Art News. Vasari Codex

trending_up market schedule Apr 22, 2025 visibility 10 link 4 artists

hans coper ceramic london auction

A broken flowerpot discovered in a London garden turned out to be a rare Hans Coper ceramic, commissioned by the owner's late mother after she admired his work at an exhibition. The four-foot-tall stoneware vessel, produced in early 1964 and bearing Coper's seal, was offered by Chiswick Auctions with a presale estimate of £6,000–£10,000. Despite significant damage, it sparked a bidding war lasting nearly 10 minutes, ultimately selling to a U.S. bidder for £36,500 ($48,300) hammer price, or £47,800 ($63,250) including fees.

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trending_up market schedule May 23, 2025 visibility 15 link 9 artists, 1 gallery

work of the week pablo picasso tete dhomme a la pipe

Loïc Gouzer, founder of the auction app Fair Warning, partnered with Christie's to sell Pablo Picasso's drawing *Tête d'homme à la pipe* (1971) in a hybrid in-person and digital auction on May 15. The work, estimated at $6–8 million, hammered for $6.6 million ($7.79 million with fees) to a phone bidder at Coco's at Colette in New York's GM Building, with Jussi Pylkkänen officiating. Notable attendees included collectors Alberto Mugrabi and David Mugrabi, and dealer Joseph Nahmad. The drawing, executed two years before Picasso's death, depicts a musketeer inspired by *The Three Musketeers* and had never been auctioned before.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 23, 2025 visibility 12 link 9 artists, 2 galleries

getty luis de morales christ painting restoration

The Getty Museum in Los Angeles has acquired and restored Luis de Morales's "Christ Carrying the Cross" (c. 1565), a 16th-century Spanish Renaissance painting. The work, which had been covered in discolored varnish and enlarged with wooden strips, was carefully conserved by Getty conservator Kari Rayner, who removed non-original paint to reveal the artist's original composition. The painting first appeared at auction in 2021 at Nagel Auktionen, initially attributed to Morales's studio with a €10,000 estimate, but later sold for €1.2 million before the Getty acquired it from the Daniel Katz Gallery.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 5, 2025 visibility 15 link 7 artists, 1 gallery

barbara hepworth stringed sculptures piano nobile

London's Piano Nobile gallery has opened "Barbara Hepworth: Strings," the first exhibition dedicated to the British sculptor's use of string in her work. The show explores how Hepworth (1903–1975) incorporated string into sculptures, paintings, and drawings from 1939 onward, including pieces never before exhibited in the U.K. Highlights include the rediscovered "Theme on Electronics (Orpheus)," 1956, commissioned by Mullard and long thought lost, and "Pierced Hemisphere (Telstar)," 1963, making its U.K. debut. Curated by Michael Regan, the exhibition draws on Hepworth's letters and archival material to illuminate her innovative approach to tension, space, and light.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 6, 2025 visibility 21 link 23 artists, 3 galleries

expo chicago 2025 report

Expo Chicago 2025 wrapped on Sunday with upbeat energy and larger crowds than usual, thanks to a scheduling change that allowed VIPs earlier access. The fair, now in its second edition under Frieze ownership, featured 170 exhibitors, a new magazine with artist profiles of Caroline Kent and Nick Cave, and a partnership with KIAF and the Galleries Association of Korea that brought 20 Korean galleries. Dealers reported healthy sales, including a sold-out presentation by Jaylon Hicks at Maximilian Williams gallery, with works priced from $3,000 to $20,000. Frieze leaders attended major events, signaling continued commitment to Chicago nearly two years after acquiring the fair.

