Heritage Auctions' Hammer price of the year

The annual results of the American firm point to several national records and international world record for the Comic category

Dallas, 01/31/12   Adding up more than 677 million dollars, the texas auction firm, which began operating scarcely 10 years ago,  has made 2011 the most lucrative year in its history. Several records can be forseen for some collecting categories but, without doubt, Comics continue to be the firms signature specialty. The numbers speak for themselves: 26...
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Chait's bet

Asia Week (16-22 of March) in New York has propelled this collecting category across the American continent 

Berverly hills, CA , 01/31/12 While in Manhattan more than 30 galleries prepare for the ocassion and sales rooms like Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, iGavel, and Doyle receive the last lots for consigment for the sales scheduled that week, more than 4.000 kilometres away, the gallery and auction room I.M Chait, located in Los Angeles, also makes a contribution presenting a...
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Ritcher, Bacon, Freud, Boetti...

Sotheby's Contemporary art harvest for the 15th  of February includes these and other established names in the bussiness

London, 01/25/12 Amist the Old master sales scheduled this week in New York, the London sales room brings forward the highlights of its upcoming Contemporary art sale. After the third most luvrative year in its history, Sotheby's seeks to outperform its greatest rival, Christie's, during the first week of February, something it has been longing to do since...
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The Hispanic society puts up for sale one of its treasures

The insitution will sell through Sotheby's the Archer M. Hunttington numismatic collection, the greatest compilation of Spanih coins outside of Spain

New York , 01/30/12   The economic crisis continues to nurture the market. The Hispanic Society of America in New York needs funds and will auction off one of the most famous coin collections in the world, a fundamental piece in the study of Spanish numismatics. The lot wonderfully illustrates the history of the Iberian penninsula from the fifth century B.C to...
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Ansorena's shocking start of 2012

A plunge for Rubens and a victory for Delacroix in a sale marked by the the retrivement of three works belonging to Ruiz-Mateos 

Madrid , 01/27/12 Half of the painting lots up for sale where left unsold in Ansorena's first sale of the year. The first twist took place just hours before the bids began, with the retrival of three works property of the family José Maria Ruiz-Mateos. The works were part of the assets confiscated to the businessman and his sons by Spains' National Court due...
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The Getty's new Pollaiuolo

The success of Master Drawingweek in New York has brought distinguished hammer prices at Sotheby's for this and other works

New York , 01/26/12   This week the city that never sleeps has housed the latest edition of Master Drawings week. Obligating 23 dealers to loose some of their slumber by making them open the doors of their galleries during the evenings too. In spite of the inmense American participation, there were also some foreign galleries such as the Spanish gallery José de...
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Durán's weak start of the year

With 76% of paintings unsold, only gold resists as a sure value in times of uncertainty 

Madrid , 01/26/12   The first sale of the year in Durán Auctions did not meet expectations. Although it began well, thanks to several Spanish Old Master lots from the seventeenth century, which started in the majority of cases under 300 euros. Highlights included the bid for the Penitent St. Jerome of sober execution and tones, which started in 550 euros and...
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Records in Sotheby's Americana Week

Sotheby's establishes a new trend for Americana, achieving the highest results for this category since 2007 

New York, 01/23/12   Americana is at its best. As surprising as it ay seem, antique works with US stamp manufacture are registering records not only for their field but for any category. In total, 17,900,261 dollars, the highest total for this series of annual sales in five years. Without doubt, the Friday and Saturday sales were the ones to drive up results,...
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The Alorda collection at Christie's

The first sale of the most important Spanish collection to hit the auction block is comprised of 53 lots

London , 01/19/12 It is an art collection, but not all the works are art. It is an important sale, but not everyone is interested. It is a Modern and Contemporary art sale, but not all the lots are from our era. The AD Foundation (Alorda-Derksen) sells part of its collection for the first time in its history. A mix of genres, mediums, names and techniques with a...
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A South African bronze coin fetches 184.000¢

The last currency sale, hosted by Heritage Auctions in New York, brought more than 10 million dollars 

