Beverly Hills, CA - April 3, 2017 - Carlyle Galleries International, Inc. (www.carlyle-auctions.com) March 16 art auction produced strong results across multiple categories, including Impressionist Modern and Old Master paintings. 

More than 300 bidders from 41 countries, participated in the online auction, which was hosted on LiveAuctioneers.com and BidSquare.com. 

AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS:

Filipino Art 

A highlight of the auction was a mid-century modernist painting by Filipino modernist, Macario Vitalis (1898-1990), from the estate of famed musician Louis Kaufman (1905-1994). The painting carried an estimate of $8,000-12,000 and received numerous international bids, before selling to a private collector in Asia for $10,250 (including buyers premium). 

Carlyle CEO, Jack Marks commented, “Filipino art is a very strong performer now, and these painting do very well in Carlyle’s auctions.” Marks added, “In my opinion, the buyer of this Macario Vitalis painting will do very well over the next 5-7 years, as his prices catch up to other important Filipino artists like Arturo Luz, Vicente S Manansala, and Fernando Cueto Amorsolo which are setting record prices. Today, the market for Macario Vitalis reminds me of where Manoucher Yektai (Iranian/American modernist) was in 2012. I was selling Yektai paintings for $8,000-10,000 which I recently offered to buy back for $35,000. Macario Vitalis is an under-valued artist on a similar trajectory, and I would not be surprised to see this painting re-selling for $30,000+ in the next 5-years” 

Carlyle Auctions is offering another Macario Vitalis in it’s April 5 auction with a $10,000-15,000 estimate.

Hollywood History

Another interesting lot in the auction was a 1945 painting by Edgar Kiechle (1911-1960),  depicting the violent set decorators strike at Warner Brothers studio, that year. Titled

"Producers are Unfair" (Hollywood Strike 1945), the painting was from a Hollywood estate, and carried an estimate of $1,000-2,000. 

Kiechle was a set decorator and scenic painter for Hollywood film studios in the 1930’s and 50’s. His paintings were exhibited at LACMA and the San Francisco Legion of Honor, collected by many entertainers and celebrities in the 1940’s and 50’s. An artist long forgotten, only 3 paintings by Kiechle have sold at auction since 1996, with a previous top price of $850. Carlyle’s March 16 auction set a new record for the artist, selling for $1,280 (including premium) to a private collector in Texas. 

Henri Maik

One of the most eagerly anticipated lots in the auction was a large painting by French artist Henri Maik (1922-1993) carrying an estimate of $18,000-25,000. The early 1970’s painting measured at 50” x 77” inches, making it the largest ever offered at auction. “This was a superb composition, and Henri Maik at his best” According to Marks. “During the auction we had multiple bids from private collectors which did not quite meet the reserve. The previous record for the artist was $13,100. That was for a similar period, and size Henri Maik, but not anywhere near the level of quality of the lot we were selling. So it’s understandable that some collectors would hesitate to bid aggressively.” However, the passed lot received multiple offers after the auction, ultimately selling to a major gallery for a price inside the pre-sale estimate of $18,000-25,000 which would be a new record for the artist. 

Carlyle Auctions is offering another important Henri Maik painting in it’s April 5 auction with a $6,000-8,000 estimate.

Bidding Frenzy - Post-Auction!

Most interestingly, several lots which did not sell in the live auction (because bids did not meet the reserve), received multiple “post-sale” offers, and ended up selling at prices above the high estimate.

“Typically, we receive offers for unsold items after each auction, and sell many lots in the week after the live auction, usually at the low-estimate. What made this auction interesting, was that we received multiple post-sale offers on many items, which ended up selling at significantly higher prices, than they would have sold for during the live auction. “

The return of the REAL “middle market”

Since January 2017, Carlyle Auctions is seeing much stronger art buying when it comes to the “middle market”, than in years past. (While the art world categorizes the “middle market” as $250,000-1,000,000, we would argue that “middle market” in art is actually $5,000-25,000 representing the type of art purchased by upper middle class consumers.)

Although major auctions sales have made news headlines in the past 4-5 years, those have always been $50 million+ “trophies”  - Picasso, Warhol Jeff Koons, Francis Bacon, etc. Those purchases were made by a billionaire class of buyers, which benefited from near-zero interest rate environment, and rising asset prices. Now for the first time since the 2008-10 recession we are seeing the middle-class collector re-emerge from years of hibernation.

