ARTFIXdaily News Feed - Breaking News from the Art World

Constable Masterpiece May Fetch $40 Million at Auction

ArtfixDaily / May 29th, 2012

John Constable's (1776-1837) "The Lock," one of six paintings that make up the artist’s most celebrated series of large scale works, will be offered at Christie's in London this summer. Part of the series that includes "The Hay Wain," now in The National Gallery, London, "The Lock" is the last ...

Comprehensive Exhibit Spotlights a Picasso Muse

Businessweek / May 28th, 2012

Humor, adulation, tenderness, passion and complexity---the qualities of a love affair---unfold in “Picasso and Francoise Gilot: Paris-Vallauris, 1943-1953,” on view now through June 20 at New York's Gagosian Gallery.

Warhol Swiped in Major Art Heist from Detroit Collector

CBS News / May 24th, 2012

A silkscreen used to create Andy's Warhol's famous "Flowers" was among 19 modern and contemporary artworks stolen from a Detroit collector. The owner had temporarily stored his art at his business. "It could be somebody that...

Chihuly Garden and Glass Opens in Seattle

Seattle Times / May 23rd, 2012

At the base of Seattle's famous Space Needle, the 45,000-square-foot Chihuly Garden and Glass opened on Monday transforming 1.5 acres of city asphalt into a glass garden oasis. Controversy has swirled around...

Babe Ruth Jersey Hits $4.4 Million at Auction

Time / May 22nd, 2012

A 1920s road jersey—the earliest existing New York Yankees jersey known to have belonged to the legendary slugger Babe Ruth—soared to $4.4 million to become the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold at auction.

Rivera, Matta Could Continue the 'May Madness' at Auctions

Chicago Tribune / May 21st, 2012

In the wake of record-breaking sales that took place earlier this month, both Christie’s and Sotheby’s will be conducting auctions of Latin American art this week. Leading the Sotheby’s line up is...

Boston Museum of Fine Arts Receives Transformative Gift

Boston Globe / May 20th, 2012

A treasure trove of art collected by Saundra and the late William Lane has been acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. On Saturday, the museum announced the extraordinary gift of 6,000 photographs, 100 works on paper, and 25 paintings, potentially valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Pioneer collectors in American modernist painting and photography...

Barnes Foundation Shows Art in a New Light

The New York Times / May 17th, 2012

A long, contentious battle over the relocation of the multi-billion-dollar Barnes Foundation's art collection has subsided. This week, the new Barnes opens in Philadelphia after its hotly-contested uprooting from the city's suburbs.

Stand-outs in the American Art Auctions

ArtfixDaily / May 16th, 2012

Following the record prices achieved for post-war and contemporary art last week, sales of historic American art this week have started off with several high-flying lots. Highlights include a vibrant...

Basquiat Record Rounds Out Blockbuster Auction Series

ArtfixDaily / May 15th, 2012

May has so-far ushered in a record-smashing season of auctions. Nearly $1.5 billion of art was sold in 2 weeks at three New York auction houses: Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips de Pury. The latest headliner is Jean Michel Basquiat's ‘Untitled”...

Lichtenstein Retrospective Opening Delayed Due to Members' Demands

Crain's / May 14th, 2012

A retrospective of the work of Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, whose “Sleeping Girl” set an auction record of $45 million last week, will open May 22 at the Art Institute of Chicago. Proving the artist's current popularity, on onslaught of...

Leica Brings Record Price for Camera at Auction

BBC / May 13th, 2012

A prototype Leica camera from 1923 brought an auction record of 2.16m euros ($2.8 million) in Vienna, Austria. One of only 12 Leica A prototypes known to survive, the camera went to...

Artist Robert Indiana Sued over Sculptures

/ May 10th, 2012

A Monaco-based art dealer is suing renowned Pop artist Robert Indiana, who is celebrated worldwide for his LOVE sculptures. The dealer bringing the suit...

Sales Highlights from New York's First Frieze

ArtfixDaily / May 9th, 2012

An overall success, the first annual Frieze Art Fair in New York wrapped up this Monday. Held on Randall's Island in Manhattan, the fair featured 180 galleries from 30 countries, representing the crème de la crème of the contemporary art scene. There were several major standouts...

Lichtenstein, Bacon Boost Sotheby's $266.6 million Sale

ArtfixDaily / May 9th, 2012

Led by $44.9 million final bids for Francis Bacon and Roy Lichtenstein, Sotheby's took in a grand total of $266.6 million with its Contemporary art evening sale on Wednesday. Nearly half of the offered lots went above estimates with 46 of 57 lots selling. Lichtenstein's "Sleeping Girl"...

Christie's Sale Shatters Records for Post-war Masters

ArtfixDaily / May 9th, 2012

Works by modern art giants from Rothko and Pollock to Calder and Klein sparked furious bidding at Christie's on Tuesday. A number of record-breaking prices sent the Post-war and contemporary art sale to $388.5 million, the highest total ever for the category, with 59 offered lots. From the ...

Experts Examine a Possible Rediscovered Turner

Daily Mail / May 7th, 2012

Art and antiques dealer Frank Faryab believes he is the owner of a lost J.M.W. Turner masterpiece, and so far he has spent over $3 million to prove it. Faryab purchased the painting, a mid-size oil on panel depicting a seascape, through...

Metropolitan Museum of Art Goes Contemporary

financial times / May 3rd, 2012

The Metropolitan Museum is Art is steadily becoming a contender in the contemporary art scene, notably with last year’s Alexander McQueen show which drew 660,000 visitors. This move into the 21st century is being hastened by...

Koch Revives Wine Dispute with Christie's

Bloomberg / May 2nd, 2012

Billionaire art and wine collector William Koch is appealing a court decision that threw out his lawsuit against Christie's in which he claimed the auction house sold him counterfeit wine.

Munch's 'The Scream' Lands Record Price for Art

ArtfixDaily / May 2nd, 2012

Edvard Munch's iconic "The Scream" went for a staggering sum at Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art Evening sale on Wednesday to become the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.