt market
Confidence may be low, but New York's auctions are aiming high
Can the quality of the smaller works coming up during "gigaweek" quell economic jitters?
CommentHong Kong
Hong Kong art market profits despite protestors’ pain
If not immune to geopolitical unrest, then perhaps art is a refuge for money that is struggling to find its way into other assets
NewsAuctions
A portrait of Rembrandt sold for more than 30 times its estimate—could it be by the Dutch master himself?
High price for painting at Christie’s in New York last week is prompting speculation but expert says his money is on Isaac de Jouderville
NewsAuctions
Futurist masterpiece by Umberto Boccioni could sell at Christie's for up to $4.5m
A different version of the sculpture Unique Forms of Continuity in Space sold at the auction house in 1975 for $41,000
NewsArt market
A 'destructive act': scholars criticise sale of pages separated from 15th-century Persian manuscript
Christie's defends decision to sell two illuminations, expected to make up to £1m each, as they were removed from The Paths of Paradise 30 years ago
NewsArt market
Christie’s plods to a sturdy end to Frieze week
Post war, contemporary and Italian art sale notched up £89m, topped by a £7.4m Jean-Michel Basquiat
AnalysisAuctions
Selling off the Gloucestershire Gustons: Jeremy Lancaster collection kicks off Frieze Week auctions
Christie's sale in London totals £23m with Modern British artists rubbing shoulders with international post-war names
NewsArt market
US-China trade war expands to books and maps as increased tariffs hit art imports
Trump's newly increased tariff of 15% on Chinese goods now applies to the antiquarian trade, further affecting dealers and auction houses
NewsFake or Fortune?
Sculpture knocked over by cat revealed as authentic Giacometti, which sold for £500,000 at Christie's
Featured on the BBC's Fake or Fortune TV show, the sculptor's Tête qui regarde was badly repaired after it was felled by a family feline
NewsArt market
Brexit contributes to 10% drop in sales at Sotheby’s in first half of 2019
Sale to telecoms magnate Patrick Drahi looks set to go ahead as firm makes up for a loss in revenue through increased commissions and more efficient guarantees
ArchiveArt market
Elaborate, traditional pieces sold well at the latest auctions
Chinese and Russian buyers with a taste for the ornate have added a new layer of bidding and are forcing prices ever higher
ArchiveArt market
Decorative arts sales shift to Chicago
New York vies with London for nineteenth- and twentieth-century decorative arts sales, but Chicago is coming on quickly
NewsLaw
Collector says he was duped into selling Brancusi sculpture
He seeks $200m in damages from lawyer who he says "hoodwinked" him
ArchiveArt market
Influx of new collectors of American paintings boosts market
Even third-rate works are now selling for six figures
ArchiveCollectors
Mystery of London dealer’s inflated invoices for world’s biggest collector, the head of Qatar's National Council for Culture, Arts and Heritage
The Art Newspaper has obtained invoices sent by Oliver Hoare to Sheikh Saud Al-Thani of Qatar, who remains under arrest in Doha as authorities investigate alleged misuse of public funds
NewsMoon
Lunar landing anniversary inspires tributes to the Moon across the globe
Exhibitions and events at museums and galleries worldwide proves we are still looney for the Moon 50 years after setting foot on it
AnalysisArt market
Price match! Old Masters vs contemporary art: what can you get for your money?
As London's Classic Week of sales comes to a close, we take a look at what the same sum will buy you at either end of the art historical timeline
NewsArt market
Protestors gather outside Christie's as ancient head of Tutankhamen sells for £4.7m
Egyptian authorities had tried to stop the sale claiming that the 3,000 year old quartzite sculpture should be repatriated
NewsArt market
Christie's holds auction in Saudi Arabia to raise funds for Jeddah museum
Sale raises $1.3m for new heritage museum dedicated to the history of Jeddah's historical district
NewsAuctions
Fresh talent breathes life into slim £45m postwar and contemporary evening sale at Christie’s London
Records set for Tschabalala Self and Kara Walker as a new wave of works by contemporary artists come to auction
ArchiveArt market
French decorative arts apparently recession-proof
The international market absorbs the Polo, Patiño and Johnson collections in one year. Tous les Louis do well but Louis XVI best of all
NewsArt market
Tough going for Christie's skinny £36.4m Impressionist and Modern art sale
Early Schiele drawing is the low-key star of an unremarkable sale, topped by a flashy Picasso
AnalysisAuctions
Edward Hopper's over-priced ode to Shakespeare goes unsold as market for American art proves capricious
Christie's American art sales this week realise a new record for Hartley but Sotheby's struggles to get the pricing right on Hopper's Shakespeare scene
NewsArt market
Rabbit hops to a record $91m at Christie's as Jeff Koons once again becomes the world's most expensive living artist
Post-war and contemporary sale in New York also produced a big sale for Robert Rauschenberg and new records for Louise Bourgeois and Jonas Wood
NewsArt market
Big but bland Impressionists lead Christie's sale, with new records for a peachy Cezanne and feline-filled Bonnard
Fresh material from big collections led the $399m New York auction, while mid-tier Monets primed the market for his $55m haystacks work at Sotheby's tonight
BlogAdventures with Van Gogh
Virtually unseen Van Gogh painting comes up for sale in New York next week
Christie’s values the Japanese-influenced picture of the asylum garden at $25m
NewsLaw
Wildenstein & Co sued for the 1985 sale of an alleged fake Bonnard painting
The collectors are seeking more than $300,000 in damages after the painting failed to be authenticated before heading to auction last year
CommentArt market
Can the art market be an ally in the fight for racial equality?
The industry remains subtly discriminatory and must abandon some obsolete ways if it is to truly change for the better
Olivia Anani