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Honus who??? Now this is an auction....
Basilone
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from the New York Times 4/30/04
NEW YORK
Every few years a collection comes up for sale that eclipses all the other art being offered during the two heady weeks in spring and autumn when the New York auction houses sell important Impressionist, modern and contemporary works. This season it is the fabled paintings that are now part of the Greentree Foundation, the star of which is Picasso's "Boy With a Pipe." Dealers and experts are betting that it could fetch as much as $100 million next week, eclipsing the world record set in 1990 when van Gogh's "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" sold at Christie's in New York for $82.5 million.
.
The collection was formed over two generations by Payne and Helen Whitney, heirs to a fortune made from oil, tobacco, street railways and real estate, and later by their son, John Hay Whitney, the sportsman, financier, publisher and ambassador to Britain. During their 46-year marriage, he and his wife, Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney, the New York socialite and philanthropist, amassed a world-class collection of art by such masters as Picasso, Manet, Sargent and Braque, many of which are now in major American museums.
.
The sale of 34 paintings and drawings at Sotheby's York Avenue headquarters on Wednesday evening is expected to bring $131 million to $157 million. Experts at Sotheby's, which has put a $70 million estimate on "Boy With a Pipe," shiver at the mention of $100 million for the work, saying all the spin is scaring away potential bidders. But just how much the 1905 image brings is likely to reflect the large amounts of money that people have made in recent years and their willingness to spend it on great art.
.
News of the sale was both a coup for the auction house and a lure to other collectors eager to sell their art in such company. A result is a season of paintings, drawings and sculptures from institutions like the Museum of Modern Art, which is selling nine works at Christie's, and from collectors like Elizabeth Taylor; the newsprint magnate Peter Brant; François Pinault, the owner of Christie's, and the dealer Irving Blum. The anticipated success of the Whitney collection is expected to boost confidence in a market that moves as much at the whim of the herd instinct as by economic buoyancy.
.
When Mrs. Whitney died in 1998 (her husband died in 1982) she left more than $300 million worth of art to four museums: the National Gallery of Art and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Yale Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut. "Boy With a Pipe," painted when Picasso was 24, soon after he settled in Montmartre, is considered by experts to be one of the finest examples of his early work. It depicts a Parisian boy known as "P'tit Louis," who hung around Picasso's studio. He is crowned by a garland of roses. The Whitneys bought it in 1950.
.
The Whitneys also owned great racehorses. Their two passions intersected in an important group of paintings. Among the best is Manet's "Races in the Bois de Boulogne," of 1872, a scene of spectators watching a horse race at Longchamps, with the artist's friend, Degas, shown in the lower right corner of the canvas. Sotheby's believes it could sell for $20 million to $30 million. Two Degas paintings also in the sale, "Before the Race" (1882-88) and "Hacking to the Track" (1892), are each estimated to bring $5 million to $7 million. Proceeds of the sale will go to the Greentree Foundation, named for the Whitneys' Long Island estate, which was established to further international relations.
.
Christie's, too, was able to score some impressive works. As the Museum of Modern Art prepares to reopen its greatly expanded home in Manhattan, curators have been reassessing its permanent collection, selling some works by artists that it has better examples of or rarely shows.
.
On May 4, for example, the top lot of Christie's Impressionist and modern art sale will include an early metaphysical painting by de Chirico, estimated to sell for $7 million to $10 million. Surrealist paintings have been commanding high prices recently, and the Modern already has 15 other de Chiricos. Which may explain why it is selling "The Great Metaphysician," from 1917, once owned by Philip Goodwin, one of the architects who designed the Modern's original 1939 building.
.
"It's a rare opportunity to buy something at the pinnacle of early modernism," said Christopher Eykyn, head of Christie's department of Impressionist and modern art. On May 11 the auction house will sell another work from the Modern, Pollock's "No. 12" (1949), a classic drip painting, which is estimated to bring $5 million to $7 million.
.
