Gucci has announced a collaboration with auction house Christies that will create a protected marketplace and valuation resource for vintage Gucci duds.  According to Suzy Menkes from the IHT…

“This new service will provide a trusted venue for transactions of vintage Gucci items, thereby avoiding recourse to uncontrolled auction sites such as eBay,” said Patrizio di Marco, chief executive of Gucci, on Monday.

The “Gucci Collector” site, presented by Christie’s, will offer a virtual-style valuation of vintage items. The site, scheduled to be up and running by the end of the year, will be a dedicated section on www.christies.com where people seeking appraisals can upload images of their objects for examination. Christie’s is, like Gucci, part of the luxury group PPR.”

This looks like it will be a great project for this niche.  With a heritage like Gucci has, and the reputation that Christies has, the only variable will be the number of people actively seeking and selling the products.

Nabokov escribiendo durante un paseo por Nueva York

NUEVA YORK.- Los manuscritos de “El original de Laura”, la novela que el escritor ruso Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977) dejó inacabada a su muerte, saldrán a subasta en Nueva

 York el próximo diciembre, anunció hoy la casa de subastas Christie’s.

“Se trata de los originales que escribió Nabokov”, confirmó uno de los portavoces de la conocida firma británica en la Manhattan, donde el 4 de diciembre se pondrá a la venta un objeto “extremadamente escaso en el mercado” por un precio que ha sido estimado entre 400.000 y 600.000 dólares.

La obra, que mañana publicarán la editorial Knopf en Estados Unidos y la casa Penguin en el Reino Unido, es el último texto en el que trabajó el conocido autor de “Lolita”, quien plasmó sus ideas sobre la obra en una serie de tarjetas que, según pidió a su esposa Vera y a su hijo Dmitri antes de morir, debían ser destruidas.

Durante treinta años y tras la muerte de la esposa en 1991, el hijo de Nabokov evitó tener que destrozar la obra inconclusa de su padre, que ahora, además de quedar plasmada en un libro póstumo, podrá comprarse en una subasta que Christie’s dedica a manuscritos y rarezas literarias.

Novela escrita en tarjetas

Se trata de 138 tarjetas escritas a lápiz, que contienen numerosas correcciones y anotaciones del autor, y que están en un “excelente estado de conservación”, según cuentan los responsables de la subasta en la página web de Christie’s, donde se define a Nabokov como “uno de los más grandes literatos del siglo XX”.

Esas tarjetas, que se habían guardado en una caja fuerte en Suiza hasta ahora, componen, según Christie’s, “el último florecimiento del arte maduro de Vladimir Nabokov, la quintaesencia de su espíritu creativo”.

“Es probablemente la única oportunidad existente para hacerse con una importante obra de Nabokov”, añaden los expertos de la casa de subastas, quienes relatan que el autor trabajó incansablemente en sus últimos años para completar una novela donde “la muerte y la vida” eterna son los temas clave.

Con el subtítulo de “una novela en fragmentos”, “El original de Laura” cuenta la historia de un profesor, Philip Wild, casado con una mujer promiscua llamada Flora, y abre con una escena en una fiesta, “a la que siguen fragmentaciones que muestran la disipación de Wild”, según los responsables de Christie’s.

La preocupación del protagonista “con su propia muerte” lo lleva a un curso de meditación “con el que decide borrarse de la cabeza a los pies”, añaden los expertos de la firma británica, que aseguran que el lenguaje empleado de la obra es “concentrado, con una destilada tensión poética de una potencia intensa”.

“Obviamente el propio sufrimiento que experimentó Nabokov al envejecer influyó el contenido de su obra final. Su propio dolor y el de Wild se asemejan”, añaden sobre un ejemplar que, “con juegos de palabras y salidas ocurrentes, penetra en los pormenores psicológicos del amor y la muerte”.

La novela será publicada este martes en una edición en la que se han incluido copias fotográficas separadas de las tarjetas originales, acompañadas de una transcripción de las mismas, para que el lector las ordene a su gusto.

