Online sales at Artfact, the world’s premier live auction platform, remained strong throughout July and August despite recent turmoil in the world’s financial markets. 

A canvas by Hughes Claude Pissarro (b. 1935) sold online for €20,000 at Matsart Auctioneers & Appraisers’ International Fine Art Summer Auction on July 5th. Pissarro, who is the grandson of Camille Pissarro (1803 - 1903), first exhibited at the age of fourteen and is probably best known for his Impressionist works known collectively as Petit Claude. Entitled Les deux Fillettes aux arceaux de la Roseraie, the Impressionist-style canvas had a high estimate of €15,000 and was signed by the artist.

A Sioux Bead Decorated Saddle Blanket sold online for $2,100, more than twice its high estimate, at The Cobb’s July 9th auction. The soft hide blanket, which came from a local Peterborough, NH collection, had a 5” beaded border and was in good condition with only minor cracks and losses. 

At I.M. Chait’s July 10th Asian and International Fine Arts auction, an online buyer from Shanghi paid the top price of $90,000 for an antique Chinese Zitan wood tablescreen. The screen, which had a high estimate of $12,000, was inlaid with ivory Immortals and sages amidst carved wood rockery and trees. It was the eighth time this year that the Beverly Hills-based auctioneer sold a single item online for more than $25,000.

A copy of John James Audubon’s (1785 - 1851) American Flamingo sold online for $8,500 at James D. Julia on August 25th. The chromolithograph from the J. Bein edition of Birds of America had been in the Brooks family of Boston and Medford, MA for more than a century before heading to auction. Though Americana values have declined somewhat in recent years, prices for original Audubon prints like this one have remained strong.

Eldred’s of East Dennis, MA sold a White Jade Wine Pot for $50,740, including buyers premium, to an online buyer in Beijing during their August 25-28 Asian Art sale. The pot, which had a high estimate of $35,000, was among the top ten sales during the three-day auction which realized over $2.8 million.

About Artfact:
Founded in 1989, Artfact is the leading provider of SaaS technology and marketing services to the $40 billion live auctions market. Artfact provides over 20,000 estate and art auctioneers around the globe with marketing and e-commerce solutions including auction listings, online bidding, websites, and auction management software. Artfact’s network of web properties includes Artfact.com, AuctionZip.com and Invaluable.com, and reaches over 2.5 million monthly unique users.

Based in Boston and with offices in Pennsylvania and the UK, Artfact currently has over 65 employees. In December 2009, Artfact closed a $13mm round of funding led by Commonwealth Capital Partners and Ascent Venture Partners.