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rate_review review schedule May 4, 2026 visibility 33 link 19 artists

The Met’s Costume Institute Needs an Art History Lesson

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute spring exhibition, "Costume Art," pairs fashion with artworks from the Met's collection, including ancient Greek statues and Andy Warhol screenprints, alongside garments by designers from Charles James to CFGNY. Curator Andrew Bolton aims to suggest that fashion can expand understanding of art, but the show's juxtapositions often feel vague and sloppy, with only occasional resonant pairings like a Jean Paul Gaultier shirt and Joe Brainard drawing linked by queer artist lineage.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 24, 2026 visibility 37 link 16 artists

The Multibillion-Dollar Maneuvers Behind the Met’s Raphael Show

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has opened “Raphael: Sublime Poetry,” the largest survey dedicated to the Renaissance master in the U.S., featuring 33 paintings and 142 works on paper. The exhibition includes loans from 60 public institutions across 11 countries, as well as private loans from billionaire Leon Black, and the estimated aggregate value of the art on view is in the billions of dollars. Curated by Carmen Bambach, the show took eight years to organize and follows her previous triumphs on Leonardo and Michelangelo.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 6, 2025 visibility 17 link 6 artists

shakespeare folios sothebys london auction

Sotheby's London will auction a rare set of all four Shakespeare Folios—the First (1623), Second (1632), Third (1663), and Fourth (1685)—as a single lot on May 23, with a presale estimate of £3.5–4.5 million ($4.7–5.99 million). The set, assembled in 2016, is led by the First Folio, which preserved 18 of Shakespeare's plays that might otherwise have been lost. The sale marks the first time all four volumes have been offered together since a 1989 Sotheby's New York auction, which was canceled after a private offer was accepted.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 5, 2025 visibility 23 link 5 artists

sir joshua reynolds portrait inheritance tax

The Tate in London has acquired a full-length portrait by Joshua Reynolds of the 5th Earl of Carlisle (1748–1825) through the UK's Acceptance in Lieu scheme, which allows art to be transferred to the nation in place of inheritance tax. The painting, valued at $6.1 million (£4.7 million), was painted in 1769 and had hung at Castle Howard in North Yorkshire for over 200 years. It will remain on public display there but will also travel to other venues including Tate Britain.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 4, 2025 visibility 20 link 21 artists

old masters sales takeaways art detective

Sotheby's underperformed with the highly anticipated Saunders Collection of Old Masters, which was estimated at $80–120 million but sold for only $65.4 million, falling $14.6 million short of its low estimate. The sell-through rate was a dismal 58%, with 16 of 43 lots failing to sell in the standalone auction. Christie's also saw disappointing results, with a smaller sale totaling $6.89 million, 17% below its low target. The collection, amassed by the late banker Thomas A. Saunders III and his wife Jordan, was billed as the most valuable Old Masters collection ever to come to auction.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 30, 2025 visibility 18 link 14 artists

laura raicovich circus of life counterpublic

Writer and curator Laura Raicovich is organizing a weekend-long festival called the "Circus of Life" in St. Louis, Missouri, taking place October 24–26 at the Big Top circus grounds in the Grand Center Arts District. The event is part of Counterpublic, a triennial civic exhibition founded in 2019 by James McAnally, and will feature artists, writers, theater groups, performers, and activists. Raicovich leads a team of four "ringleaders" including Kenneth Bailey, Galen Gritts, Jeanne van Heeswijk, and Nontsikelelo Mutiti, with additional participants such as Chloë Bass, Hilma's Ghost, and Kameelah Janan Rasheed. The program includes performances by Bread and Puppet Theater, conversations with Roxane Gay and Nermeen Shaikh, workshops, a parade, and communal meals, all free and open to the public.

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trending_up market schedule May 30, 2025 visibility 12 link 12 artists

georges lemmen record auction

Belgian Neo-Impressionist Georges Lemmen's painting *Jeune femme faisant du crochet (Julie Lemmen)* (1890) sold for $698,500 at Sotheby's New York on May 14, shattering its $50,000–$70,000 estimate and more than doubling the artist's previous auction record. The Pointillist portrait of the artist's sister, Julie Fréderique Lemmen, had been in a private Florida collection since 1960 and was consigned through Sotheby's online portal. The sale drew over a dozen bidders, including a museum, two dealers, and five private collectors, and was backed by an irrevocable bid.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 29, 2025 visibility 13 link 5 artists

