Sunday 09th January 2011Bonhams to Sell Green Peace Poster by Banksy
Auction house
Bonhams, of Bond Street, London, are to sell an original artwork created by the popular street and graffiti artist Banksy. The artwork was created as part of the
Green Peace Save or Delete campaign. The work is to go on the auction block on the 11th January, as part of Bonhams' Urban Art Sale, and is thought to be able to fetch in the region of £60,000 - £80,000.
The unique artwork, which features some of the characters from Disney's The Jungle Book, was created as part of Green Peace's efforts to highlight the growing problem of global deforestation. As the characters sit in a ruined forest, in front of an executioner, they help Banksy to superbly comment on the state of global affairs where deforestation is concerned. By superimposing these extremely recognisable characters onto an image of a destroyed forest, Banksy brings the issue of deforestation, a little closer to home.
The use of figures from the animation classic give us all a basis from which to relate to the issue. Unfortunately, the image never went into full print for the campaign due to protectionist policies at Walt Disney, but the image did make it into Banksy's book,
Wall and Piece
.
The Bonhams sale takes place this coming Tuesday, and features 9 other works from the artist including Balloon Girl of 2005, Bomb Love of 2004, Rude Copper of 2002 and Have A Nice Day of 2002; a bonus for fans of the infamous street artist.
Posted on January 09th 2011 on 04:45pm
0 Comments
Thursday 09th December 2010Audubon's Birds of America Flies High At Sothebys
Bird watching is not necessarily considered to be a glamorous topic, depending on who you are asking of course, but that hasn't stopped James Audubon's classic book; Birds of America, pulling in glamourous prices at auction.
James Audubon was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist and painter who was born in 1785. He famously depicted, catalogued and described the birds of North America in a way that had not previously been known. His work was detailed and comprehensive, yet equally emotive in how he depicted the various birds; attempting to capture their character as well as their physical features.
Audubon took his portfolio of over 300 works to England in 1826 where he gained a lot of attention and was able to raise enough money to publish his works as a book. The book itself it enormous, containing 435 hand coloured prints of 497 species of bird found in North America. The birds were engraved onto copper plates and then printed on sheets of paper measuring approximately 39 x 26 inches.
There are thought to only be 100 copies of the book that remain, and one of those copies was sold at Sotheby's this Tuesday for £7.3 million ($11.5 million). This truly stunning amount makes Audubon's Birds of America the most expensive printed work sold at auction. The last time that the book set the same record was ten years ago when Sheik Saud al-Thani of Quatar purchased the book at Christie's for $8.8 million.
For those of us who are unlikely to get our hands on the genuine article, you can pick up a sizable replica of the book, which was reprinted by the Abbeville Press.
Birds of America
is a great book, with some truly stunning images.
Posted on December 09th 2010 on 09:37pm
0 Comments
Wednesday 03rd November 2010Painting is Still A Strong Medium in the Art MarketThere is always debate about the relevancy of different artistic mediums or modes of creation. A good example would be the Tate recently running a debate on Facebook, in relation to the
Rachel Whiteread exhibition at Tate Britain, about how relevant drawing still is to the artist and how highly we value that as a skill. It's an interesting subject to look at, especially with contemporary art where we are used to seeing the weird and wonderful. If an artist that works in conceptual art, or sculpture or performance; do we think of them less if they are unable to draw to a high standard?Or can we accept their own individual contribution to the art world, without a need to verify their drawing talents?
The same discussion comes up about painting and how relevant it is to be a painter in today's art world. With types of media and modes of production being more various than ever before, should an artist have to rely on a key skill such as painting, or is it unnecessary? Video art, performance and installation are certainly more commonplace in museums and galleries than they have ever been, but does that mean that there is less room for paintings?
I think the recent sales reports from the auction houses say otherwise. There is a huge scope for paintings in the hearts of art lovers and collectors all around the world. This week alone
Sotheby's managed to set a new auction record for painter, Amedeo Modiglioni, whose
Nu Assis Sur un Divan (La Belle Romaine) sold for a massive $68,962,500. It's reported that 5 bidders pushed the paintings price to over $40 million more than had been expected. If that doesn't stand as a vote for painterly efforts everywhere, I don't know what does.
Whether it be painting or drawing, there is plenty of space in the art market for these more traditional modes of artistic practice, with a fair number of bidders willing to put up vast amounts of cash to get their hands on a piece of the action.
As for the question of whether we think an artist should be able to draw in order to considered a true artist, or whether we have moved to a new period of artistic creation where drawing is a limited means of expression,
view the discussion on Facebook, and have your say.
Posted on November 03rd 2010 on 10:25pm
0 Comments
Saturday 25th September 2010Lehman Brothers Still Selling Art to Cover LosesWhile many of us look to sell art in order to make a living or because we enjoy being creative and being able to share that with others, some are forced to sell art to pay back their creditors.
It was big news when the Lehman Brothers bank collapsed in September 2008. It turned out to be the largest bankruptcy filing in the history of the U.S. and is seen as one of the key moments in the events leading to the world wide financial crisis that we are still struggling with.
This month millions of pounds worth of items, including paintings and furniture will be sold off at Christie's London in order to help pay off Lehman's debts.
Amongst the artwork to be sold this coming Wednesday include works by Robert Rauschenberg, Gary Hume and Lucian Freud. Interestingly, there will also be a work by photographer Andreas Gursky sold in a further sale next month. The image of the New York Mercantile Exchange is thought to be valued around £100,000 - 150,000, making it the most expensive artwork to be sold off for the cause.
Further works are to be sold at Sotheby's in New York in a serious effort to pay back the $613 billion that was owed in debt following the collapse. With the sale at Christie's looking to bring in around £2,000,000 ($3.1 million) and the sale at Sotheby's looking at $10,000,000 there's still a long way to go.
Posted on September 25th 2010 on 02:50pm
0 Comments
Saturday 31st July 2010Top Ten Photography Auction ResultsYou might just be starting out in photography, be an avid fan of the art of taking a great photograph, or working your way to the professional big time. No matter where you sit on your career or hobby path you just never know when your works are going to be the next big thing.
It's interesting to take a look at the top ten photography auction results. While the prices are obviously no where near that of the painting or sculpture market, they are still starting to fetch huge amounts of money at the top end of the market. It's great to see photography gathering such attention and you never know, one day it could be your name on this list!
- Gilbert & George, To Her Majesty (1973). Sold at Christie's London in 2008 for $3,292,410
- Richard Prince, Cowboy (2001-2002). Sold at Sotheby's New York in 2007 for $3,000,000
- Andreas Gursky, 99 Cent II (2001). Sold at Sotheby's London in 2007 for $2,946,450
- Edward Steichen, The Pond, Moonlight (1904). Sold at Sotheby's New York for $2,600,000
- Andreas Gursky, Los Angeles (1998). Sold at Sotheby's London in 2008 for $2,561,520
- Richard Prince, Cowboy (2001). Sold at Christie's New York in 2007 for $2,500,000
- Andreas Gursky, 99 Cent II, (2001). Sold at Phillips de Pury & Co. New York for $2,200,000
- Andreas Gursky, 99 Cent (1999). Sold at Sotheby's New York for $2,000,000
- Cindy Sherman, Untitled No. 92 (1981). Sold at Christie's New York for $1,850,000
- Hiroshi Sugimoto, Black Sea, Ozuluce... (1991-92). Sold at Christie's New York for $1,650,000
Information courtesy of Art Price, a leading provider of art market intelligence. All figures given are the hammer price and do not include the buyers premium.
Posted on July 31st 2010 on 11:16am
0 Comments
.jpg)
.jpg)
