The Dutch state has announced that it has raised sufficient funds to acquire “De Vaandeldrager” (“The Standard Bearer”), one of Rembrandt’s great masterpieces in private hands, for some €165 million ($200 million).
On December 7, 2021, the Hamilton Aphrodite, one of the most important Roman sculptures in private hands, was auctioned for £18.58 million at Sotheby’s. A painting by Pieter Bruegel the Younger was the star of Christie’s somewhat disappointing auction of old masters paintings.
The 2021 edition of the Turner Prize, considered by many to be one of the art world’s most prestigious awards, has been awarded to Array Collective, an artist/activist collective from Northern Ireland.
Although “old hands” such as Basquiat and Richter achieved the highest prices at the contemporary art auctions in Hong Kong, the big winners were less established artists who achieved -quite justifiably- much higher prices than expected.
After the cancellation of its 2020 edition due to the pandemic, the 2021 edition of Art Basel Miami Beach -possibly the most important art fair in the United States- will be a great occasion to take the pulse of the art market beyond the big auctions.
Next December 7, 2021, Sotheby’s will auction the “Hamilton Aphrodite,” one of the most important Roman sculptures in private hands.
On 17 November 2021, Phillips held its most successful auction ever, with Francis Bacon’s “Pope with Owls” selling for $33 million. The following day, Sotheby’s contemporary art auctions were highlighted by works by Yoshitomo Nara and Roy Lichtenstein.
Sotheby’s modern art auction on 16 November 2021 fetched a total of $282.9 million, led by a water lilies painting by Claude Monet and a self-portrait by Frida Kahlo.
On 15 November 2021, Sotheby’s auctioned the first part of the Macklowe Collection, which -led by works by Rothko and Giacometti- achieved a total of $676 million, selling all the works offered.
On 11 November 2021, Christie’s Impressionist and modern art auctions, which included the sensational Cox collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art, achieved a total of $752 million.