theaster gates smart museum chicago

The Smart Museum at the University of Chicago has announced plans for a major mid-career survey of artist Theaster Gates, titled “Unto Thee,” opening September 23 and running through February of next year. This marks Gates’s first solo museum exhibition in his hometown of Chicago, despite his international acclaim and numerous institutional shows elsewhere. The exhibition will feature objects Gates has collected and repurposed from the university, including glass lantern slides, vitrines, concrete, and wooden pews, alongside a large-scale installation of African masks accompanied by music from the late DJ Frankie Knuckles.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 29, 2025 visibility 15 link 12 artists

berruguete restoration altarpiece

The Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao has completed a restoration of Pedro Berruguete's *The Annunciation* (1485–1490), a painting that once formed part of an altarpiece likely for a church in Palencia, Spain. The work, on a five-year loan from the Arburu collection, had suffered from cracks, dirt, and oxidized varnish over centuries. Two specialists—Elisa Mora Sánchez for the paint layer and Mayte Camino Martín for the gilding—cleaned, repaired, and re-gilded the panel, revealing Berruguete's blend of Italian Renaissance, Flemish, and Castilian Gothic influences.

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trending_up market schedule May 29, 2025 visibility 15 link 6 artists

5 essential works rene magritte

René Magritte, the iconic Belgian Surrealist, remains a dominant force in the art market and popular culture. In November 2024, his painting *L’empire des Lumières* (1954) sold for a record $121.2 million at Christie’s in New York, followed by *La reconnaissance infinite* (1933) fetching £10.3 million ($13.7 million) at Christie’s in London in March 2025. Magritte also topped Artnet News’ 2025 Intelligence Report as the best-selling Impressionist & Modern artist, with over $312 million in sales. The article highlights five essential works, including *The False Mirror* (1928) and *The Lovers* (1928), both held by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and *The Treachery of Images* (1929), exploring their surrealist themes and enduring appeal.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 29, 2025 visibility 15 link 5 artists

how did hiroshige become an international sensation

A new exhibition at the British Museum, “Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road,” showcases over 100 works by the Japanese ukiyo-e master Utagawa Hiroshige, including a landmark gift of 35 prints from U.S. collector Alan Medaugh. Many of the prints have never been publicly displayed before, and some are believed to be the only surviving examples of their kind. The show runs through September 7 and features landscapes, bird-and-flower prints, fan prints, and an immersive digital experience created with Outernet London.

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article policy schedule May 29, 2025 visibility 15 link 12 artists

neh stipends trump

The Trump administration is moving to eliminate the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) while simultaneously cutting its funding and reshaping its priorities. In early May, the NEH announced $9.55 million for 68 projects, a sharp drop from $26.2 million for 238 projects the previous year. The number of Summer Stipends was slashed from nearly 100 to just 18, with total funding cut by three-fourths to $144,000. Only one Media Project grant was awarded, down from ten. The administration has also sought to lay off NEH workers, cancel grants, and divert funds to a National Garden of American Heroes, a presidential pet project.

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trending_up market schedule May 23, 2025 visibility 21 link 11 artists

saunders collection old masters sothebys

The collection of Old Masters assembled by Thomas A. Saunders III and his wife Jordan sold for $64.7 million at Sotheby’s on May 21, falling below its low presale estimate but still becoming the most valuable trove of Old Masters ever sold in a single auction. Seven artist records were set, including Luis Meléndez’s *Still Life of a Cauliflower…* ($6.3 million) and Jan Davidsz. de Heem’s floral still life ($8.8 million). The top lot was Francesco Guardi’s twin landscapes of Venice ($10.5 million). A further 14 paintings sold the next day, bringing the collection’s total to $65.4 million.

