The Market |
This week's top lots
January 29, 2010 | 
What: Portrait of a Woman, called "La Belle Ferronnière," before 1750
Where: Sotheby's New York (January 28, Old Master Paintings and Sculpture)
Estimate: $300,000-500,000
Sold For: $1.5 million
This well-known painting is another version of a portrait—believed to be Lucrezia Crivelli, the mistress of Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan—now at the Louvre. Long debated to be the work of Leonardo da Vinci (Sotheby's attributes it to a follower of da Vinci, citing recent technical examination that dates the canvas to the first half of the 17th century and most likely by a French painter). In the 1920s the Sotheby's portrait was at the center of an unusual court case, when its owners, Harry and Andrée Hahn, sued the art dealer Joseph Duveen for slander when he suggested that the painting was a copy. Numerous art world experts were called to testify but the trial ended with a hung jury, and Duveen was forced to settle out of court and paid the Hahns $60,000 in damages.
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Recommended this week
January 27, 2010 | With the news this week that a woman accidentally stumbled into Picasso's The Actor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art leaving a six-inch tear, the New York Times recounts a score of other artwork mishaps. Read it here.
Auctioneer and antiques expert Wes Cowan offers a history of the Gothic style with some highlights from Cowan's upcoming February 20 auction. Take a peek.
22 dealers are participating in this year's Master Drawings Week in New York, which runs through Saturday. For a complete list and map click here.
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ANTIQUES bookshelf
January 26, 2010 | Although MoMA's acclaimed Bauhaus exhibition closed yesterday there are still a number of other exhibitions and publications 
that explore the history of the school and the artists that flourished there. We recently reviewed an excellent book on textile artist Gunta Stölz, and London's Alan Cristea Gallery will host an exhibition of prints by Anni Albers in March. Meanwhile, a retrospective at the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt and the accompanying exhibition catalogue chronicle the work of László Moholy-Nagy, who taught the Bauhaus's preliminary course and was head of its metalworking department from 1923 to 1928. Exploring the many facets of Moholy-Nagy's career—painting, photography, sculpture, typography, collage, set design, and writing—the book, which was edited by Ingrid Pfeiffer and Max Hollein, offers a concise yet panoramic view of his constructivist-influenced art.
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Current & Coming |
Opening night at the 56th Annual Winter Antiques Show
January 25, 2010 | Many of New York's most recognizable art patrons and designers came out on Thursday night to toast the 56th annual Winter Antiques Show (at the Park Avenue Armory through Sunday, January 31). The opening night party, the upcoming young collector's night, and general admission to the show, all benefit the East Side House Settlement, which has offered education and outreach programs for families in the South Bronx and Manhattan's East Side since 1891. To learn more about the Winter Antiques Show's involvement with the East Side Settlement House click here, and have a look at our slideshow of this year's opening party to catch some familiar faces.
The Market |
This week's top lots
January 22, 2010 | 
What: Punch bowl mark of Cornelius Kierstede, New York, 1700-10
Where: Sotheby's New York (January 22, Important Americana)
Estimate: $400,000-800,000
Sold For: $5.9 million
This punch bowl—the largest known example of early 18th-century American silver—descended in the family of Commodore Joshua Loring of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. It was brought to London after Joshua Loring Jr., who fought with the British army in the Revolutionary War, reunited with his parents, who had previously fled to England. The punch bowl was stored in the family's bank vault for over 230 years, and only came to light in England last year. It has been suggested that the punch bowl's original owner may have Col. Abraham de Peyster, Mayor of New York City from 1692 to 1694, as most of Kierstede's patrons were wealthy and prominent New Yorkers. About thirty-two pieces by Kierstede are known today and most are in museum collections.
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Gemellion, Artist unknown, Limoges, France, 13th century Champlevé Enamel on Copper, 8 7/8” diameter Collection of The Walters’ Art
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