Dmitri Nabokov ha incluido además una introducción a la última obra de su padre, a la que ha tenido acceso Efe y en la que relata detalles de los últimos meses de vida del autor, numerosos recuerdos familiares, como su salida de Europa y su llegada a América, y sobre todo justifica su decisión de publicar “El original de Laura”.

“Muchas personas creen que, si un artista desea destruir una obra imperfecta o incompleta, así se debería hacer. Pero esos sabios desconocen que Nabokov no deseaba quemar ‘El original de Laura’ fuera como fuera, sino vivir para alcanzar a rellenar las últimas tarjetas con las que completar al menos un borrado”, explica.

SINGAPORE AND HONG KONG’S COMPETING ART MARKET

Singapore’s art scene has grown rapidly since its 1989 government mandate to recognize the “importance of culture and the art.” Thriving to a point that, according to The Wall Street Journal, Hong Kong–Asia’s epicenter of art–is beginning to take its competitor seriously.

Hong Kong’s challenging art scene

Today’s numbers would suggest that Hong Kong has nothing to worry about for competition.  Hong Kong is currently the third-largest auction market in the world with both Christie’s and Sotheby’s in its territory, and has set aside close to US$3 billion in order to create a much needed world class arts and culture development known as West Kowloon Cultural District. The project, however, has been slow to start and left many frustrated.

“The Hong Kong government first hit upon the idea in 1998 of building an integrated arts and culture neighborhood on 40 hectares of reclaimed land in the West Kowloon district. After many fits and starts, planning for the project recently picked up some momentum…Nevertheless, even if it all goes as planned, the first phase won’t be open until 2016.”

One of the proposed models for the West Kowoon Cultural Centre

The West Kowloon project has been “frustrating and painful,” says Asia Art Archive’s Ms. Hsu, who is also on the advisory panel for the museum at the new West Kowloon development. “For the public it has looked like the government is stalling, but it gives me a lot of hope. The government is very concerned about getting it right.’”

Singapore makes its move

The time spent behind making Hong Kong’s “necessary cultural move” may eventually result in Singapore gaining ground in the market by the country’s pushing ahead with so many art-hub projects of their own.

“It [Singapore] invested more than US$1 billion in infrastructure, including several museums and a 4,000-seat complex of theaters, studios and concert halls called the Esplanade, which opened in 2002, and spiced up its arts programming with diversity and a regional flavor.”

The Esplanade, Singapore

The benefits of Singapore’s art initiatives are already apparent. According to Singapore’s National Arts Council “between 1997 and 2007, the ‘vibrancy’ of the local art scene, measured by the number of performances and exhibition days, quadruped to more than 26,000.”

However, Singapore is still missing a key ingredient to perhaps prosper further: a big art-auction market like Hong Kong’s.

“Some smaller art-auction houses hold sales in Singapore, but the big ones — Christie’s and Sotheby’s — have pulled out and moved their Southeast Asian art auctions to Hong Kong, the former British colony that is home to seven million people and became a Chinese territory in 1997.”

For a city, having the ingredients for a thriving art market creates a virtuous circle. The powerful marketing machines of the big auction houses, including public previews of coming sales, raises awareness and appreciation of art in the community. All this encourages local artists to create more art. And that momentum, in turn, contributes to the development of a city’s broader cultural scene, including music, theater and design.”

Singapore looks ahead

The relationship between big art-auction markets and a thriving art scene can be so entangled that it would appear difficult to navigate a new course in order to adequately compete. Singapore, it seems, is trying anyways.

“Undaunted, Singapore is diligently pushing ahead and has opened several museums and other arts venues while Hong Kong has dithered on the construction of West Kowloon. Christie’s also recently picked Singapore to be the site of a global fine-arts storage facility to open in a duty-free zone in January.”