Aside from the Whitney collection, modern art dominates the sales, since fewer Impressionist paintings remain in private hands. Riding on the back of "Boy With a Pipe" are a noticeable number of Picassos from nearly every period. On May 6 at Sotheby's main sale of Impressionist and modern art, "The Rescue" (1932), a group of bathers on the beach, is estimated to bring $10 million to $15 million.
.
At Christie's on May 4, "Dora Maar With a Straw Hat" (1937) is expected to fetch $4 million to $6 million. Sotheby's sold it in London in June 2001 where it brought $4 million. Also from the 2001 London auction season and being sold at Christie's is "The Bottle From Malaga" (1919), which is now on offer for $1.8 million to $2.5 million. In 2001 it sold for $1.7 million.
.
Years ago late Picassos were ignored, but they have now become all the rage. "Prices have been escalating, which always brings more to the market," said David Norman, co-director of Sotheby's department of Impressionist and modern art worldwide. At Sotheby's, "Seated Nude," from 1959, Picasso's large, sculptural image of a woman with her legs apart, is expected to bring $3 million to $4 million. Christie's has three paintings from the 1960s, two with a $2 million to $3 million estimate and the third with a $1.4 million to $1.8 million estimate.
.
Greater interest in postwar and contemporary art is also evident this season. For the second year Christie's postwar and contemporary art sale, on May 11, is expected to bring more money than the usually higher Impressionist and modern sales. This is a particularly strong auction, with top examples of artists like Richter, Warhol, Pollock and Koons.
.
Twenty percent of Sotheby's contemporary art sale on May 12 is made up of works being sold by Brant. Executives at Sotheby's say he is selling to raise money to buy a paper mill. Paintings by Warhol, Lichtenstein, Basquiat and Maurizio Cattelan, many of which have been up for sale within the past few years, are expected to bring $13.9 million to $19.7 million. (The overall estimate of the sale is $46.8 million to $65.3 million.)
.
Christie's owner, Pinault, is also selling several outstanding works by such artists as Rothko, Warhol and Mondrian, together estimated to bring $17 million to $25 million.
.
When it comes to newer contemporary art, Phillips, de Pury Co. dominates the market. Sotheby's and Christie's do not much bother because it does not make the kind of money that the earlier works do. The struggling auction house has put together a surprisingly strong group of art from the 1980s and 1990s, including works by popular figures like Keith Haring, Maurizio Cattelan, Damien Hirst and Felix Gonzalez-Torres, which are being sold on May 13. Many are from an entity identified in the catalog as the Pisces Trust, put together by Simon de Pury, the Phillips chairman.
.
Though buyers at Phillips tend to be younger and hipper, that auction house will also be affected by the outcome of the Whitney paintings. "Any time there's a huge sale that's a success, it casts reassurance on the rest of the market," said Michael McGinnis, head of the contemporary art department at Phillips. "The better the others do, the better it is for us at the very end of the season."
.
NEW YORK
Every few years a collection comes up for sale that eclipses all the other art being offered during the two heady weeks in spring and autumn when the New York auction houses sell important Impressionist, modern and contemporary works. This season it is the fabled paintings that are now part of the Greentree Foundation, the star of which is Picasso's "Boy With a Pipe." Dealers and experts are betting that it could fetch as much as $100 million next week, eclipsing the world record set in 1990 when van Gogh's "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" sold at Christie's in New York for $82.5 million.
.
The collection was formed over two generations by Payne and Helen Whitney, heirs to a fortune made from oil, tobacco, street railways and real estate, and later by their son, John Hay Whitney, the sportsman, financier, publisher and ambassador to Britain. During their 46-year marriage, he and his wife, Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney, the New York socialite and philanthropist, amassed a world-class collection of art by such masters as Picasso, Manet, Sargent and Braque, many of which are now in major American museums.
.