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trending_up market schedule May 21, 2025 visibility 16 link 12 artists

lalanne ostrich bar sothebys paris

François-Xavier Lalanne's functional sculpture "Ostrich Bar" (1965) sold for €11.1 million ($12.5 million) at Sotheby's Paris on May 20, far exceeding its €3–4 million estimate after an 11-minute bidding war. The piece, one of only six ever produced, features two porcelain ostriches gripping a metal shelf with a central egg for ice cubes; it was the artist's personal favorite, kept in his bedroom for over four decades. The sale took place within Sotheby's Important Design sale curated by model Betty Catroux.

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trending_up market schedule May 19, 2025 visibility 19 link 16 artists

are trophy lots losing their luster

New York's marquee spring auctions in May 2025 tested the theory that strong supply drives demand, but results were mixed. Alberto Giacometti's *Grande tête mince* (1955), estimated at $70 million, failed to sell at Sotheby's, while Christie's withdrew a $30 million Andy Warhol electric-chair painting. The top lot of the week was Piet Mondrian's *Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue* (1922), which fetched $47.6 million from the collection of late Barnes & Noble founder Len Riggio. However, Christie's pre-sold 93% of that collection's value to third-party backers, and the house fell $26 million short of its guaranteed amount. Sotheby's avoided financial risk on the Giacometti by not guaranteeing it, still earning $34.4 million in buyer's premiums. A new record for a living woman artist was set when Marlene Dumas's *Miss January* (1997) sold for $13.6 million at Christie's, though adjusted for inflation it fell short of Jenny Saville's 2018 record.

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trending_up market schedule May 16, 2025 visibility 13 link 4 artists

len riggios mondrian christies auction

A 1922 painting by Piet Mondrian, *Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue*, sold at Christie’s New York for $47.6 million, falling short of its $50 million-plus estimate and the artist’s auction record of $51 million set in 2022. The work was the highlight of the “Leonard & Louise Riggio: Collected Works” sale, a 39-lot trove from the late Barnes & Noble founder and Dia Art Foundation chairman, estimated at up to $326 million. The painting sold to a single phone bidder, likely the guarantor, with no room action.

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trending_up market schedule May 16, 2025 visibility 20 link 8 artists

by the numbers christies riggio

Christie’s New York held the spring season’s largest single-owner auction, the Leonard & Louise Riggio collection, on Monday evening. The sale achieved $271.9 million total with a 97% sell-through rate by lot, led by Piet Mondrian’s *Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue* (1922) at $47.6 million. However, a detailed analysis reveals that the hammer total fell $26 million short of the guarantee, and 93% of the value was pre-sold to third-party backers, leaving Christie’s with a razor-thin margin of roughly 7.8% before marketing costs and guarantor fees.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 3, 2025 visibility 16 link 15 artists

vladimir kanevsky frick collection porcelain

The Frick Collection has reopened after a $220 million, five-year renovation, featuring a new installation called "Porcelain Garden" by Ukrainian-born artist Vladimir Kanevsky. The display includes over 30 handcrafted porcelain floral pieces, such as a lemon tree, lilies of the valley, and a wild artichoke, placed alongside masterpieces by Vermeer, Rembrandt, Goya, and Bellini. Kanevsky, a 74-year-old Jewish-Ukrainian émigré who moved to New York in 1989, originally trained as an architect and turned to porcelain as a side project, which unexpectedly became his career. All the flowers at the Frick have been sold, with prices ranging from $5,000 to $500,000, though his secondary market remains minimal.

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trending_up market schedule May 2, 2025 visibility 14 link 7 artists

rachofsky house dallas for sale

The Rachofsky House, a landmark contemporary art residence in Dallas designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier, has been quietly listed for sale off-market by Compass agent Faisal Halum. The 9,000-square-foot home at 8605 Preston Road has been owned for decades by prominent collectors Howard and Cindy Rachofsky, who annually hosted the Two x Two gala there, raising over $130 million for amfAR and the Dallas Museum of Art. Howard Rachofsky confirmed the sale, citing his age (81) and ongoing estate planning.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 30, 2025 visibility 15 link 7 artists