New York, 01/17/12   Heritage Auctions has gotten off to a good start in the new year. Its two currency sales, the first focused on the currency section managed to attract an astonishing seven million dollars, while the second specialized in American coins achieved bids for 64 million dollars. In total, together with the sale 2-3 january covered in this...
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Variety in January at Durán Auctions

The Madrid bidding room resumes its compromise with the public and hosts sales the 24, 25 and 26 of January

Madrid , 01/16/12 A Great variety, is what Durán brings us in their January catalogue, with room for everything, from antiquiety to coins and wrist watches, from old masters to modern prints, from sculpture to silver, and from jewellery to fountain pens, without forgetting furniture and decoratives arts.  Although many of the works offered are medium...
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Dutch and Flemish painting

More than 1000 lots comprise the Madrid firm's first sale of the year, with nearly 400 lots of painting and graphic works 

Madrid , 01/10/12   'More and more' seems to be the motto of the auction house Ansorena, which once more summons collectors for its 26 and 27th of January sale. A revolutionary approach to the economic depression in spain, because while the rest of bidding rooms in the country reduce their dates with the public, Ansorena increases them, and always with an...
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NASA's right of first refusal

The American space agency claims to be in property of a lot recently sold by Heritage auctions

Miami , 01/09/12   In November 2010, Heritage auctions sold in 388.000 dollars James Lovell's Apollo 13 check list. A sum 15 times its starting price. The checklist is notorious for being the prop of a highly dramatic scene in the film starting Tom Hanks Appolo 13.  After the sale NASA contacted both Heritage Auctions and commander James Lovell to...
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Brushtip Hollywood

Clark's Fine Art presents its first sale of the year with Contemporary art works from two important private collectors

Sherman Oaks. California, 01/09/12   As it is now a custom in California, the auction houses try their best in providing some sort of background for the lots they offer. The last is almost comical, it is no longer the legacy of a star washed away by time or the unknown supporting actress who had a bit part in a major blockbuster, but the collection of the respectable lawer...
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The last sale

The last sale of the year in Spain hosted by Gran Via de Bilbao auctions summoned collectors from around the country 

Bilbao, 12/30/11   The scarce presence of Old master paintings in the extensive December catalogue of the Bilbao firm did not deny them the chance to sparkle and fetch some of the highest results in the 28th of December sale. Even more curious is the fact that those old master painting lots most valued and better attributed by the auction house failed to sell,...
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A Daniel Vázquez Díaz sold for 55.000 euros at Durán

The Madrid bidding room's Christmas sale was moderately succesful with outstanding hammer prices in Painting, sculpture and wrist watches

Madrid , 12/28/11   The 21st of December sale began well with the first four lots fetching prices above their starting price. Specially significant was the oil on canvas attributed to the seventeenth century Andalucian school entitled Nativiety, coincidence or not, which went from a mere 2.000 euros to an impressive 6.500 euros. Meanwhile the Virgin with angels...
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An Iznik plate in Goya Auctions

With a starting price of 300 euros the gilded ceramicware skyrocketed to 145.000 euros

Madrid , 12/22/11 The incredible climb of the lot 245 from the 19th of December sale hosted by Goya Auctions, has left us one of the most spectacular hammerprices of the year for the decorative arts field in Spain. An occasion almost unique in the dessolate and monothonus Spanish art market trend. The piece goes on to take the lead, without any difficultu, of...
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Goverment Auction New Year's sale

The company presents more than 2.000 lots up for sale at such modests starting prices as one or two dollars

Hachapi, California , 12/20/11   Hachapi, California   Sesión de Año Nuevo de Goverment Auction La empresa presenta más de 2.000 lotes a subasta con salidas tan modestas como uno o dos dólares    Tradicionalmente la casa californiana reserva lo mejor del año para su subasta del 1 de enero y este año no es una excepción. Aunque presenta lagunas notables en...
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The million dollar Michael Jackson sale

The sale orgaized this saturday by Julien's Auctions brought to light personal items from the temporary home of the deceased Pop singer

