Did you make it to Sotheby’s or Christie’s for the auctions? No? Well, in case you haven’t noticed, it was a big week in the art world. Claude Monet’s “Haystacks” sold for $110 million—a record for his work and for any impressionist—and Jeff Koons’ sculpture “Rabbit” went for $91 million—a record for a living artist. In 1986 when “Rabbit” was created by Koons, Monet’s “Haystacks” was sold for $2.5 million or two percent of what it sold for this week. But what’s changed? Instead of reading about greed, ambition, class and politics in Bonfire of the Vanities we stream Billions. Your … [Read more...]
$646 Million Art Sale Breaks Record
Do you remember the art auction I wrote to you about last month? The auction for The Collection of David and Peggy Rockefeller: 19th & 20thCentury Art broke the record for the largest single-seller auction ever. Buyers paid $646 million for the paintings from the Rockefeller collection. Kelly Crow reports for The Wall Street Journal: Before the series began, Christie’s told the Rockefeller family it hoped to get at least $650 million selling off the entire estate, which comprises roughly 1,500 lots. On Tuesday, the house’s sale of 44 paintings and sculptures nearly matched that … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: Enjoy Monet like a Rockefeller
“In 1883, Monet and his family settled at Giverny, northwest of Paris. Three years later he acquired an adjacent piece of land and applied for permission to dig a pond, which he hoped would be a source of artistic inspiration,” writes Rebecca Wei, President of Christie’s Asia. “In his petition to the local authorities, Monet specified that the pond would serve ‘for the pleasure of the eyes and also for the purpose of having subjects to paint.” One of Claude Monet’s (1840-1926) “Water Lilies” or Nympheas en fleur, painted circa 1914-1917 will be offered to bidders in “The Collection of David … [Read more...]