Manet self-portrait sells for £22m World Record price at Sotheby’s
Joined by historic works by Matisse and Derain, the sale heralds an extraordinary London art season Last night, in the opening of an exciting art season in London, Sotheby's presented a 51 lot Evening Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art with three paintings reaching the seven figure mark. Sotheby's run-up to the sale As expected, Henri Matisse's Odalisques Jouant aux Dames was one of the key lots. The work, which Mattisse painted in 1928 in Nice during what is commonly regarded as his strongest period as a colourist artist, had never been offered before at auction. The work, from an exceptional European collection, sold on target at £11.8m. Beating its highest estimate of £14m was Andre Derain's eye-catching work Arbres à Collioure. This smashed the previous record set for a Derain, also set by Sotheby's across the pond in New York, for Barques au port de Collioure which brought the equivalent of £8.6m. It had previously been a part of the world famous Vollard collection, of which a selection will be offered at the end of this month in Paris. The sale also saw the sale of several Picassos, including Buste de Matador which reached an impressive £5.3m. But the night belonged to Edouard Manet, perhaps the artist more than any other who embraced the transition from Realist to Impressionist painting. His Bouquet de Pivoines beat its £4m-6m estimate, leaving the stage for £7.66m. But all eyes were on the artist's self-portrait - one of only two known. The work presents him as a Parisian dandy. The previous high price for Manet was an 1878 street scene: La rue Mosnier aux Drapeauxwhich sold for $26.4m (£17.8m) over 20 years ago in New York. Painted at a similar time to the previous record-breaker, the painting had been described as "not only the greatest Manet portrait in private hands, but also one of the very greatest self-portraits in the entire canon of art history" by Sotheby's Executive Vice President and Manet expert Charles Moffett so all eyes were on the work as it took centre stage. Keen bidding broke out both in the hall and over the phones, and when the dust had cleared, the artist's Self-Portrait with a Palette was the most valuable Manet in the world at £22m. Sotheby's is selling some more Impressionist and Modern paintings today, including one of Joan Miro's works. Most eyes, however, will be on Christie's auction of Picasso, Monet, Klimt and others which is expected to break records for a London art auction. Source: Paul Fraser Collectibles
Lock of Napoleon’s Hair for Sale by Auction
An extraordinary archive collection documenting Napoleon Bonaparte's final years on the island of St. Helena from 1815 - 1821. This collection has been held by the New Zealand based descendents of Denzil Ibbetson, Commissary Officer and artist on St. Helena during Napolean's period of exile. Consisting of approximately forty items and being in effect an artistic and documentary record of Napoleon's final days this offering constitutes one of the most important collections of artwork and objects associated with a major historic figure ever to be found in Australasia. More information
A lock of Napoleon's hair
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Antiques Hunting WeekendStunning Sir George Clausen R. A. painting sells for 6 figure sum at UK Auction
"A Village Girl" Sir George Clausen R. A.
This beautiful painting of one of Clausen's favourite subjects was sold in Liverpool today by Cato Crane & Co for a staggering £190,000. The Merseyside auctioneers knew she would prove incredibly popular with collectors and are delighted to have achieved such a high hammer price. The sale was the first to take part in UKauctioneers brand new Live Bidding colaboration with EasyLiveAuction. Sir George Clausen R.A. 1852-1944 Oil on Canvas 16 inches x 12 inches Title " A Village Girl " Sir George Clausen Biography: The son of a painter of Danish descent, Sir George Clausen was born in London. He studied at the South Kensington School of Art from 1873 - 75 and then visited Belgium and Holland between 1875-76. Influenced initially by Dutch painting and Whistler during the 1870s, he transferred his allegiance to Jules Bastien-Lepage and the French plein-air school of painting in the early 1880s. Closely identifying with English rural life, he favoured naturalism during this period as a technique of what he called 'studied impartiality' with its emphasis on literal representation rather than narrative content. For a few months in 1883, he studied at the Academie Julian under Adolphe William Bouguereau. During the 1890s, Clausen became increasingly aware of the limitation of rustic naturalism. Influenced by the French Impressionists, he developed a more fluent style, showing a renewed interest in figural expression and movement, and a preoccupation with the play of sunlight and shade. Following his marriage in 1881, he settled first in Berkshire and then in Essex where the surrounding scenery inspired much of his work. From 1876-1943, he exhibited regularly at the royal Academy; he was a founder member of the New English Art Club in 1886 although he ceased to exhibit there following his election as an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1895 and a Royal Academician in 1908.
1.6 inch high snuff bottle sold at auction for £821,383
The beautiful enamel bottle, made for China's Emperor Qianlong in the 18th century, was part of a collection put together by George and Mary Bloch. It was hoped it might reach £250,000 but furious bidding saw the price rise beyond expectations. The bottle shows on one side a woman and a young boy with an elaborate building and trees in the background. One the other side is a woman with a basket of flowers and fruit and another young boy, with buildings and the tree-clad banks of a stream behind her. The price paid by an anonymous collector was 9,280,000 Hong Kong dollars — £821,383. The sale was Bonhams' first ever "Golden Gavel Auction", with every item sold. The Bloch's entire collection is being auctioned over several sales and the first, of 140 bottles, made £5.8million — smashing the pre-sale estimate of £1.8million. The bottles, which range between one and four inches high and date mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries, come with small spoons. Snuff became popular in China during the early 17th century and because of the warm climate it was kept in air tight bottles — unlike in Britain where boxes were suitable. It was during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) when the snuff bottle production boomed. Mr Bloch was a German Jew, born in Vienna, and educated in England whose family fled Austria for China in 1938, in fear of persecution from the Nazis, and he settled in Shanghai. His wife Mary is now living in Hong Kong and the collection is being sold by his family. source: The Sun