Vincent van Gogh
“Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin” (left)
“Self-portrait” (right)
Estimated value: in excess of $80 million (each)*
*In 1989, a slightly more developed version of the “Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin” was purchased by the MoMA for $58 million plus an important group of paintings (including a Picasso, a Monet and a Kandinsky). Inflation-adjusted, the price paid -including the value of the exchanged works- was in excess of $100 million. In addition, another self-portrait by van Gogh (“Portrait de l’artiste sans barbe”) was sold for $71.5 million in 1998 ($100 million now, inflation-adjusted)
Caravaggio: “Martha and Mary Magdalene“
Estimated value: in excess of $80 million*
*A somewhat disputed version of Caravaggio’s “The Lute player” was valued at $100 million in 2006
Pieter Bruegel the Elder: “The Wedding Dance“
Estimated value: on request*
*Masterworks like this are extremely hard to valuate. No other old master painting of this importance has appeared on the market in the last 20 years. As an example, Hans Holbein’s “The Darmstadt Madonna” was sold for more than $70 million in 2011, but due to export restrictions, the painting could only be sold to a German collector (an open market value of more than $120 million has been suggested)
Masterworks from Detroit Institute of Arts could be sold Detroit’s bankruptcy has raised fears that masterpieces from the Detroit Institute of Arts’ collection -including paintings by Rembrandt, Caravaggio or van Gogh- could be sold.]]>
August 8th, 2013, source: theartwolf / Christie’s / DIA
On July 18th, the city of Detroit filed for bankruptcy, with debts of more than $18 billion. Since then, the eyes of the art world are on the famous collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts, with many fearing that some of his most famous masterpieces could be used to satisfy the city’s creditors.
These fears were increased on Monday, when the famous auction house Christie’s released the following statement:
“We confirm that Christie’s Appraisals Inc. was asked and has entered into an agreement to appraise a portion of the City owned collection at the Detroit Institute of Art. In addition we will also assist and advise on how to realize value for the City while leaving the art in the City’s ownership. Appraisal of organizations and individual collections is a regular part of our normal business (…) We understand that a valuation of all the City’s assets (extending well beyond the art) is one of many steps that will be necessary for the legal system to reach a conclusion about the best long term solution for the citizens of Detroit.”
Hours later, the Detroit Institute of Arts released its reply:
“The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) has learned that Christie’s, at the request of the Emergency Manager, plans to proceed with a valuation of the DIA collection, and we will be cooperating completely in that process. However, we continue to believe there is no reason to value the collection as the Attorney General has made clear that the art is held in charitable trust and cannot be sold as part of a bankruptcy proceeding. We applaud the EM’s focus on rebuilding the City, but would point out that he undercuts that core goal by jeopardizing Detroit’s most important cultural institution.”
In a press release, emergency manager Kevyn Orr stated that “there has never been, nor is there now, any plan to sell art“, adding that the valuation of the works at the DIA is “a step the city must take to reach resolutions with its creditors“.
With an annual attendance of more than 600,000 visitors, the DIA is one of America’s most important museums. Some of its most famous paintings could be worth as much as $100 million each, including Vincent van Gogh‘s “Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin” and “Self-Portrait with Straw Hat”, Pieter Bruegel the Elder‘s “The Wedding Dance”, Caravaggio‘s “Martha and Mary Magdalene” and Henri Matisse‘s “The Window”.
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