In London's pre-Christmas Old Master sales, a Botticelli painting titled "The Virgin and Child enthroned" sold at Sotheby's for £10m after nine bidders competed for it. Meanwhile, Bonhams auction house saw two late 18th century paintings by Johann Zoffany sell to a telephone buyer for £991,000, exceeding their low estimate of £300,000. The sales suggest that the market for Old Masters remains strong at the top level, despite the growing focus on luxury and contemporary art.
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/12/05/%C2%A310m-botticelli-leads-londons-pre-christmas-old-master-salesA banana taped to a wall sold for $6.2 million at an auction in New York, sparking ridicule about the absurdity of the art world where value is tied to price rather than artistic merit. The banana was originally purchased from a 74-year-old fruit seller, Shah Alam, for just 35 cents and was later sold by artist Maurizio Cattelan as a satirical piece. The vendor expressed confusion and disappointment at not receiving a substantial sum of money from the sale, questioning the judgment of those who bought it.
https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/watch-man-eats-banana-artwork-he-bought-for-rs-52-crore-in-auction-7138037#pfrom=home-ndtv_offbeatA Christie's auction house in London is hosting "Classic Week" events, featuring a range of artworks and collectibles for sale. The events include the sale of an Anthony van Dyck portrait of a horse with a hidden landscape on the reverse, estimated to fetch up to 3 million pounds (RM17 million). Other notable items include prints by Rembrandt, a Beethoven music sketch leaf, letters written by Albert Einstein to his first wife Mileva Maric, and a robotic head.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2024/11/30/two-sided-van-dyck-portrait-einstein-letters-highlight-christies-classic-week-sales/158486Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's artwork, "Comedian," featuring a banana duct-taped to a wall, was auctioned off at the Hong Kong Peninsula hotel. The artwork's owner receives a certificate of authenticity and instructions on how to replace the banana when it decays. Event attendees received a roll of duct tape and a banana as souvenirs.
https://www.rawstory.com/crypto-boss-eats-banana-art-he-bought-for-6-2-million/A crypto investor, who remains anonymous, has reportedly spent $6.2 million on a banana art piece by artist Damien Hirst. The artwork, titled "Comedian," is a real banana duct-taped to a wall and was sold at a Sotheby's auction in London. This purchase marks one of the most expensive artworks ever made from a fruit, highlighting the growing trend of digital collectibles and unique items being bought by wealthy investors.
https://www.insider.com/crypto-investor-banana-art-justin-sun-comedian-2024-11A traveling art installation called "The Great Elephant Migration" features life-size Indian elephant sculptures made from an invasive weed in South India's Nilgiri Hills mountain range. The 100-strong herd, comprising entire families including babies, adolescents and adults, is available for purchase at $28,000 each, with proceeds benefiting local artists and wildlife conservation NGOs.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14139109/Miami-couple-beach-sex-Art-Basel-elephants.htmlThe owners of a Grade II listed Georgian property in Bristol are selling the building with a Banksy painting still intact, but with a condition that it cannot be removed or sold separately. The auction guide price is £700,000 and the buyer will have to agree to a restrictive covenant in the lease stating that the artwork must remain on the building forever. According to Hollis Morgan, there is no official policy from Bristol City Council regarding street art, as it is often created without permission and can change or be removed over time.
https://www.montanarightnow.com/national_news/building-featuring-banksy-art-from-nearly-20-years-ago-on-sale/article_95a8ccc6-1d6f-5efa-851b-94efa4738bf2.htmlThe Paris art fairs saw satisfactory sales, with more historical and expensive works sold compared to other locations. The city hosted several notable exhibitions, including Arte Povera at the Bourse de Commerce, Surrealism at the Centre Pompidou, and Gustave Caillebotte at the Musée d'Orsay. Meanwhile, Frieze's owner, Endeavor, a talent agency, announced that it is exploring a potential sale of some of its businesses in preparation for being taken private by its controlling shareholder, Silver Lake.
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/11/07/whats-behind-endeavors-plan-to-sell-friezeRomanian-American interior designer and philanthropist, Ileana Dincă, who passed away at the age of 97, had a collection of Surrealist and contemporary art that will continue her legacy through donations to various philanthropic initiatives. The sale of her collection is notable as it coincides with another significant event in the Surrealist movement: Eduardo Constantini, founder of the Buenos Aires Museum of Latin American Art (MALBA), purchased Leonora Carrington's sculpture "La Grande Dame" for $11.3 million at a Sotheby's auction in New York. This purchase follows his previous record-breaking acquisition of Carrington's painting "Les Distractions de Dagobert" for $28.5 million in May.
https://hyperallergic.com/968336/magritte-painting-becomes-most-expensive-surrealist-work-ever-sold/