(Bloomberg) — In light of Wednesday’s $1.5 billion Paul Allen auction, where just 60 works became the largest single-owner sale by value ever, it feels almost quaint to describe New York’s forthcoming November sales as “mega.” And yet in the next week, Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips are set to auction roughly 2,000 lots estimated to total as much as $1.9 billion.
If anything, auction house specialists predicted the Allen sale will have injected confidence into a market wobbling, ever so slightly, from fears of a global recession. “It’s the oxygen that will make the art market’s pulse race,” says Brooke Lampley, Sotheby’s chairman and worldwide head of sales for global fine art, speaking ahead of the Allen auction. “People are looking to it as a bellwether.”
The sale’s success, she continues, “will alleviate any outstanding anxiety, trepidation, or concern people have about collecting art in this economic climate. It is a symbol to art buyers of every level that the leading financial investors and art collectors in the world believe in art, no matter what.”
Yet, while there are many, very expensive artworks on offer this week, none, excepting a Warhol that Sotheby’s estimates will sell for more than $80 million, comes close to the density of super-expensive pieces that the November sales have yielded in recent years.
“You’re looking at a smaller dollar amount,” acknowledges Alex Rotter, the chairman of Christie’s 20th and 21st century art department, regarding his Nov. 17 auctions, which have a cumulative high estimate of $619 million for 110 lots. “I thought it was much more healthy to construct the sale in a different price bracket, because we took a lot of air out of the $100 million market after the Allen sale.”
The Week’s Lineup
Still, the evening sales this week are nothing to sniff at. Sotheby’s will kick things off on Monday night with a double-header: First is the collection of David Solinger, a former president of the Whitney Museum who’s credited with turning the institution into an internationally recognized force in contemporary art. Solinger died in 1996; now, his heirs are selling 23 pieces from his collection, including a de Kooning that carries a high estimate of $25 million and a Miró that’s estimated to sell from $15 million to $20 million.
Immediately following that sale comes the auction house’s Modern Evening Auction, whose star lot is a Mondrian estimated to sell “in excess” of $50 million. If it exceeds that amount by even a $1 million, it will become the most expensive Mondrian ever sold at auction; the current record is $50.6 million, set in 2015 at Christie’s New York.
“It’s a pretty unique season in terms of the kind of pedigree and provenance that we’re able to offer,” says Lampley, name-checking Solinger along with works being sold by CBS founder William Paley’s foundation. “And that’s before we get to the extraordinary objects coming to the market for the first time in decades—that’s the best Mondrian you’re going to see on the market.” All told, Monday night’s sales at Sotheby’s are expected to exceed $410 million.
Tuesday night will be Phillips’s time to shine. Although the auction house is much smaller than its ostensible rivals, it’s managed, in recent years, to put together consistently solid sales with blue-chip lots. This year, its star is a 16-foot-wide Cy Twombly from 2005 that carries an estimate of $35 million to $45 million. When the hammer comes down on the final lot, Phillips’s 46 evening sale lots are anticipated to bring from $118.5 million to $165.3 million.
Contemporary Stars
Next come the big contemporary sales. On Wednesday, Sotheby’s will hold yet another double header with its hyper-contemporary auction, the Now, estimated to sell from $32.4 to $47.2 million worth of art.
That’s followed by the Contemporary Evening Auction, which carries an overall estimate of $249.2 million to $316.6 million and includes the week’s most expensive lot, an $80 million Warhol. The 1963 silkscreen White Disaster [White Car Crash 19 Times] is 12-feet high and is part of Warhol’s Car Crash series; in 2013, a silkscreen from the series set a record when it sold for $105.4 million at Sotheby’s in New York.
Christie’s will get to put a punctuation mark on the week on Thursday night, when it combines its 20th century and 21st century auctions into a single evening. Top lots include two artworks estimated in the region of $35 million each: a de Kooning in the 20th century sale and a Basquiat from 1982. “We wanted to have a couple of high-impact lots that we were bullish on,” Rotter says, “like that de Kooning, which is going to be one of the stars of the sale.”
While these sales might not offer the masterpieces of the Allen auction (and to be fair, no sale has before, or probably will again), Rotter says that last week’s $1.5 billion result—$1.62 billion, if you include a second sale the following morning of lesser-priced works—could be a useful takeaway for everyone.
“It’s an injection of confidence,” he says. “If you buy the right stuff and buy what you love, there will be value in it forever.”
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.
Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.
Massive Seizure of Artworks
In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.
Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.
Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed
In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.
Court Proceedings Ongoing
The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
Impact on the Local Art Community
The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.
For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.
As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.
While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.
Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.
As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.