Related Posts

• ARTSingapore 2009 Fair-new photography fair, high value sales and gallerists pick top fairs in Asia today- October 2009
• New auction houses with new strategies open in Singapore art market – October 2009
• Liquidity propels prices, Chinese Political Pop is back- Sothebys Contemporary Asian Art Auction 2009 Hong Kong- October 2009

Subscribe to Art Radar Asia

RM/KCE

Michael Appleton for The New York Times

It was the sale of the season. When a seminal Warhol — one of the artist’s first silk-screen paintings — came on the block at Sotheby’s auction of contemporary art on Wednesday night, the auctioneer, Tobias Meyer, opened bidding at $6 million and was stunned when a bidder instantly doubled it.

The price rose at breakneck speed as five collectors vied for the classic image, “200 One Dollar Bills.” It ended up selling for $43.7 million (including fees to Sotheby’s), more than three times its high estimate of $12 million. The buyer, whom Sotheby’s refused to identify, bid by telephone through Bruno Vinciguerra, the company’s chief operating officer. Sotheby’s would also not identify the seller, although people familiar with the collection said it was Pauline Karpidas, a London-based collector.

Just a year after the art market was in the doldrums with the world’s financial markets, buyers with deep pockets were not shy about stepping up for tried-and-true artists. The sale topped Sotheby’s expectations, totaling $134.4 million, well above its $67.9 million high estimate. Of the 54 works on offer, only two went unsold. The evening also eclipsed Christie’s auction of postwar and contemporary art on Tuesday night, which brought in $74.1 million. While both sales featured big-name artists, Sotheby’s had just enough blockbusters to make for a successful evening.

In pristine condition, “200 One Dollar Bills” was enticing to any Pop Art collector. Add to that the provenance — it had once been part of the celebrated collection of Robert C. Scull, the taxi tycoon — and it was irresistible.

(Final prices include the commission paid to Sotheby’s: 25 percent of the first $50,000 of the hammer price, 20 percent of the next $50,000 to $1 million and 12 percent of the rest. Estimates do not reflect commissions.)

Warhols of all ages and subjects brought strong prices. A 1965 self-portrait with a top estimate of $1.5 million sold to Laurence Graff, the London jeweler, for $5.4 million ($6.1 million with Sotheby’s commission). Warhol himself gave the work to Cathy Naso, who as a teenager in the mid-1960s worked after school in his legendary Factory.

Scared that it might get stolen, she had stashed it in the closet of her Connecticut home. As a result, its purple and red background colors were as brilliant as they were when it was painted, and collectors knew that. Mr. Graff, who sat in the first row of Sotheby’s salesroom on York Avenue, was not intimidated by five competing bidders.

“It’s a gem,” he said after the sale. “I came to New York for it and for the little Dora Maar,” he added referring to a Picasso painting at Sotheby’s last week. “And I am taking both home.”

Even Warhol drawings fetched solid prices: A 1962 sketch of a roll of cash topped expectations when Larry Gagosian, the Manhattan dealer, bought the work for $4.2 million, above its high $3.5 million estimate.

And one of Warhol’s “Tunafish Disaster” silk-screen paintings, this one from 1963 and being sold by Mr. Gagosian, was snapped up, too. It had been estimated at $1.5 million to $2 million, and Jose Mugrabi, a Manhattan dealer, bought it for $1 million ($1.2 million with fees). At Christie’s on Tuesday night, a more compelling composition of the same subject was up for sale by Peter Brant, the newsprint magnate. It had been estimated at $6 million to $8 million, but there were no takers.

By contrast, on Wednesday, a 1957 Jasper Johns painting, “Gray Numbers,” drew a lot of interest. In 2003 Richard Hedreen, a Seattle collector, bought it for $5.2 million. On Wednesday it was estimated at as much as $7 million, and brought $8.7 million.

Philippe Ségalot, a Manhattan dealer who was one of the unsuccessful bidders for “200 One Dollar Bills,” said: “I think the painting was worth it. It was rare and great. And the appealing estimate helped encourage bidding. It was really Warhol’s night.”