Beverly Hills , 12/19/11 Darren Julien, president of Julien's Auctions, has still not especified the exact sum fetched by the items found in Jackson's rented house in Beverly Hills. But without doubt the results are far from what was expected and the estimate provided by the auction house 200,000-400,000 dollars. Highlights included a chalkboard in the kitchen, where...
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Elisabeth Taylor helps bring auctions back to life

The Elisabeth Taylor jewellery collection goes on to become the most valuable private collection in history 

New York , 12/14/11 It seems almost impossible, in the current economic climate, that a hundred lots of jewllery could sell for more than hundred million dollars in just four short hours. However it once also seemed impossible that the actress who began her career playing second fiddle to the dog Lassie, would go on to become one of the most acclaimed...
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Christmas quality

More than 300 lots of works of art hit the hammer in Retiro's extraordinary Christmas sale, tomorrow at 6 o'clock 

Madrid , 12/13/11 Today, throughout the afternoon, more than 200 pieces of jewllery will be offered in the Madrid bidding room. Pins, medals, rings, earings, broches and cuff links inaugurate one of the most important dates in Spain's collecting calender. Besides jewels are now in their prime for buyers, or so it was stated by the Auction House's director...
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Leda and the Swan take the lead at Sotheby's

One of antiquiety's least represented motifs skyrocketed to the astronomical sum of 30.918.375 dollars

New York , 12/12/11   Recently discovered in Aske Hall, in north Yorkshire, the monumental marble sculpture from the II century A.D of Leda and the swan was the reighning lot in Sotheby's Antiquieties sale hosted last week in New York. The statue, without a parallel in history, was the subject of several bids by collectors worldwide, who for the first time...
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In the dark by a Velázquez

Bonhams Old master sale had more than just a portrait by the Spanish master, the last work attributed to Adriaen Coorte

London , 12/11/11   Three peaches on a stone ledge with a Lady Butterfly was sold last Wednesday in Bonhams Old Master paintings sale. The recently discovered work, consigned to auction by a private collector in Australia, started at a modest price of 300.000 pounds, and was finally auctioned off for 2.1 million pounds. It automatically became the new record...
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Velázquez sold for 3.464.144 euros

Two exceptional portraits from the Spanish school at auction in the same week and only one hammer price for the lot: Portrait of an unknown Gentleman

London, 12/07/11 After the shock yesterday surrounding the unsold portrait by Goya of the King's embroiderer in Christie's sale , where Pieter Brueghel the younger achieved a new record high for his work Battle of Canival against Lent, sold for more than 8 million euros. The fear that the work attribbuted to Velázquez would follow the same fate was...
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Velázquez hits the auction block

The 99 work ascribed to the Sevillian artist goes under the hammer this 7th of December in Bonham's London sales room 

London, 12/05/11   Spears, a Capital and ivestment publication, described the last, most significant art history developement of the year as a big event. It underlined the curious circumstance that it is one of only five works work by the painter still in private hands. All the time ignoring that in last tree years, three new canvases have been unveiled and...
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Herculean Porcelain

One of the greastest size porcelain figures known of the God Hercules will be auctioned at Bonhams on the 7th of December 

London, 11/30/11 A very exceptional and important porcelain figure of the Roman God created at the Doccia factory in Tuscany between the years 1753-55 will go under the hammer in the next Fine European Ceramic sale hosted by Bonhams on the th of December. It is the first time a work of this scope has landed in the auction room and it has an estimate of...
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A new record for a chinese snuff box

Bonhams, Hong Kong, sold the precious famille rose piece in 2,108,333 pounds the past 28th of November

Hong Kong , 11/30/11   The tiny, yet exquisite, famille rose enamelled glass European subject snuff bottle made in the Imperial Palace workshops in Beijing during the Emperor Qianlong period (1736-1795) measures only 8.07cm high. It carried a pre-sale estimate of 496.274 and 861.932 euros. International bidders in the packed auction room and on the telephone...
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Blind ambition

Spanish old master painting struggles in the auction rooms, meanwhile in Spain this reality is still ignored

