ARTFIXdaily News Feed - Breaking News from the Art World

George Washington Wine Cooler Reaps $782,500 at Christie's

ArtfixDaily / January 22nd, 2012

A wine cooler, which George Washington presented to Alexander Hamilton as a gift, far exceeded its expected sale price at auction, going for $782,500 on January 19th. The cooler was designed according to specifications given by George Washington himself...

Record gold, silver prices spark antiques meltdown

Bloomberg / August 7th, 2011

A buffet of 18th- and 19th-century silver and gold boxes, candlesticks, flatware and salvers are increasingly heading to the furnace as prices for precious metals have soared in 2011. Collectors and attic raiders are...

Spring Show attracts fresh crowd, steady sales

Art Newspaper / May 3rd, 2011

The inaugural Spring Show, organized by the Art and Antiques Dealers League of America, had a promising first-run at the Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan. About 1,495 attendees, including a contingent of designers, celebrities, and collectors, enjoyed the opening night party on April 27. Over the ...

New art fair finds a niche in Naples

Naplesnews.com / March 8th, 2011

Veteran show organizer David Lester estimated that sales soared to between $10 million and $20 million at his inaugural Naples International Art & Antiques Show. About 80% of visitors to the new 4-day show were locals from the southwest Florida city of Naples, but Lester told Naplesnews.com ...

Renoir to Richter, antique pistols to rare gems shine at Palm Beach fair

artinfo / February 9th, 2011

Nearly 8,000 guests flocked to the gala preview of the American International Fine Art Fair in Palm Beach last weekend. About 40,000 visitors are expected altogether to peruse the booths of 66 dealers, down from 84 last year. The 15th edition of the fair, which runs through Feb. 13 at the Palm ...

Kroll painting, Chinese export smash auction estimates

ArtfixDaily / September 16th, 2010

Ten Chinese Export armorial plates, conservatively estimated at $1,000 to $2,000, catapulted to a final bid of $16,157.50 (including 15% buyers premium) at Cleveland-based Aspire Auctions' recent sale ending Sept. 2. The Kang Hsi (circa 1720) plates, noted as heavily glazed with carved rims, ...

Collectors' guide to Georg Jensen silver

Telegraph / August 19th, 2010

Judith Miller reveals the top ten things you should know before buying antique and new Georg Jensen silver, from popular patterns of hollowware to price ranges, as well as styles and forms to look out for. "Prices rose about 15 per cent over the past decade, but levelled out during the ...

Turner landscape, silver wine cooler set records at Sotheby's

ArtfixDaily / July 7th, 2010

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles won J.M.W. Turner's ethereal final painting of Rome, “Modern Rome — Campo Vaccino” (1839) for $44.9 million (with fees) at a Sotheby's sale in London on Wednesday. In pristine condition, the work reached an auction record for the British master, soundly ...

Fusco & Four to relaunch Ellis Boston Antiques Show

ArtfixDaily / June 24th, 2010

The Ellis Antiques Show, Boston's premier fair which ran for 49 years through 2008, will be resurrected for a comeback, October 13 to 16, 2011. Show producers Fusco & Four will relaunch the show at The Cyclorama, Boston Center for The Arts, with 40 exhibitors of the highest quality, drawn ...

America's oldest hostelry hosts new antiques show

Community Advocate / May 6th, 2010

Longfellow's Wayside Inn in historic Sudbury, Mass., is holding its inaugural Antiques Show May 14 through 16. Nearly 50 premier antiques dealers from around the country will offer American art, American and European furniture, ceramics, silver, books, jewelry, folk art and more. American ...

$150 million expansion illuminates VMFA collections

Daily Press / May 5th, 2010

The venerable Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has added 165,000-square-feet in order to properly display its immense holdings.  Emerging from the vaults to new galleries will be the museum's Pre-Colombian and Native American collections. Permanent collection galleries will increase 50% in ...

Keno Auctions debuts with record-smashing Chippendale chest

Antiques and the Arts / May 4th, 2010

A record price for New York furniture was set at Leigh Keno's inaugral auction last weekend. The James Beekman Chippendale carved mahogany chest of drawers from the shop of Thomas Brookman, with carving attributed to Henry Hardcastle, circa 1752, estimated at $200/600,000, sold for ...

Buzzworthy Americana at Philadelphia Antiques Show, Apr. 17-20

Phillyburbs.com / April 13th, 2010

Exhibitor Todd Prickett, of C.L. Prickett, will showcase a "phenomenal" tall case clock made by Matthew Egerton. Prickett says, "It's the finest form, and...original feet, original surface."

Imperial Russian box returns to the market

Luxist / April 1st, 2010

A heated bidding battle took an Imperial Russian silver box, with a $4,000 to $6,000 estimate, to $400,000 at a William J. Jenack auction in 2008. The winning bidder never paid up so the box is back on the block April 11. Made by I.P. Khlebnikov, a craftsman who worked for the House of Fabergé ...

High hopes for blue-chip art sales at TEFAF

Luxist / March 10th, 2010

The Dutch city of Maastricht is now hosting 263 top dealers, bringing about $2.7 billion worth of art and antiques to the world's biggest art fair, TEFAF. Opening night, this Thursday, may be a litmus test for how buyers will react to such offerings as a $15 million ...

TEFAF aggregates the world's best art for sale

Hello Magazine / February 25th, 2010

Over 30,000 works of art, from antiquities to modern paintings, much of it desirable for pedigree, rarity, and beauty, will descend upon the Dutch town of Maastricht from March 12 to 21. With 263 top-tier exhibitors bringing the best of their blue-chip art, plus special sections for design, works ...

Some antiques seen as 'safe haven' investments with aesthetic appeal

Financial Times / February 21st, 2010

According to antiques valuers in the U.K., auction prices have been climbing steadily for leading English silversmiths of the 18th and 19th centuries, including works by Paul de Lamerie, Hester Bateman and Paul Storr. Other strong categories include antique armor and jewellery, which increased 37 ...

Leigh Keno's auction premiere to offer a boat-load of Americana

Hartford Courant / February 11th, 2010

Recently, American antiques expert Leigh Keno, of "Antiques Roadshow" fame, has been making many housecalls looking for objects for his newest venture — the inaugural auction of Keno Auctions, to be held at the Marriott Stamford (CT.) on May 1 and 2. He's already amassed an impressive sale ...

Upscale & Upbeat: Baltimore Antiques Show expects high turn-out, strong sales

Maryland Daily Record / September 3rd, 2009

Expectations are high for this weekend's 29th annual Baltimore Summer Antiques Show, the largest indoor antiques shows in the world, featuring 550 top-tier dealers. "The industry overall has been soft but nobody’s giving anything away — prices haven’t fallen,” said Kris Charamonde of the Palm ...

New Orleans Auction Galleries serves up Southern estates

Auction Central News / August 5th, 2009

Summer heat and humidity in the Crescent City hasn't stopped New Orleans Auction Galleries Inc. from putting together an August sale that will have auction-goers wiping their brows as bidding intensifies. The auction Aug. 8-9 will feature art, antiques and curios from numerous Southern estates ...