emily fisher landau picasso sothebys

Pablo Picasso's 1932 painting *Femme à la montre*, depicting his lover Marie-Thérèse Walter, sold for $139.4 million (including fees) at Sotheby's New York during the highly anticipated Emily Fisher Landau sale. The work, estimated at $120 million, was the centerpiece of the auction, with bidding starting at $95 million and concluding after a two-minute standoff among three phone bidders, including one from Asia. Brooke Lampley, Sotheby's head of global fine art, secured the winning bid on behalf of a client. The sale was handled by Sotheby's, which won the right to auction the estate of Landau, a longtime Whitney Museum board member and private collector.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 4, 2025 visibility 16 link 10 artists, 1 gallery

silvia heyden charles moffett

Swiss-born textile artist Silvia Heyden (1927–2015) devoted over half a century to weaving nearly 800 innovative tapestries, despite early discouragement from pursuing violin-making due to her gender. A new exhibition, “Improvisational Nature: The Weavings and Drawings of Silvia Heyden,” at Charles Moffett gallery in New York (through June 7) marks her first solo show in the city and her first U.S. exhibition of tapestries and drawings since 1972. The show, organized with her family, highlights her improvisational, music-inspired approach to the loom, which she likened to playing a violin.

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trending_up market schedule May 29, 2025 visibility 19 link 7 artists, 2 galleries

3 key insights from the art business conference new york

The sixth edition of the Art Business Conference took place in Midtown Manhattan on May 22, drawing over 200 art professionals including gallery staff, auction-house specialists, and lawyers. Chaired by former Artnet executive editor Julia Halperin and founded by Louise Hamlin, the event featured keynotes and panels addressing the state of the art market, legal challenges, and the impact of tariffs. Christie’s CEO Bonnie Brennan reported a $700 million haul from recent auctions, noting a thin top end but strong activity for female Surrealists and Simone Leigh sculptures. Advisors Megan Fox Kelly and Alex Glauber described the market as 'recalibrating' rather than in crisis, with buyers showing increased selectivity.

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trending_up market schedule May 24, 2025 visibility 19 link 8 artists, 1 gallery

qatar lures art basel

MCH Group, parent company of Art Basel, announced a new Doha edition of the Swiss art fair, set to launch in February 2026. Art Basel Qatar will start with 50 galleries and expand to around 200, partnering with Qatar Sports Investments and QC+, a commercial arm of Qatar Museums. The fair aims to bolster markets across the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.

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trending_up market schedule May 19, 2025 visibility 21 link 18 artists, 1 gallery

sothebys contemporary art auction report

Sotheby's held a three-part marathon of contemporary art auctions in New York on Thursday evening, totaling $186.1 million with fees across 68 lots. The evening included white-glove sales for the collections of legendary dealer Barbara Gladstone and veteran dealer Daniella Luxembourg, with the Gladstone offering exceeding its presale estimate. Top lots included Richard Prince's "Man Crazy Nurse" (2002–03), which sold for $3.96 million, and Lucio Fontana's "Concetto spaziale, La fine di Dio" (1963), which achieved $14.5 million. The main contemporary evening sale took in $127 million, while the overall result fell short of last May's equivalent sale of $234.6 million.

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trending_up market schedule May 15, 2025 visibility 14 link 5 artists, 1 gallery

by the numbers christies 21st century sale edges out estimate aided by bounty of guarantees

Christie’s 21st-century art sale on Wednesday achieved $96.5 million in total sales, a 20 percent increase over the same sale last year. The auction featured 43 lots, with four withdrawn before the sale, and a sell-through rate of 83.7 percent (92.3 percent after withdrawals). The top lot was Jean-Michel Basquiat’s *Baby Boom* (1982), which sold for $23.4 million. The sale was heavily supported by guarantees—24 lots were guaranteed, including 18 with third-party guarantees—accounting for 75 percent of the total presale low estimate. Auctioneer Yü-ge Wang faced cautious bidding, prompting playful remarks as collectors tested lower increments.

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