Madrid , 11/29/11   The art market, as many of our readers no doubt know, is one of the most obscure in the global economy. Information, tranperancy, homogeniety of the product are all conspicous for their absence. Two fundamental conditions in a market economy transaction according to Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations.  Although the thruth is that is hardly...
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A collector's wish

Alcalá Auctions surrenders part of its catalogue to the philanthropist Manuel López Almagro, together with more than 500 lots in its Christmas sale

Madrid , 11/28/11   Art history is a never ending series of mysteries, successes and mistakes, but the stories of those who have contributed to its inmortality here on earth are, in some cases, terribly sad. This being the case, the Madrid auction has been chosen to liquidate the legacy of Manuel López Almagro, who, in this case, can be accused of being...
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Old Master Fever

Fernando Durán, once again, challenges the Spanish art market by offering more than 50 canvases by reknown figures of the Golden age

Madrid , 11/25/11 Alonso Cano, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Juan van der Hamen y León, Francisco Collantes, Sebastián de Llanos and Valdés... It is not the new exhibit at the National museum of El Prado but the November-December catalogue of the Madrid auction house, which continues to throw itself in its effort to supply the avid collector with the best of the...
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The last of Duran

A little bit of everything seems to be the motto in the Madrid auction house this December

Madrid, 11/21/11 A nice pair of Still Lifes attributed to the seventeenth century Spanish school with a starting price of 2.500 euros will kick off the 23rd of November sale. Followed by an anoymous canvas of very good quality of St. Peter Alcántara that starts in 3.000 euros which closely follows the iconogrophy of the saint with the Holy Spirit in the form of...
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Latin Art brings in a total of 11.346.975 € at Christie's

The 15th of November sale brought new found enthusiasm for Brazilian art and mexican scultpture 

New York , 11/17/11   The Latin American art sale this week established nine new records for Antonio Bandeira, Hércules Barsotti, José Pancetti, Alfredo Volpi and Franz Weissmann, proving the rising interest for Brazilian art and fresh art at competitive prices. The diverse catalogue of mixed disciplines, nationalities and periods aroused special attention for...
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A work by Juan Luna y Novicio sold for 80.000€

The last Ansorena sale higlighted the importance and demand of the Spanish-philipine artist 

Madrid, 11/17/11 Lady with flowers by Juan Luna y Novicio was the most expensive lot sold this November in the Madrid bidding room. With a starting price of 12.000 euros, the oil on canvas signed on the lower right hand corner, was auctioned off for a hammer price of 80.000 euros. A completely unexpected escalation that could have possibly been discerned. Juan...
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From A to Z

Bilabo XXI auctions presents an extraordinary sketch by Goya and Spanish school oils on canvas starting at 60 euros

Bilbao , 11/16/11   The last proposal by northern spain's bidding room par excellence has been long awaited and this November the Bilabao auction presents the first sales of the season with a catalogue of more than 1000 lots. Rich and poor, young and old, batchelors and married, demanding or lax... all will be able to get a piece in tomorrow's sales. Painting...
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The Sevillian Baroque splendour

Arte Información y Gestión presents important examples of Neapolitian, Colonial andSevillian old master paintings

Seville, 11/15/11   This 17 of November the most important bidding room in the city of the Guadalquivir river will organize sales of jewllery, painting and sculpture. The first sale is led by impressive diamond necklaces, rings and earings, and also period pieces and great deal of coral lots such as the pair of Criolla earings that start at 950 euros....
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Impressive hammer prices at Sotheby's Impressionist sale

The Impressionist and Modern art sale brought in a total of 200 million dollars, with Klimt's landscape selling for more than 40 million dollars 

11/03/11 Impresionantes remates en Sotheby's    200 millones de dólares sumó la sesión de arte impresionista y moderno, con un paisaje de Klimt adjudicadó en más de 40 millones de dólares     "El mercado del arte estaba vivo y coleando en Soteheby's esta noche" probablemente nada mejor que esta cita de Simon Shaw, director del departamento...
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