Sotheby's

auction house

Art marketarchive

Decorative arts sales shift to Chicago

New York vies with London for nineteenth- and twentieth-century decorative arts sales, but Chicago is coming on quickly

Two shareholders seek to block Sotheby’s purchase by BidFair

Lawsuits argue that information filed to the SEC is inadequate

Art marketarchive

A rising market: contemporary decorative arts

Is it design, or art, or craft? Who cares. One thing is certain: the British are best at it

Sotheby's staff subject to peer review to benefit charity

Security guards and specialists alike appraise each others works for selling exhibition to support Mind UK

Phillips names Olivia Thornton head of 20th-century and contemporary art in Europe

The appointment comes after a handful of new hires across the auction house’s offices

Art marketarchive

Influx of new collectors of American paintings boosts market

Even third-rate works are now selling for six figures

Collectorsarchive

Mystery of London dealer’s inflated invoices for world’s biggest collector, the head of Qatar's National Council for Culture, Arts and Heritage

The Art Newspaper has obtained invoices sent by Oliver Hoare to Sheikh Saud Al-Thani of Qatar, who remains under arrest in Doha as authorities investigate alleged misuse of public funds

Moonnews

Lunar landing anniversary inspires tributes to the Moon across the globe

Exhibitions and events at museums and galleries worldwide proves we are still looney for the Moon 50 years after setting foot on it

Art marketanalysis

Price match! Old Masters vs contemporary art: what can you get for your money?

During London's Classic Week, we take a look at what the same sum will buy you at either end of the art historical timeline

Sofa King's collection plumps up Sotheby's Old Master sale—helped by a suite of guarantees

Five lots from the DFS founder Graham Kirkham's collection made up almost half of the value of the £56.3m London sale, which was led by a late Turner

Art marketgallery

Object lessons: London Old Master season special

Our pick of highlights from London Art Week exhibitions and auctions, including an export-barred Renaissance cabinet and an uncharacteristically cheery Ribera

Flipping the Bacon: Sotheby's £69m post-war and contemporary sale lacks fizz

A £16m Francis Bacon self-portrait and a record for a little-known German artist enliven an otherwise dry sale in London as totals fall 40% on last year

Lawnews

Sotheby's denied dismissal of Rybolovlev's $380m lawsuit by New York judge

Papers filed in a Manhattan court this week order a pre-trial conference and the release of confidential documents

Mini Impressionist and Modern sale at Sotheby's makes £99m thanks to auction debutantes

Monet's waterlilies and Modigliani's portrait of an unknown boy lead the 25-lot sale, and new record made for Austrian artist Alfred Kubin's haunting drawing

Art marketarchive

French decorative arts apparently recession-proof

The international market absorbs the Polo, Patiño and Johnson collections in one year. Tous les Louis do well but Louis XVI best of all

Art marketcomment

Sotheby's newfound privacy gives it greater freedom, but at what cost to the rest of us?

Former public company status left the auction house at a disadvantage to rival Christie's, but its quarterly finance reports provided rare insight in a secretive market

Sotheby's goes private as it is sold for $3.7bn

French-Israeli media billionaire Patrick Drahi's company BidFair USA buys firm from shareholders

Sotheby’s to hold the first major Aboriginal art sale in the US in November

The auction house cites increasing interest in Aboriginal art among US collectors and institutions

Auctionsanalysis

Edward Hopper's over-priced ode to Shakespeare goes unsold as market for American art proves capricious

Christie's American art sales this week realise a new record for Hartley but Sotheby's struggles to get the pricing right on Hopper's Shakespeare scene

San Francisco museum's Rothko sells for $50m as Sotheby’s closes bumper week of New York auctions

Dana Schutz’s record broken twice in one night at Phillips then Sotheby's, while the bidder behind the $91m Koons Rabbit buys Lee Krasner painting for $10m

Monet's glowing haystacks set alight Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern art sale with a new £97m record

Market is alive and kicking at the top for prime Impressionist works, though Bouguereau's uncomfortably placed, 19th-century Bacchanalian scene failed to sell

Virtually unseen Van Gogh painting comes up for sale in New York next week

Christie’s values the Japanese-influenced picture of the asylum garden at $25m

a blog by Martin Bailey

Sotheby’s reports loss of $7.1m in first quarter of 2019

Lack of supply dogs London and Hong Kong and guarantees are down over 50% as former chief operating officer Adam Chinn apparently joins the Mugrabi dealing family

Frans Hals court case may be settled but it raises questions over science, scholars and contracts

After settling with dealer Mark Weiss, Sotheby’s is still trying to recoup losses after refunding US buyer of the painting

On the Bard’s birthday, Sotheby’s announces it will offer Edward Hopper’s ode to Shakespeare

Estimated to fetch $7-$10m, the New York cityscape, depicts the iconic Central Park statue of the playwright

Court case over 'modern forgery' Frans Hals concludes but judgment reserved until summer

Sotheby's James Martin stands by his assertion that the painting is a fake following hours of interrogation challenging the independence of his scientific analysis

Bonn library recovers 600 books missing since the Second World War

Sotheby's assisted the return of the books, including 11 medieval manuscripts, which were found in Belgium

Sotheby’s settles claim against London dealer Mark Weiss in Frans Hals case

Settlement came day before trial was due to start, but its suit against financier will continue

Egon Schiele: a buyer's guide

While well known in the West, the work of this major figure of Austrian Expressionism is less recognised in Asia—until now