Henri Loyrette, Director of the Louvre How has director Henri Loyrette changed the Louvre since the Pierre Rosenberg days? That's what a BusinessWeek magazine reporter based in Paris wanted to know when she called me yesterday for a phone interview. So I ranted about what I've called the "Louez le Louvre" phenomenon---the proliferating megabucks rental shows, whereby the … [Read more...] about Universal World Heritage…Except When It’s Rent-a-Show Time
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CultureGrrl Represents the Geezers Tomorrow in NY Public Radio Debate
Hey, I'm still on the right side of 60! Nevertheless, I've been asked (partly on the strength of my Elderfield Too Elderly? post) to take the old folks' side in a debate tomorrow on WNYC, New York Public Radio, on the relative merits of youth vs. age in cultural organizations. I warned Soundcheck associate producer Brian Wise that although I oppose age-ism, I have a nuanced … [Read more...] about CultureGrrl Represents the Geezers Tomorrow in NY Public Radio Debate
Cleveland Kerfuffle: Italy Again Engages in Repatriation-by-Press
Francesco Rutelli (second from right) at a New York press conference last June where he announced the supposed signing of an accord with Princeton UniversityApparently Francesco Rutelli's penchant for pressing for repatriation through the press, rather than through quiet, collegial diplomacy, survives his terminated tenure as Italy's culture minister. On Friday, the Associated … [Read more...] about Cleveland Kerfuffle: Italy Again Engages in Repatriation-by-Press
Shoot the Headline Writer (Again): Bloomberg Foretells Freud’s Auction Price
Lucian Freud, "Benefits Supervisor Sleeping," 1995"Freud's Heavyweight Nude Gets $35 Million Price," alleges the headline (which may well be rewritten by the time your read this) for today's online art-market commentary by Martin Gayford in Bloomberg.That's more than you or I know, since the Christie's auction where Lucian Freud's "Benefits Supervisor Sleeping" (above) may … [Read more...] about Shoot the Headline Writer (Again): Bloomberg Foretells Freud’s Auction Price
Sotheby’s First-Quarter Loss: Commission Margins Down; Buyers Premium Up UPDATED
Sotheby's Stock ChartThere was a lot of news in Sotheby's First Quarter 2008 Earnings Conference Call this morning with investment analysts. The lead-off revelations: The auction house's revenues ($129.3 million) declined $18.1 million (12%), compared to the first quarter of 2007. There was a first-quarter net loss of $12.4 million ($0.19 per diluted share) compared to net … [Read more...] about Sotheby’s First-Quarter Loss: Commission Margins Down; Buyers Premium Up UPDATED
It’s Official: Sandro Bondi Replaces Rutelli as Italian Culture Minister
Italian Culture Minister Sandro BondiWhat I foretold here (thanks to a helpful tip from Louis Godart) has now officially come to pass: Sandro Bondi has been named by the new Berlusconi government to replace The Great Repatriator, Francesco Rutelli, as Italy's minister of culture. (Above is his official portrait on the Ministry of Culture's website.) In addition to being head of … [Read more...] about It’s Official: Sandro Bondi Replaces Rutelli as Italian Culture Minister
Sotheby’s Impressionist/Modern Results: Relief and Vindication
Simon ShawRelief and satisfaction were palpable among Sotheby's Impressionist/modern experts at their press conference (which was viewable online) after tonight's big sale. The sale's hammer price totaled $208.63 million ($235.33 million with buyers premium) for 52 lots, within a presale estimate of $203.9-280.1 million. (One lot was withdrawn before the sale, which is why … [Read more...] about Sotheby’s Impressionist/Modern Results: Relief and Vindication
Early Returns: Sotheby’s Sale Looks Like a Winner (UPDATED TWICE)
