Fundraising Campaign Reaches £20,000 To Keep Art Center

"Local and international artists are donating their work to a charity art auction in support of Save the Forest Campaign. The event is at the AXO Gallery in Leith between 13 and 15 May. AXO owner Sarah Wilson said: "By bidding in this auction, ..." [Read Full Article]

Published By: The Guardian
On: 04/06/11
Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/



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16th Century Portfolio Sets Islamic Art Auction Record

"The sale price, which includes buyer's premium, eclipsed the previous Islamic art auction record set at rival auction house Christie's last year, when a 17th century Kirman "vase" carpet from Persia fetched 6.2 million pounds. ..." [Read Full Article]

Published By: Los Angeles Times
On: 04/06/11
Website: http://www.latimes.com/

 

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Artprice: the 2010 Art Market Annual Report - China Winner of the Past Decade

"Over the last 10 years, China jumped from ninth place to first place in 2010, becoming the world's largest auction marketplace for Fine Art and overtaking the United States and the UK, the grand masters of the market since the 1950s. ..." [Read Full Article]

Published By: PR Newswire
On: 04/05/11
Website: http://www.prnewswire.com/

 

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The Art of Bubbles: How Sotheby's Predicts the World Economy

"In fact, tracking auction records and auction house stock is one of the best ways to smell out a simmering economic crisis. "As one of the world's leading art auction houses, Sotheby's has been a beneficiary of booms in the art market," he writes in ... [Read Full Article]
Published By: The Atlantic
On: 04/05/11
Website: http://www.theatlantic.com/

 

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Auction Houses In Duel Under The Sun

"Eighteen million dollars (£11.2 million) of art and jewellery goes up for auction in Dubai this month as Bonhams and Christie's go head to head in a duel under the sun. By Colin Gleadell 12:09PM BST 05 Apr 2011 But the strategies and contents of the ..." [Read Full Article]

Published By: Telegraph.co.uk
On: 04/05/11
Website: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

 

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Hungary To Sell Off Communist-Era Art To Raise Cash

Communist art auction for Hungary sludge victims

By Rob Brown

Nearly two months on from the toxic sludge spillage, Hungary is to use its communist heritage to benefit the victims of the disaster.

Dozens of images of Lenin jostle for space on the brick wall of a gallery in the Hungarian capital, Budapest. An imposing life-size bust of a historic communist leader looks on from its spot in the corner.

Another painting shows a cheerful-looking Russian soldier with a gun in one arm and a young girl in the other while a group of children crowd around him.

These are just some of the art works that are once again seeing the light of day after being held in basements and storage rooms of Hungarian government buildings since 1990.

The paintings, photographs and sculptures, a legacy of Hungary's communist era, are to be auctioned by the government to raise funds for those affected by October's toxic sludge spillage.

Dusted off

"We prove that the most useless objects can be used for a useful intention," states the government's press release about the auction.

Much of Hungary's communist-themed art was removed following the fall of communism in the country in 1989.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

When [some older Hungarians] see a painting of Lenin it brings them back to their schooldays when there was a portrait of him in every classroom”

End Quote Staff member Hungarian government

"They have been gathering dust for the past 20 years," says Bence Retvari, parliamentary secretary at Hungary's justice ministry.

"The state does not want to look after these communist relics anymore."

Having been dusted off and put on display for the first time in 20 years, 230 items are awaiting potential bidders at Budapest's Pinter gallery.

"The upcoming auction is proving very popular," the gallery's Anna Losonci told BBC World Service.

"We are getting a lot of interest from collectors here and overseas."

The government expects buyers to include businessmen, students and serious collectors from Hungary, Poland, the Netherlands and as far afield as the US.

Starting prices for the various items range from around $5 for a 1970s dot matrix-style print of Lenin to nearly $1,500 for an oil painting entitled "Soviet-Hungarian friendship".

Organisers at the gallery are hoping that determined bidders could push these prices up with some of the more valuable pieces potentially ending up in a museum.

