Art News. Vasari Codex

article news schedule Jul 8, 2025 visibility 24 link 17 artists, 5 galleries

paint drippings art industry news jul 7 2664592

This week's art industry news covers major auction results, gallery changes, and restitution developments. At Christie's Old Masters evening sale in London, Canaletto's "The Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day" set a new auction record for the artist at £31.9 million ($43.9 million), leading the sale to a total of £60.8 million. Sotheby's Old Masters evening sale brought in £14.5 million, with three new records including Diana de Rosa's "Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist" selling for £317,500. A rare early watercolor by Man Ray, "Nude Playing Musical Instrument" (1913), resurfaced after decades and will be auctioned at Dreweatts. In gallery news, Blum gallery laid off most of its staff and plans to cease brick-and-mortar operations, while Waddington Custot announced a new Paris space, and Company Gallery hired Subhas Kim Kandasamy as executive director. White Cube now represents Firenze Lai, and JD Malat Gallery launched a new initiative for UAE artists. In restitution, the Netherlands returned 119 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, transferred two Benin works to the Oba of Benin.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 7, 2025 visibility 11 link 13 artists, 2 galleries

londons old masters week sees rare works sell and mid market paintings struggle 1234746818

Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams held Old Masters auctions in London, with Christie's achieving a record £31.9 million ($43.7 million) sale for Canaletto's *Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day* (circa 1732), more than half the sale's total of £60.8 million. The painting, once owned by Robert Walpole, set a new auction record for the artist. Sotheby's evening sale brought in £14.5 million, with J.M.W. Turner's rediscovered *The Rising Squall, Hot Wells, from St Vincent's Rock, Bristol* (1792) selling for £1.9 million, seven times its estimate. However, mid-market paintings struggled, and the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery failed to acquire the Turner despite fundraising £109,000.

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trending_up market schedule Dec 31, 2025 visibility 25 link 33 artists, 10 galleries

Observer’s 2025 Art Market Recap: Recovery After a Year of Recalibration

After a turbulent start marked by gallery closures and market contraction, the art market in 2025 rebounded decisively, driven by a secondary-market surge in high-quality consignments. Major auction houses reported strong year-end results: Sotheby's projects $7 billion in consolidated sales (up 17%), Christie's expects $6.2 billion (up 7%), and Phillips reported $927 million (up 10%). Key sales included the $272 million Leonard & Louise Riggio collection at Christie's, the $527.5 million Lauder collection at Sotheby's (led by a $236.4 million Gustav Klimt), and the $136 million Karpidas sales. The year began quietly but gained momentum after summer, with deep bidding and strategic pricing driving a 26% increase in Sotheby's auction revenue and an 11% overall rise in fine art sales across Old Masters, Impressionist, Modern, Post-War and Contemporary categories.

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trending_up market schedule Dec 5, 2025 visibility 13 link 6 artists

tudor portrait auction record 2724121

A 16th-century portrait of Thomas Howard, the 4th Duke of Norfolk, by Hans Eworth sold for £3.2 million ($4.2 million) at Sotheby’s Old Masters sale in London on December 4, setting a record as the most expensive Elizabethan portrait ever sold. The painting was purchased by the art advisory Clore Wyndham on behalf of the Duke of Norfolk and the trustees of Arundel Castle, where it will be displayed. The work, painted in 1562, depicts Norfolk at the height of his political power, dressed in opulent Tudor fashion, and is one of only two known portraits of him.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 28, 2025 visibility 17 link 1 artist

canaletto 2026 christies old masters sale 1234759165

A Canaletto painting titled *Venice, the Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day* (ca. 1754) will lead Christie’s Old Masters sale in New York this February 2026, with an estimate of over $30 million. The monumental canvas, commissioned by the King family (later Earls of Lovelace), is the last known version of this subject by the artist. It last sold at Christie’s 20 years ago during the Champalimaud Collection sale, setting a record. The work will tour exhibitions in New York, Hong Kong, and London before returning to New York for a pre-sale exhibition.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 3, 2025 visibility 17 link 7 artists

canaletto walpole heads to christies auction 2643675

Canaletto's painting "Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day" (1731–32) sold for £31.9 million ($43.9 million) at Christie's Old Masters evening sale in London, setting a new auction record for the Italian painter. The work, which once hung in the offices of Britain's first prime minister Robert Walpole, surpassed its presale estimate of £20 million and is the largest Canaletto composition to appear at market in two decades, noted for its exceptional preservation and execution during the artist's career peak.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 2, 2025 visibility 13 link 4 artists

christies smashes canalettos auction record after venice view sells for 43 7 m 1234746707

Christie’s Old Masters evening sale in London set a new auction record for Canaletto on Tuesday, when his painting *Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day* (circa 1732) sold for £31.9 million with fees ($43.7 million), far exceeding its £20 million estimate. The work, once owned by Britain’s first prime minister Robert Walpole, drew five bidders and sold to an anonymous phone bidder via Christie’s international director Alice de Roquemaurel. The previous Canaletto record of £18.6 million was set at Sotheby’s in 2005.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 23, 2025 visibility 20 link 23 artists, 1 gallery

Backed by an Expanding Collector Base, Old Masters Make a Quiet Comeback

Christie's London Classic Week generated a combined total of £60,844,240 ($83,660,830) between its Old Masters Evening Sale and The Exceptional Sale, led by a record-setting £31.9 million sale of a Canaletto masterpiece. The painting, once part of Sir Robert Walpole's collection, attracted five bidders from Asia, Europe, and North America. Sotheby's also saw strong results, with the two houses together achieving £58 million (excluding buyer's premium) in Old Masters evening auctions, a notable increase from 2024. Other highlights included Titian's Portrait of a nobleman, seated before a window selling for £3,428,000 and Jan Davidsz de Heem's still life achieving £3,670,000.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 1, 2025 visibility 14 link 10 artists, 1 gallery

New world record for Canaletto as view of Venice sells for £31.9m

A Canaletto painting, *Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day* (circa 1732), sold for £27.5 million (£31.9 million with fees) at Christie’s in London on July 1, setting a new auction record for the artist. The work, once owned by Britain’s first prime minister Robert Walpole, exceeded its $20 million estimate and was purchased by an anonymous phone bidder. The sale drew five bidders from Asia, Europe, and North America, and the painting was backed by a third-party guarantor.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 11, 2025 visibility 11 link 2 artists

gerrit dou headlines christies london old masters sale 1234760985

Christie’s will offer Gerrit Dou’s "The Flute Player" (ca. 1636) as the leading lot in its Old Masters Evening Sale on December 2 in London. The painting, Dou’s first depiction of a musician, carries an estimate of £2 million to £3 million ($2.6 million–$4 million). It has been in an English collection for 125 years, previously owned by William Proby, Fifth Earl of Carysfort, and is appearing on the market for the first time in over a century.

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