Art for sale
07/05/14 05:37
Keeping up with the practice of writing about a topic where I have no expertise, there have been some interesting happenings in the world of art lately. There was a rare painting by Claud Monet, one of his series of paintings of water lilies. It has rarely been seen. The painting was completed in 1907 and was displayed in various venues put until 1926. It was then acquired by a private collector and put up for sale in 1930. It was purchased by Huguette Clark. I don’t know the price it brought at the time, but Clark could afford it. Her father was a billionaire - a rare feat in those days. He was one of Montana’s copper barons and served as Senator from my home state. He was also an art collector. His daughter was only 23 when she purchased the Monet.
When the father died in 1925 he had left his art collection to the Corcoran Art Museum in Washington, DC. Later his daughter helped to pay for an addition to the building, located near the White House, to display her father’s art collection.
Meanwhile the Monet was hung in a sitting room in one of three apartments that Huguette owned in New york City. She also owned homes in Greenwich, Conn. and Santa Barbara, Calif. She apparently had a somewhat quirky personality that continued to become more so as she aged. She had no children, but lived to the age of 104, dying in 2011. Much of the last 20 years of her life was spent in a nursing home. She was known for writing huge checks to her caregivers, a practice the led others to question her judgment. When she died, it was revealed that she signed two distinctly different wills within six weeks of each other in 2005.
The result was a kind of legal brawl. More than 15 law firms joined int he battle over her $300 million estate. Last fall a settlement was reached. Last night her Monet went on the auction block along with 3 Renoirs and 50 other works of art by Picasso, Kandinsky, Miro, Giacometti and Dali.
The Monet, with a value estimated at between $25 million to $35 million, sold for $24 million plus a $3 million buyer’s premium that goes to the auction house. The terms of the estate specified that the Corcoran would share in the proceeds if the painting brought more than $25 million, so the art museum didn’t get any of the proceeds. No worries, the Corcoran received $11.25 million in cash from the estate.
Thje buyer is listed simply as “Asian private.” No further details were released, but at this time it appears that the painting is heading for another place where few will get to see it. It seems a bit sad to me. I have had the opportunity to see Monet paintings several times at the Art Institute of Chicago.
It seems like some paintings simply belong in museums where more people are able to see them. On the other hand the really big sums of money are in the hands of private collectors and one way that museums raise funds is to sell works of art to private collectors.
Other issues around private art collections have come to light in the recent death of Cornelius Gurlitt. The 81-year-old son of an art dealer had a private collection of more than 1,400 works, including pieces by Picasso and Matisse. The works were kept in two homes that Gurlitt owned, one in Munich and the other in Salzburg. Gurlitt went to his grave denying that any of the works were looted from victims of Nazi persecution, but several groups have claimed otherwise. Gurlitt, whose father was said to be a friend of Adolph Hiltler, refused to release an inventory of the paintings to the public during his life.
His death may set off another round of lawyers fighting lawyers to see who gets control of the pieces of art. Gurlitt’s collection might even top Clark’s battle of 15 law firms. Don’t expect a settlement anytime soon.
The predictions had been that art prices would be up this spring, but Christie’s first spring sale, which featured the Clark paintings, marked lower than expected prices. Two works by Degas were left unsold. Whether the estimates were too high or the bidding too low, the reserves were not met and the works were not sold. That isn’t to say that there is no money to be made on the art market. A Modiogliani portrait that sold for $8.4 million in 2002 was sold for $17.6 million last night - not a bad return on investment.
The sale last night was clearly dominated by Asian private bidders, especially from mainland Chiina. The $285.9 million dollar sale transferred a signifiant amount of cash from China and a significant amount of artwork to China. Artwork travels all the time. There are a lot of works of European artists in the United States. I suppose that we shouldn’t be surprised that a portion of the wealth of China is being invested in art. Still, one cannot help but hope that some of the pieces will find their way from private collators to public museums where they can be viewed rather than tucked away.
An example is a Renoir painting from around 1887. It had been in the private collection of Mrs. Clark who purchased in in 1958 for $125,000 from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. She did, however, loan it to the Corcoran, where it was on display. A single buyer paid $10 million ($11.3 million with fees). Once again it leaves a gallery for a private owner. Perhaps this owner will one day be generous to loan it to a museum.