The sale of 34 paintings and drawings at Sotheby's York Avenue headquarters on Wednesday evening is expected to bring $131 million to $157 million. Experts at Sotheby's, which has put a $70 million estimate on "Boy With a Pipe," shiver at the mention of $100 million for the work, saying all the spin is scaring away potential bidders. But just how much the 1905 image brings is likely to reflect the large amounts of money that people have made in recent years and their willingness to spend it on great art.
.
News of the sale was both a coup for the auction house and a lure to other collectors eager to sell their art in such company. A result is a season of paintings, drawings and sculptures from institutions like the Museum of Modern Art, which is selling nine works at Christie's, and from collectors like Elizabeth Taylor; the newsprint magnate Peter Brant; François Pinault, the owner of Christie's, and the dealer Irving Blum. The anticipated success of the Whitney collection is expected to boost confidence in a market that moves as much at the whim of the herd instinct as by economic buoyancy.
.
When Mrs. Whitney died in 1998 (her husband died in 1982) she left more than $300 million worth of art to four museums: the National Gallery of Art and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Yale Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut. "Boy With a Pipe," painted when Picasso was 24, soon after he settled in Montmartre, is considered by experts to be one of the finest examples of his early work. It depicts a Parisian boy known as "P'tit Louis," who hung around Picasso's studio. He is crowned by a garland of roses. The Whitneys bought it in 1950.
.
The Whitneys also owned great racehorses. Their two passions intersected in an important group of paintings. Among the best is Manet's "Races in the Bois de Boulogne," of 1872, a scene of spectators watching a horse race at Longchamps, with the artist's friend, Degas, shown in the lower right corner of the canvas. Sotheby's believes it could sell for $20 million to $30 million. Two Degas paintings also in the sale, "Before the Race" (1882-88) and "Hacking to the Track" (1892), are each estimated to bring $5 million to $7 million. Proceeds of the sale will go to the Greentree Foundation, named for the Whitneys' Long Island estate, which was established to further international relations.
.
Christie's, too, was able to score some impressive works. As the Museum of Modern Art prepares to reopen its greatly expanded home in Manhattan, curators have been reassessing its permanent collection, selling some works by artists that it has better examples of or rarely shows.
.
On May 4, for example, the top lot of Christie's Impressionist and modern art sale will include an early metaphysical painting by de Chirico, estimated to sell for $7 million to $10 million. Surrealist paintings have been commanding high prices recently, and the Modern already has 15 other de Chiricos. Which may explain why it is selling "The Great Metaphysician," from 1917, once owned by Philip Goodwin, one of the architects who designed the Modern's original 1939 building.
.
"It's a rare opportunity to buy something at the pinnacle of early modernism," said Christopher Eykyn, head of Christie's department of Impressionist and modern art. On May 11 the auction house will sell another work from the Modern, Pollock's "No. 12" (1949), a classic drip painting, which is estimated to bring $5 million to $7 million.
.
Aside from the Whitney collection, modern art dominates the sales, since fewer Impressionist paintings remain in private hands. Riding on the back of "Boy With a Pipe" are a noticeable number of Picassos from nearly every period. On May 6 at Sotheby's main sale of Impressionist and modern art, "The Rescue" (1932), a group of bathers on the beach, is estimated to bring $10 million to $15 million.
.
At Christie's on May 4, "Dora Maar With a Straw Hat" (1937) is expected to fetch $4 million to $6 million. Sotheby's sold it in London in June 2001 where it brought $4 million. Also from the 2001 London auction season and being sold at Christie's is "The Bottle From Malaga" (1919), which is now on offer for $1.8 million to $2.5 million. In 2001 it sold for $1.7 million.
.
Years ago late Picassos were ignored, but they have now become all the rage. "Prices have been escalating, which always brings more to the market," said David Norman, co-director of Sotheby's department of Impressionist and modern art worldwide. At Sotheby's, "Seated Nude," from 1959, Picasso's large, sculptural image of a woman with her legs apart, is expected to bring $3 million to $4 million. Christie's has three paintings from the 1960s, two with a $2 million to $3 million estimate and the third with a $1.4 million to $1.8 million estimate.