I was reading up on this week’s auction of the contents of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé’s country home. I was even gonna make a post about it so I was looking for images to illustrate my meanderings.

Anyway, Google Image Search reminded me that the Saint Laurent logo graces cigarettes in Europe. Not only can you get YSL’s you can get Cartier cigarettes as well. I know smoking is not good, but it looks cool.

Did you know that at some point Pierre Cardin, Givenchy, Versace and Christian Lacroix have leant their name to ciggies?

I am telling you because I feel the need to justify the time I spent in the rabbit hole of typing “designer name” + “Cigarettes” into Google Search

Image via A 先生 at Flickr.

The December issue of Vanity Fair includes a teaser about the nasty divorce I posted about last May (below). Equally unsurprising as Mario Testino’s portfolio of Seymour’s smashing figure (which has long been fully disclosed), is the reported assumption that neither of them seem to be fighting over this Maurizio Cattelan sculpture:

Forget the largely dour results of the pulverized sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s major auctions this week and last (they will eventually rebound perhaps more quickly than we suspect), the contemporary art auction season has been dealt a more mortal blow. Gone is the promise of watching a stallion-like Stephanie Seymour stride up the center aisle of Christie’s saleroom in some seductive getup to find her seat beside hubby Peter Brant, publisher of Art in America and Interview, polo and interview extraordinaire, and infamous Gagosian comrade. Just as the opening of the Brant Foundation Art Study Center is providing a peek at some of the 1,000 artworks that Brant has collected over the years, the 14-year marriage between Seymour and Brant (whose duo involvement with Interview as of late has been a bit disconcerting) is dissolving into Page Six reports detailing their bitter divorce and putting a final nail in the coffin of a decadent art collecting era. There are lots of questions here beyond whether Seymour is drugging and boozing and whether Brant’s ownership of a Maurizio Cattelan sculpture of Seymour (see above) that looks like it belongs in a hunting lodge qualifies as exhibiting “hostile, threatening and intimidating behavior.” The implications for contemporary art (at least some 1,000 works) is just beginning.

Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear, Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent’s  paintings today have been sold  for as much as $82.5 million for “Portrait of Doctor Gachet”, 1890, sold at Christies in 1990.

$71.5 million in 1998
“Portrait of the artiste sans barbe”, 1889

$57 million in 1993 (during a recession in the US)
“Wheat field with cypresses”, 1889

$53.9 million in 1991
Vincent van Gogh: “Irises”, 1888

During his short lifetime Vincent created about 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches spanning a period of about 10 years. He only began painting in his late twenties and sadly took his own life at 37.

After hearing about the Warhol that sold for over $40 million on the radio, I headed over to ArtForum to get more of the auction drama. The Sotheby’s folks must be thrilled after their banner night.

The U.S. art market appears to be on the mend. The major fall art auctions may not have sold everything on offer, but collectors showed a renewed willingness to bid up top examples of artists’ work. Dealers also said inflation fears and expectations of higher bonuses in the financial markets stoked strong bidding.

New York’s two chief auction houses, Sotheby’s and Christie’s International, brought in about $596 million combined from their semi annual sales of Impressionist, modern and contemporary art in the past two weeks. The total surpassed the houses’ $409 million spring sales in May, a gain that could signal a measure of returning confidence in high-end art values.

Despite the uptick, the market isn’t likely to recapture its boom-era exuberance anytime soon. The volume of art changing hands at these sales is still much smaller than it was last November, when the two houses brought in a combined $729 million, or two years ago at the market’s peak, when their fall sales totaled $1.6 billion.

Le magazine Forbes a réalisé un classement des stars défuntes les plus rentables cette année! Plutôt morbide effet…

Si tout le monde s’attendait à retrouver Michael Jackson ou Elvis Presley en première place, sachez que c’est Yves Saint Laurent qui bat tous les records avec la fameuse vente du siècle qui aurait rapporté près de 300 millions de dollars.

