The May sales in 2001

Every fortnight Artprice posts a theme-based auction ranking. This Friday's TOP ranking focuses on the 10 best auction results in May 2001.

Sotheby's records

Every fortnight Artprice posts a new or updated ranking in its Alternate-Friday Top Series. The focus of today's TOP article is the 10 best auction results generated by Sotheby’s.

Impressionist & Modern sales in London: the right balance?

The results of the Impressionist & Modern February sales in London were respectable compared with the results of the same sales a year earlier, although somewhat less spectacular.

Auction records at Phillips de Pury

Every fortnight Artprice posts a new or updated ranking in its Alternate-Friday Top Series. The theme of today's TOP article is the 10 best auction results generated by the auction company Phillips de Pury.

Paris / London – forthcoming Impressionist & Modern Art sales

Before the art world settles down to a quiet summer, we can look forward to some profitable auction results in London at the sale of the Polaroid collection (to pay its debts) on 21 and 22 June, the Impressionist & Modern Art sales of 23 and 24 June and the Contemporary Art sales of 28 and 29 June.

A wave of optimism at the London sales

Christie’s and Sotheby’s have won their gamble. The Impressionist & Modern Art sales on 2 and 3 February in London generated one global all-segment record and 29 results above £1m out of 87 lots offered. Christie's managed to sell 87.5% of its lots for £61m (est. £48m-69m) plus the £8.5m from its special session devoted to surrealist art.

Impressionist and Modern sales in London – unabashed confidence!

Since the peak in January 2008, the price index of Impressionist art has contracted sharply: down 39.3%. But for Christie’s and Sotheby’s – judging by the high estimates in the catalogues for their upcoming London sales – the price deflation is now over.

The Durand-Ruel Impressionists

As the art market slumbers during the summer months, preparations are underway for the major autumn sales, the dates of which have already been announced. The first big events are located in New York during September with sales of Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean art on the 16th at Christie's and the 17th at Sotheby's, and then Contemporary Art sales on the 23rd at Christie's and the 24th at Sotheby's.

The New York sales at new highs

On 6 and 7 November the two key sales of the auction season will take place in New York. Sotheby’s and Christie’s have assembled for the occasion a selection of important works by Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Cézanne and even Franz Marc. To date, pre-sale estimates from the two auction houses have never been so high.

Auguste Renoir in London

The National Gallery in London is hosting an exhibition of Auguste RENOIR ’s landscapes from 21 February to 20 May 2007. Whereas Renoir is essentially known to the public as a painter of intimist scenes and portraits, the 70 landscapes exhibited remind us just how much outdoor themes were also suited to Renoir’s soft touch and nuanced colours.

London - European auction capital

Traditionally in February, it is London that kicks off the season of European public auctions with major sales organised by Sotheby’s and Christie’s.

Maurice Denis : A Nabi at the Orsay Museum

The Musée d'Orsay in Paris will be celebrating the works of Maurice DENIS from 31 October 2006 to 21 January 2007. This retrospective homage should give the public a clearer understanding of the artistic evolution of a painter who was a contemporary and friend of Paul GAUGUIN , Auguste RENOIR , Edgar DEGAS and Édouard MANET , among others.

Artprice TOP 10 : how do the art market heavyweights measure up in 2004?

Every year Artprice publishes a ranking of artists on the basis of the sales turnover generated by their works at auctions.

Art market latest trends: resale lots

Following the latest New York sales, the Artprice Global Index of fine art, which uses repeated sales method, is up 18.2% on the year-ago period. USD 100 invested in an artwork ten years ago would now be worth an average of USD 153. Many art collectors are generating even higher returns through judicious deals at auction, making the most of the market’s current enthusiasm. To give an idea of some of the particularly lucrative transactions recently carried out, Artprice presents the following list of works that have come under the hammer at least twice:

Gloomy times for impressionists while modernists triumph

The US art market was in fine form at the Impressionism and Modern Art evening sales. Thanks to a number of wealthy American bidders, several major lots went for more than their high estimates. A healthy 75 of 102 lots put up found buyers on the evenings of 4 and 5 November, and total turnover was USD 216 million.

How do the art market heavyweights measure up?

The world’s top ten artists by turnover (see rankings) generated USD506 million at auction in 2002. With only 1.7% of total transaction volumes they represent 20% of the art market.

New York sales: Steve Wynn splashes out

The cream of the New York artworld will never abandon the market. Prices were unspectacular at the Impressionism and Modern Art sales of May 6-7, but 63 of 70 lots put up by Christie’s and Sotheby’s in the evening found a buyer, with both star pieces, a self-portrait of Paul Cézanne and a large format Renoir, being bought by Las Vegas hotelier Steve Wynn.

Star turns at the Impressionism & Modern Art auctions in New York

Sotheby’s and Christie’s are taking similar approaches to the evening auctions to be held on 6 and 7 May. Both are banking on Renoir and Degas from the impressionists, dropping Picasso, and hoping to continue selling Giacometti sculptures in bulk. Some of the works on offer may seem oddly familiar…

As the world’s stock markets plunge Rubens’ "Massacre of the Innocents" drives the art market through the roof

On Wednesday 10 July 2002, "The Massacre of the Innocents" by Peter Paul RUBENS became the most expensive old master painting ever sold at auction. It was only recently identified as a Rubens having previously been attributed to the lesser-known Jan van den Hoecke. Once the painting’s authorship was clarified a record price was clearly on the cards, particularly as Peter Paul RUBENS ’ index has been in stunning form lately: +540% since 1997.