This increase in market activity bodes well for both buyers and sellers, in the middle-market. The increased market confidence means higher prices, and liquidity. We expect to see more quality consignments coming into the market in the coming months, and the stronger prices give buyers confidence to bid more aggressively. In many cases, values are up 25% or more, since November 2016.

Last Chance for Art Bargains

With the exception of bigger names in Contemporary art, most categories are still nearly 50% cheaper than they were in 2007. As an example, the Georges D’Espagnat impressionist paintings in Carlyle’s upcoming April 5 auction are priced nearly 50% below where comparable works by the artist were selling in 2007 auctions. 

We believe that right now is an excellent time for collectors to build quality collections before prices return to long term trends. 

Carlyle’s next auction is scheduled for April 5, 2017, and features nearly 200 lots of “fresh to the market” fine art ranging from Old Masters to Mid-Century Modern and Contemporary. Bidding is online-only and available on www.LiveAuctioneers.com and www.BidSquare.com

ABOUT:

Carlyle Galleries International, Inc. is an online Fine Art Dealer & Auctioneer based in Beverly Hills, California, serving an international collector base in over 40 countries.

Carlyle specializes in the "middle-market"($5,000-$100,000) in: Old Master & 19th Century, Impressionist/Modern and Post-War & Contemporary art, and runs auctions every month.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jack Marks, CEO

Carlyle Galleries International, Inc.

9701 Wilshire Boulevard

10th Floor

Beverly Hills, CA 90212

(310) 579-9697 ext. 700

www.Carlyle-Auctions.com

STORY IMAGES: (attached images correspond to LOT#’s)

LOT 1W

Artist: Macario Vitalis  (Philippines / France 1898-1990)

Title: (Cubist village landscape )

Medium: Oil on masonite panel 

Size: 14 3/4” x 20” (37.4 x 50.8 cm) approximate panel size 

Date: 1950

Notes: Provenance: Estate of Louis & Annette Kaufman. Louis Kaufman (1905-1994) was a Romanian American Violinist, and possibly the most recorded musical artist of the 20th century. Kaufman, was the most sought-after violinist in Hollywood during 1930’s-50’s, and performed on the soundtrack of as many as 500 movies, including “Casablanca”, “Spartacus”, and other Oscar-winning films. Kaufman was largely responsible for bringing the once-forgotten music of Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) to its current popularity worldwide. In 1947, Kaufman made the first commercial recording of a then little-known collection of violin concertos by Vivaldi called "The Four Seasons." This recording won the Grand Prix du Disque in 1951 and was elected to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002 Over the course of their life together, the Kaufmans built a major collection of impressionist and modern art, most of which was donated to the National Gallery of Art and Syracuse University. Their vast, eclectic, and well-informed collection of European, American and Latin art is noted for it’s attention to painterly qualities, color, and quality. They developed many friendships with artists in Europe and the United States. Kaufman was the first person to buy an oil painting from American abstract expressionist Milton Avery, and he urged other collectors to follow suit. During their many stays in Paris during the 1950’s-60’s, the Kaufman’s collected art of the avant garde artists active in that era. This painting was likely purchased during that time. Macario Cruz Vitalis (Filipino / French 1898-1989) is considered on the most important Filipino artists of the 20th century. Born in the small town of Lapog, Locos Sur, in the Philippines, Vitalis moved to the United States, arriving in San Francisco in 1917. Vitalis studied at the California School of Fine Arts, and later the Pennsylvania Academy of Art. Macro Vitalis moved to Paris in the mid-1920’s where he met Picasso, and other important modern painters. Vitals is noted for his post-impressionist and cubist style of painting, as can be seen in this lot.

ESTIMATE: $8,000-12,000

SOLD: $10,240

LOT 2E

Artist: Edgar Kiechle (1911-1960) 

Title: "Producers are Unfair" (Hollywood Strike 1945) 

Medium: oil on panel Size: 18" x 24" panel size. 

Date: 1945 

ESTIMATE: $1,000-2,000

SOLD: $1,280

LOT 1Y

Artist: Henri Maik (1922-1993)

Title: Le Paradis (1971)

Medium: Oil on canvas

Size: 50" x 77" inches canvas size

Provenance: Wally Findlay Gallery, New York 1972

ESTIMATE: $18,000-25,000

SOLD: Within estimate post-sale.