The Big Lot, Léger's "Study for 'The Woman in Blue,'" 1919 (above), achieved a hammer price of $35 million---at the low end of its $35-45 million presale estimate, but enough to set a new auction record for the artist. There have been two unsold lots in the front 20. Only two sold below estimate.More to come. It's not over till it's over.UPDATE: More records, more buy-ins. … [Read more...] about Early Returns: Sotheby’s Sale Looks Like a Winner (UPDATED TWICE)
NY Times Auction Report: Shoot the Headline Writer
At least the online headline is accurate, but even Carol Vogel, who in her NY Times post mortem emphasized the positive aspects of last night's so-so results at Christie's Impressionist/modern sale, could not possibly have agreed with the editors' headline (above) on Page B2 of today's newspaper:Sale Results of Impressionist and Modern Art Exceed Expectations at Christie'sAs … [Read more...] about NY Times Auction Report: Shoot the Headline Writer
Is the Art Market Still Hot? At Christie’s, Not
Top Lot: Monet, "Le Pont du Chemin de fer à Argenteuil," 1873, $41.48 millionLast November's anemic results at Sotheby's evening Impressionist/modern sale in New York did little to dampen the art market's overall ebullience. So I won't go so far as to say that Christie's lackluster performance tonight signals a market correction. But even though it gave itself an exceptionally … [Read more...] about Is the Art Market Still Hot? At Christie’s, Not
Pondering Pre-Auction Imponderables: Weak Dollar, Emerging-Market Trophy Hunters
Francis Bacon, "Triptych," 1976, on exhibition at Sotheby's After attending Sotheby's annual stockholders meeting this morning (as a journalist, NOT an investor), I prowled the Sotheby's showroom, watching auctioneer Tobias Meyer adroitly woo clients in front of Bacon's "Triptych" (above): "I've been waiting a long time for this," he told one Bacon admirer with whom he … [Read more...] about Pondering Pre-Auction Imponderables: Weak Dollar, Emerging-Market Trophy Hunters
“Superheroes” Catalogue Intro: Did Philippe Have to Write This?
One of the scholarly offerings at the Metropolitan Museum's "Superheroes" bookshopIt's too bad that Philippe de Montebello's successor couldn't have been in place by now. Then PdM's record for excellence wouldn't have been marred by his Director's Forward for the catalogue of the Metropolitan Museum's Superheroes show, opening Wednesday. Extolling "the influential reach of … [Read more...] about “Superheroes” Catalogue Intro: Did Philippe Have to Write This?
Auctioneers Gone Wild? Unfair “Fair Market Value”
Sotheby's ad for fashion platesWe impecunious art-market scribes are a bearish bunch. Most of us can't afford a square inch of a van Gogh, so we may enjoy a certain charge of schadenfreude from envisioning the eventual comeuppance of those who can pay for the whole painting. As Marion Maneker recently wrote, in an astute article for Slate:How can you tell that it's nearly … [Read more...] about Auctioneers Gone Wild? Unfair “Fair Market Value”
Oligarch and Sheikh: The Art Newspaper Names Buyers of “Rockefeller Rothko” and Koons “Heart”
Chic for a Sheikh? Mark Rothko's $72.8-million "White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose)," 1950While we're waiting for some contemporary art auction records to be set later this month, The Art Newspaper claims to know the names of big winners of auctions past. Sarah Thornton reports:Ever since their culture minister, Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al Thani, was arrested and … [Read more...] about Oligarch and Sheikh: The Art Newspaper Names Buyers of “Rockefeller Rothko” and Koons “Heart”
Recession Obsession: Have Auction Houses Tightened Up on Guarantees?
Not quite ready for prime time: Some of Christie's Impressionist/modern wares at yesterday's press previewSo is the art market getting shakier, as we head into the next two weeks of big evening auctions in New York? Kelly Crow in today's Wall Street Journal describes the jitters in tentative terms:With a weak American economy and global fears over rising fuel and food costs, … [Read more...] about Recession Obsession: Have Auction Houses Tightened Up on Guarantees?