I didn’t attend the auction. I didn’t phone in any bids, either. It seemed a bit beyond my means. I’ve got some pottery by Jeanne Berry in my private collection and an original Peggy Lynn acrylic painting. The total value of my art collection may be approaching $500. But the Lynn painting is on loan at the moment. Art belongs out in the public where it can be seen.
When the father died in 1925 he had left his art collection to the Corcoran Art Museum in Washington, DC. Later his daughter helped to pay for an addition to the building, located near the White House, to display her father’s art collection.
Meanwhile the Monet was hung in a sitting room in one of three apartments that Huguette owned in New york City. She also owned homes in Greenwich, Conn. and Santa Barbara, Calif. She apparently had a somewhat quirky personality that continued to become more so as she aged. She had no children, but lived to the age of 104, dying in 2011. Much of the last 20 years of her life was spent in a nursing home. She was known for writing huge checks to her caregivers, a practice the led others to question her judgment. When she died, it was revealed that she signed two distinctly different wills within six weeks of each other in 2005.
The result was a kind of legal brawl. More than 15 law firms joined int he battle over her $300 million estate. Last fall a settlement was reached. Last night her Monet went on the auction block along with 3 Renoirs and 50 other works of art by Picasso, Kandinsky, Miro, Giacometti and Dali.
The Monet, with a value estimated at between $25 million to $35 million, sold for $24 million plus a $3 million buyer’s premium that goes to the auction house. The terms of the estate specified that the Corcoran would share in the proceeds if the painting brought more than $25 million, so the art museum didn’t get any of the proceeds. No worries, the Corcoran received $11.25 million in cash from the estate.
Thje buyer is listed simply as “Asian private.” No further details were released, but at this time it appears that the painting is heading for another place where few will get to see it. It seems a bit sad to me. I have had the opportunity to see Monet paintings several times at the Art Institute of Chicago.
It seems like some paintings simply belong in museums where more people are able to see them. On the other hand the really big sums of money are in the hands of private collectors and one way that museums raise funds is to sell works of art to private collectors.
Other issues around private art collections have come to light in the recent death of Cornelius Gurlitt. The 81-year-old son of an art dealer had a private collection of more than 1,400 works, including pieces by Picasso and Matisse. The works were kept in two homes that Gurlitt owned, one in Munich and the other in Salzburg. Gurlitt went to his grave denying that any of the works were looted from victims of Nazi persecution, but several groups have claimed otherwise. Gurlitt, whose father was said to be a friend of Adolph Hiltler, refused to release an inventory of the paintings to the public during his life.
His death may set off another round of lawyers fighting lawyers to see who gets control of the pieces of art. Gurlitt’s collection might even top Clark’s battle of 15 law firms. Don’t expect a settlement anytime soon.
The predictions had been that art prices would be up this spring, but Christie’s first spring sale, which featured the Clark paintings, marked lower than expected prices. Two works by Degas were left unsold. Whether the estimates were too high or the bidding too low, the reserves were not met and the works were not sold. That isn’t to say that there is no money to be made on the art market. A Modiogliani portrait that sold for $8.4 million in 2002 was sold for $17.6 million last night - not a bad return on investment.
The sale last night was clearly dominated by Asian private bidders, especially from mainland Chiina. The $285.9 million dollar sale transferred a signifiant amount of cash from China and a significant amount of artwork to China. Artwork travels all the time. There are a lot of works of European artists in the United States. I suppose that we shouldn’t be surprised that a portion of the wealth of China is being invested in art. Still, one cannot help but hope that some of the pieces will find their way from private collators to public museums where they can be viewed rather than tucked away.
An example is a Renoir painting from around 1887. It had been in the private collection of Mrs. Clark who purchased in in 1958 for $125,000 from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. She did, however, loan it to the Corcoran, where it was on display. A single buyer paid $10 million ($11.3 million with fees). Once again it leaves a gallery for a private owner. Perhaps this owner will one day be generous to loan it to a museum.
I didn’t attend the auction. I didn’t phone in any bids, either. It seemed a bit beyond my means. I’ve got some pottery by Jeanne Berry in my private collection and an original Peggy Lynn acrylic painting. The total value of my art collection may be approaching $500. But the Lynn painting is on loan at the moment. Art belongs out in the public where it can be seen.