Près de 9 mois après la vente aux enchères, Christie’s organise une nouvelle vente des effets personnels d’Yves Saint Laurent et Pierre Bergé, les 17, 18 et 19 novembre au Théâtre Marigny, à Paris.

Cette vente devrait rapporter au total entre 3 et 4 millions d’euros, précise Christie’s. L’intégralité du produit de la vente se fera au profit de la recherche sur le virus du sida (VIH) et de la lutte contre cette maladie via leur Fondation.

Cet événement n’aura pas l’ampleur de la vente exceptionnelle de la collection YSL/Bergé, en février dernier, où des Matisse, Picasso, Léger ou encore des bronzes chinois se côtoyaient parmi les 733 oeuvres mises en vente. Après le décès du couturier Yves Saint Laurent en juin 2008, l’homme d’affaires Pierre Bergé, a choisi de disperser totalement la collection qu’ils avaient réunie ensemble pendant cinquante ans.

ASIAN ART MARKET

Visitors enter a Sotheby's auction room in Hong Kong for a sale of modern and contemporary art on October 6, 2008.

For the first time ever, the total auction revenue from “contemporary art in Asia” is greater than the total of the United States artprice reports. The statistics are collected from a 12-month period spanning from July 2008 to June 2009. Asia generated €130 million versus the United States’ €123 million. China is the highest gainer out of this trend, having generated €95 million from contemporary art during the same period.  According to the report, this means China is continuing to “hold on to its third place global geographical art auction revenue ranking.”

The establishment of foreign auction houses such as Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Bonhams in Hong Kong, in combination with the financial strength of Hong Kong and Shanghai are to be accredited for China’s position. For those who are looking to begin collecting Asian art, this does not mean that the price of contemporary Chinese art is back up to its sky-high prices of a couple of years ago. Artprice’s report tell us that in the first half of 2008 the average price of contemporary works sold in China was $65,500, however, in the first half of 2009, this average dropped to $26,800.

Related posts:

• Liquidity propels prices, Chinese Political Pop is back- Sotheby’s Contemporary Asian Art Auction 2009 Hong Kong- October 2009
• Trends and opportunities in the contemporary photography market- October 2009
• Newslink round up Art Basel 2009- Indian, Japanese artists dominate coverage of Asians- June 2009

Subscribe to Art Radar Asia for more market and auction house news

RM/KCE

A brief lesson in 18th century French furniture styles

Working as a copywriter at Christie’s, I have had the great privilege to learn and write about many rare and fascinating objects. From exceptional bottles of fine wine to limited edition watches, every day brings a new discovery my way. But one of my favourite lessons was revealed to me during an interview with a furniture specialist in Paris. We were discussing 18^th century furniture, and he taught me, on the spot, how to tell the difference between Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI styles. I had a vague idea beforehand, but he explained with great clarity. I will try to do the same, and next time you go antique hunting, you’ll be able to wow the salesmen with your impressive knowledge putting yourself in a good bargaining position.

So, first, a quick historical recap of the kings concerned:

And now the hallmark features :

Louis XIV Style – Baroque Grandeur

In 1661 Louis XIV started working on a detailed expansion project of the Château Versailles, with the plan to relocate the French Royal court there once the building was complete. Sure enough, in 1682 the court of Versailles became the centre of political power in France. Louis XIV surrounded himself with grand Baroque furnishings. He was concerned with showing off the wealth, power and civilization of the French. The chairs of this period are very formal; tall and throne-like with high arm rests.

Louis XV Style – Rococo Luxury
During the Régence period, Philippe moved the court to the Palais Royal in Paris, where the new king was surrounded by a far more relaxed and intimate environment than Louis XIV. There was a growing taste for elegance and comfort in the home. Playing cards, writing letters, gossiping and flirting became popular pastimes for both men and women. As a result, armchairs became smaller and more feminine. The fauteuil en cabriolet was usually upholstered with a concave cartouche-shaped back for comfort, and padded arms often curved outward to accommodate the full hooped dresses of the period. The popular style shifted from throne-like grandeur, to refined curvilinear forms with cabriole legs, feminine scrolls and shell and flower motifs for decoration. This is my favourite style of them all.