Never again

The auction, to be held on 6 December, has been given the name "Never again! For the third time". The title is a play on words, says Forgacs Gergely from the Pinter Gallery.

"It's a thing that auctioneers in Hungary say when they are hammering their gavel but it also refers to our hope here in Hungary that we will never return to communism," he adds.

That sentiment can also be seen in the logo used for the auction's online catalogue which shows an image of Lenin with a hammer coming down on his head. It is Lenin literally going under the hammer.



"People view this type of art in different ways," says Ms Losonci. She adds that for some it can provoke a sense of nostalgia but for others it can bring back bad memories.

One member of staff from the Hungarian government, who asks not to be named, tells: the BBC: "I'm in my 20s, I've grown up in a different era.

"But some older Hungarians see this art as a symbol of the communist regime. They still have a memory of it. When they see a painting of Lenin it brings them back to their schooldays when there was a portrait of him in every classroom."

Despite the seriousness and historical significance of the art works, the organisers are injecting some humour into the proceedings.

Two young Hungarian stand-up comics, keen to do something for those affected by the sludge, will preside over the auction.

"We are hoping this will make it a more relaxed and enjoyable event," says Anna Losonci. "But we will be respecting the pieces and respecting the people who lived during that era."

Chemical torrent

All the proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Catholic charity Caritas, which will use the money to help residents in towns left devastated by the sludge.

Hungary declared a state of emergency earlier this year when a reservoir at an alumina plant ruptured releasing a torrent of chemical waste.

The disaster left several people dead and more than 100 injured, and it is expected to take at least a year to clean up the damage.

The Hungarian government estimates that it will cost tens of millions of dollars to reverse the damage caused during the spillage.

 

This article is from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11888743

Prices For Aboriginal Art Remain Depressed

Art sale fails to attract buyers

STAFF at Sotheby's Australia were upbeat before last night's Aboriginal art auction, but when selling opened it quickly became apparent buyers had not returned to the market.

A large untitled canvas painted by Emily Kame Kngwarreye in 1991 did not attract a single bid after auctioneer Tim Goodman called for interest at $150,000. The work had been given an estimate of $180,000 to $250,000.

Rover Thomas's 1991 linen earth pigment Old Texas Downs painting Massacre Site also failed to attract any bidding, and another Kngwarreye work was passed in after a single telephone bid of $80,000 - $40,000 below its lower estimate.

Sotheby's head of Aboriginal art D'lan Davidson could not say how many of the 219 lots sold but he was optimistic the Kngwarreye work that had received a bid would sell this week.

"It was a fairly disappointing night," he said.

"I think the next week will have feverish post-sale activity."

For his first sale as head of Sotheby's Aboriginal art department, Mr Davidson sought to improve on the company's previous Aboriginal art sale in July, at which just 40 per cent of the lots sold for a $2 million total.

That sale took place amid the uncertainty of the federal election campaign, the introduction of a 5 per cent resale royalty scheme, and worry that changes to the superannuation law would force investors to flood the market with works owned by their super funds.

Despite those factors, the result in July led some to suggest the Aboriginal art market was in permanent decline.

Mr Davidson last night said collectors had to realise that market prices had settled at 2003 levels -- which were considerably lower than the art market peak of 2007.

Mr Davidson said anyone trading in indigenous art would have to get realistic about prices.

He said next year's auctions would be more carefully curated, with about 80 to 120 lots on offer, rather than more than 200 as was the case last night.

"You'll find we're much more selective in the coming year," he said.

Sotheby's is under pressure from international auction house Bonhams, which has announced a new indigenous art division that will be run by three former Sotheby's staff.

Sotheby's chairman Tim Goodman, who stunned the art world last year when he acquired the rights to operate the company in Australia, did not return calls last night. Nor did vice-chairman Geoffrey Smith.

 

This article is from: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/executive-lifestyle/art-sale-fails-to-attract-buyers/story-e6frg9zo-1225963938076