.
Greater interest in postwar and contemporary art is also evident this season. For the second year Christie's postwar and contemporary art sale, on May 11, is expected to bring more money than the usually higher Impressionist and modern sales. This is a particularly strong auction, with top examples of artists like Richter, Warhol, Pollock and Koons.
.
Twenty percent of Sotheby's contemporary art sale on May 12 is made up of works being sold by Brant. Executives at Sotheby's say he is selling to raise money to buy a paper mill. Paintings by Warhol, Lichtenstein, Basquiat and Maurizio Cattelan, many of which have been up for sale within the past few years, are expected to bring $13.9 million to $19.7 million. (The overall estimate of the sale is $46.8 million to $65.3 million.)
.
Christie's owner, Pinault, is also selling several outstanding works by such artists as Rothko, Warhol and Mondrian, together estimated to bring $17 million to $25 million.
.
When it comes to newer contemporary art, Phillips, de Pury Co. dominates the market. Sotheby's and Christie's do not much bother because it does not make the kind of money that the earlier works do. The struggling auction house has put together a surprisingly strong group of art from the 1980s and 1990s, including works by popular figures like Keith Haring, Maurizio Cattelan, Damien Hirst and Felix Gonzalez-Torres, which are being sold on May 13. Many are from an entity identified in the catalog as the Pisces Trust, put together by Simon de Pury, the Phillips chairman.
.
Though buyers at Phillips tend to be younger and hipper, that auction house will also be affected by the outcome of the Whitney paintings. "Any time there's a huge sale that's a success, it casts reassurance on the rest of the market," said Michael McGinnis, head of the contemporary art department at Phillips. "The better the others do, the better it is for us at the very end of the season."
.
0
Comments
<< <i>The sale of 34 paintings and drawings at Sotheby's York Avenue headquarters on Wednesday evening is expected to bring $131 million to $157 million. >>
John
Reading this makes me feel soooooo poor! Good stuff.
Mike
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pablo Picasso's "Boy with the Pipe" became the most expensive painting ever sold at auction on Wednesday when it fetched $104,168,000 at Sotheby's in New York.
The previous auction record was held by van Gogh's "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" which sold for $82.5 million in 1990.
Sotheby's had estimated the Picasso oil on canvas at "in excess of $70 million." The price fetched on Wednesday included commission. The hammer price was $93 million.
The 1905 work was the highlight of Sotheby's sale of the collection of Mr. and Mrs. John Hay Whitney, which was being sold by the late couple's Greentree Foundation.
I guess they can stop sending out e-mails wherin they boast and back-slap themselves
<< <i>With the hammer fee alone, one could have purchased the entire piddly little Mastro auction >>
Yep...that kind of puts things into perspective.....
and that was just one of the items offered.
Nick
Reap the whirlwind.
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<< <i>$100 million for a painting, and there are how many Picassos?
Nick >>
I believe there was only 1 Picasso and thats why his paintings are so valuable.
Well - although I am a huge fan of impressionist art - I honestly don't like this one at all. I probably couldn't even justify the $49.95 for a posters.com reproduction of the piece to hang on my wall!
Remember, though, that with a lot of this art - museums have gobbled up the majority of "major" pieces. Thus, there is a very much decreased supply in the marketplace for serious art afficianados to pursue their fancies....
Though, often with pieces of this stature - collectors will "lend" them to the galleries in exchange for the gallery preserving and insuring the item. Some of the biggest art foundations in the world, it is interesting to note, do not insure their work. You can have an interesting philosophical debate on whether or not that is an advisable strategy - but, at the end of the day, it is really expensive to do so, the risks can be largely mitigated, and you can't really replace what you lost if calamity were to strike....
I enjoy art as well, but that is one boring piece.
The painting looks like Macaulay Culkin waiting for Michael Jackson in his bedroom.
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<< <i>The reason this piece is so valuable is the boy later refused to have any more of his pictures painted with tobacco. >>
Its not tobacco
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