Louis XVI Style – Pure Neoclassicism
By the mid 18th century sophisticated society were growing tired of fussy rococo designs and were ready for a new look. Inspired by increased travel and the excavations of Pompeii, furniture makers started to incorporate elements of Greco Roman architecture marking the dawn of the Neoclassical era. The Louis XVI style actually started about ten years before his reign commenced in 1774. There was a transitional period from Rococo to Neoclassical when furniture makers were adapting their stock to suit new tastes. As a result you could find Rococo curves mixed with the rectilinear forms of Neoclassicism. Lines gradually became straighter, legs were fluted with tapering feet and key patterns. The backs of chairs were often medallion shaped and in many instances arm posts were discarded altogether.  The Neoclassical style was favoured throughout the Empire and Directoire periods following the French Revolution.

Well I hope you found this interesting. Test your knowledge when you next find yourself wading through a sea of French 18th century chairs. And if you want to buy any, be sure to check out the furniture sales at Christie’s.

Fashionistas and lovers of exquisite handbags get set to bid for your favorite accessory as Christie’s South Kensington is holding an auction of historically important handbags on November 19. Bid for a stylish Hermes Birkin that is known to have a waiting of more than six years or go for the Kelly handbag. An auction for every bag lady, these vintage and stylish bags are sure to appeal to one and all. Besides Birkin’s the auction house is also offering a selection of vintage jewelry to ogle and possibly bid on.

SIX MILLIONS DE DOLLARS, un peu plus de quatre millions d’euros, c’est l’estimation haute pour “Large Vase of Flowers”, l’une des trois oeuvres de Jeff Koons que la maison d’enchères Christie’s s’apprête à mettre en vente le 10 novembre prochain à New-York.

Mais la vraie valeur ajoutée, c’est son dernier lieu d’exposition, le Château de Versailles, en l’occurence dans la chambre de Marie-Antoinette.

La polémique adressée à J.J.Aillagon est ici d’augmenter la cote des artistes grâce à leur exposition à Versailles. Ce qui mécaniquement se produit, Versailles étant une vitrine internationale exceptionnelle pour un artiste en pleine carrière.

Je vous invite à lire cet article pour plus d’informations: Un Koons de Versailles en vente chez Pinault

In reference to the auction held at Christie’s New York on Tuesday evening, one dealer was quoted by the New York Times as stating, “It was a night where the buyers did the editing.”

From The New York Times:

It was a thin sale of Impressionist and modern art, with just 40 works on offer and prices that fell below estimates. The evening totaled $65.6 million but had been estimated to bring at least $68.6 million.

Throughout the night at the salesroom at Rockefeller Center, what bidding there was took place mostly on the telephone … only 29 percent of the buyers were Americans, while 42 percent of the buyers were Europeans, a category that includes Russians.

There were some high points to what was clearly a disappointing evening. The star was an 1896 Degas pastel of a young dancer rubbing her foot, the image on the cover of the sale catalog. It brought $9.5 million ($10.7 million including fees to Christie’s), well above its $9 million high estimate. The winning bid was taken by Ken Yeh, deputy chairman of Christie’s in Asia.

(…) But not all such appealing images sold. One surprising failure was Pissarro’s “Pont du chemin de fer, Pontoise,” an 1873 landscape. Christie’s had estimated that it would bring at least $3.5 million. But there was only one bidder, who was not prepared to spend more than $3.2 million, so the painting went unsold. “I was surprised,” said Lionel Pissarro, a Paris dealer who is a great-grandson of the artist. “It is a beautiful painting and it wasn’t overpriced.”

Click here to continue reading