| In This Issue |
With strong press and an even stronger turnout, Benrimon Contemporary opened its exhibition space with “Roy Lichtenstein: Homage to Monet.”
Well they have survived the recession. (Is it really over already?) And Simon seems as happy as ever. The last couple of auctions for them have been a mixed bag. The Sex auction in London was more often classified as “limp” than “excited” but
Simon remains optimistic nonetheless. In a well-written profile of Simon in the Guardian, the writer, Mr. Stuart Jeffries, gets a little ahead of himself, and declares Simon, “not just an art expert but the greatest auctioneer of his age.” While we enjoy Mr. du Pury’s antics and endearing charm, Tobias Meyer is much more suited to the title of greatest auctioneer today.
Neighbors make good business partners, or at least in the art world. In the May Contemporary Sale at Sotheby’s, a Red Rothko will go under the hammer allegedly from the billionaire David Martinez.
Mr. Halsey Minor, the founder of CNET Networks Inc. (we have never seen an article that does not mention he is the founder) has lost his litigation against Sotheby’s and has been forced to pay $4.4M plus legal fees, interest and late charges. Mr. Minor’s lawyers, unsuccessfully, argued that Sotheby’s had a “significant economic interest” in three paintings that Mr. Minor allegedly reneged to buy.
Just when it seemed that the sad saga of Polaroid was over, and that after being sold to an investor who also ran a ponzi-scheme, many of the artists that sent photos to the factory in Minnesota are getting involved. They do not want Sotheby’s to follow the court ruled 
auction. Chuck Close has stated, “I gave my best work to the collection because it was made clear that it was going to stay together and be given to a museum.” Well unless museums show up with big donors, Mr. Close’s intent will not be followed. We hope a last ditch effort will allow the collection to end up in a museum.
| April, 2010 |
Dear Friends,
I would like to be the first to formally invite you to our upcoming show, Bernard Buffet, which will be at the gallery located at 21 East 65th Street on the 5th Floor, from May 3rd to May 28th.
Many of you may have been effected by the cancelled flights, as were we, but we hope you have reached your desired destination.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions via email at info@benrimon.com or at the gallery at +1 212 628 1600. I look forward to seeing you soon.
Yours,
David Benrimon
Princess Diana’s family is parting with a portion of the Althorp estate including a magnificent Peter Paul Rubens, “A Commander being Armed for Battle,” painted in 1613 or 1614 and an Il Guercino painting. Christie’s has placed a £8-12 million ($12-18M) estimate on the Rubens.
Not to be outdone by its competitor, Sotheby’s has a magnificent JMW Turner painting of Rome. “Modern Rome-Campo Vaccino” has only been with two different owners since it was painted in the late 1830s and is set with an estimate of £12-18 million ($18-27M).
Christie’s has secured a magnificent late 1890s painting by Edvard Munch. “Fertility” is a strong painting from one of Munch’s most popular and rare periods and art historians have argued that the woman may be his first lover, who Munch was unable to marry for a variety of reasons. It has an estimate of $25-$35M.
But there are much bigger fish to fry at the Christie’s auction. Part of the Brody collection is on the block and one can hardly open a pop culture magazine without the writers and editors gushing about the beauty of the collection and the magnificent curating of the Brody house in California. Vanity Fair only had positive things to say about the house and collection except for the vase of flowers in front of the Braque!
Then there are the Picassos. You cannot open art magazine or website without seeing reference to the Picassos coming to auction from the Brody collection and one from the Andrew Lloyd Webber’s foundation. As we get closer to auction it seems that people are betting that at least one of them will fetch $100M.
2010 has seen three major estates sell off a large stake of their art collection through public auction. No less than one month ago, Phillips du Pury commanded an impressive $6M for most of the collection from the Estate of Mrs. Harry H. Abrams. This compared to a modest $3.3M high estimate. All of the 325 lots sold, which sounds more impressive than it actually is because many lots had no reserve.
Christie’s was able to nab the other 2 gigantic collections. The Brodys of California had a modernist home with a magnificent collection. Estimates for the whole collection are in the $500M ballpark. One can not help but wonder why a house with furnishings such as this one was not made into a museum like the Lembachhaus in Munich? Not a detail was overlooked and the recent pictures are enough to make any collector jealous.
In weeks past we have documented that Christie’s will be selling off part of Michael Crichton’s collection of Contemporary Art which includes a Jasper John’s Flag.
MOMA has gone above and beyond by having three truly blockbuster shows at the same time. This is surely driving up attendance and visitors to the museum but it is also making for an uncomfortable visit. Any of the three shows alone would attract the visitors but together it makes a visit at almost any time unbearable.
Marina Abramovic seems to be attracting serious art historians and observers but also those just curious and potentially perverted? The NY Times has reported that numerous people have groped some of the many nude models.
William Kentridge is a very heavy exhibit that requires a level of attention to details but with thousands of spectators there at all times it is hard to really study the charcoal drawings or movies.
David Benrimon Fine Art
21 East 65th Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10065 • Tel +1 212 628 1600 • Fax +1 212 628 1636
Mon-Wed, Fri 9am-6pm • Thurs 9am-7pm • Sun 11am-4pm