Lucien Freud Not Recession Proof Either

Yesterday it was Andy Warhol’s painting that did not reach its pre-sale estimate at an auction at Sotheby’s. Today, a rare Lucien Freud painting of Francis Bacon failed to reach its pre-sale estimate of about $14 million. The painting, which has been described as an unfinished portrait of his friend and painted around 1956, sold for about $9 million at a Christie’s Auction. Based on previous sales, the price was a bargain for a Freud painting.

In an article I wrote in my June 23, 2007 Newsletter, I described a portrait painting sold at Christie’s auction of another of Freud's friends, Bruce Bernard. It set a record auction price for a living artist. And yet another painting titled Benefits Supervisor Sleeping sold in May of this year for $33.6 million, which was at the higher end of the pre-sale estimate. Both Warhol and Freud failing to reach pre-sale estimates has many questioning whether the slump will continue as stocks take a roller coaster ride and credit is at a low even for the wealthy.

Misidentified Islamic Decanter Sells at Auction a Second Time

In our September 26, 2008 NOVA-Antiques Newsletter we talked about a 1000 year crystal decanter that was misidentified by an auction house this past January. The original sale, which brought in almost $400,000, was cancelled when the owner realized that the decanter had probably been undervalued. The rare decanter, originally from Egypt and now thought to have been from between the 10th and 11th Centuries, was sold tonight by Christie’s of London for more that $6 million. One of only six similar decanters are known to exist in the world today, it has been reported that this vase was made for the Fatimid Dynasty which ruled between 908 and 1187 AD in the Middle East and North Africa. Imagine the owner’s surprise at the difference in money that the decanter brought in.

Goya & Wattaeu World Record Auction Prices

Christie’s of London reported some record breaking sales yesterday for art that had been long lost. First, three sketches by the Spanish master Francisco Goya sold for more than $8 million. The sketches had been “lost” for about 130 years. I don’t believe lost is the right word, these sketches were last auctioned off in 1877 and were sold yesterday by a private Swiss collection. The term lost probably means that they were kept in the same family for all those years. The sketches were in exceptional condition and were part of the Goya’s private albums.

Of the three sketches, the one titled Down They Come brought in the most money at about $4.5 million, which is a record for a Goya work on paper. Repentance came in second with about $1.9 million and The Constable Lampinos Stitched Inside a Dead Horse came in at about $1.5 million. Pre-sale estimates had all three bringing in a total of $2 million; imagine everyone’s surprise when just one brought in more than double that amount.

Later yesterday, a painting by French artist Jean Antoine Watteau, which had been missing of for about 200 years, sold for a record $12.4 million. The painting titled La Surprise is an oil on panel measuring about 14 inches. This painting was truly lost in the sense that the owners did not know that it was the original. They were stunned to find out that the painting they thought was a copy was the real thing.

The painting, which was done in 1718, was found by a Christie’s specialist in the corner of cottage room. as he was going through the contents of the cottage for auction estimates. The record price was three times what the experts expected to get for the painting that featured a musician with a guitar and two lovers. The last documented auction for this painting had been in 1801 and was bequeathed in 1848.