: Sotheby's Old Master paintings, drawings and sculpture auctions
totaled $79,669,380, a record for a series of Old Masters sales
in New York. The total for paintings alone (not including the
Dealer's Eye sale or any sculpture) was $62.8 million, also
topping the previous record for a single sale of Old Master
paintings in New York. Among the highlights of the sales were
strong prices for works by Rembrandt, Jan van Huysum, Donatello,
Willem van de Velde, Francisco Goya, William Blake, Pieter
Brueghel the Younger and Bernardo Bellotto, among others.
George Wachter, vice chairman of Sotheby's, said, "The results we
achieved over the last three days are the strongest totals ever
realized in this category at auction in New York, no matter how
they are analyzed - either as a series of sales or individually.
I am thrilled with these results, which confirm the desirable
timing of Old Master sales in January."
The two-day sale of Old Master paintings totaled $62,758,960 and
was highlighted by a Dutch still life by van Huysum, "Flowers in
a Terra Cotta Pot," which sold for $7,296,000. Wachter continued,
"In our sale of Old Master paintings, we saw buoyant competition
yield good prices for great works of art. Works such as Meindert
Hobbema's 'Wooded Landscape' and Paulus Potter's 'Cattle in a
Field' brought prices that were four and five times the prices
that those same works brought ten and 15 years ago, respectively,
at auction."
Rembrandt van Rijn, "Portrait of an Elderly Woman in a White
Bonnet," circa 1640, $4,272,000.
Among the other highlights of the sale were "Portrait of an
Elderly Woman in a White Bonnet" by Rembrandt, which sold to a
private collector in New York for $4,272,000, and Donatello's
"Madonna and Child," which sold for $4,440,000 to the Kimbell Art
Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.
Also purchased by a museum was Corrado Giaquinto's "The Penitent
Magdalene," which was bought by The Metropolitan Museum of Art
for $1,360,000.
The Dealer's Eye sale totaled $5,012,600. Wachter noted, "This
was an innovative experiment with some of our most important
clients and a very valuable learning experience. We received
positive feedback from many of our consignors and plan on
applying what we have learned, particularly the importance of
pricing, to another sale of this kind next January. Indeed,
dealers who paid attention to the pricing issue sold everything
they offered, and many were extremely pleased.
As we had hoped, a range of private clients, both from America
and Europe, competed for pictures in the sale, among them some
completely new to the field of Old Masters." Among the highlights
of the sale were Philips Wouwerman's "Hawking Party," which
brought $553,600, and a pair of paintings by Marcantonio
Franceschini, which sold for $486,400.
Leading off the week was the sale of Old Master drawings, which
totaled $4,835,340, above the high estimate of $4.4 million. Greg
Rubinstein, director of Sotheby's Old Master drawings department,
said, "We are thrilled with the results, which are the best we've
had for several years. They demonstrate that even in a selective
market there is still great competition for drawings of
exceptional quality and interesting provenance."
Bernardo Bellotto, "The Piazza San Marco, Venice,"$4,720,000.
A perfect example of that irresistible combination was the
group of drawings by Willem Van de Velde the Elder from the estate
of John Pierpont Morgan II, which exceeded expectations to bring
$1.5 million ($585/845,000). Their appearance on the market
reaffirms the fact that there are still many important works yet to
be discovered." In addition to the van de Velde drawings, other
highlights included William Blake's watercolor, "Oberon and Titania
on a Lily," which sold for $520,000 and Francisco Goya's "Portrait
of Miguel de Muzquiz," which surpassed a high estimate of $160,000
to sell for $352,000.
Prices reported include buyer's premium. For information,
212-606-7000 or www.sothebys.com.
