ART
Marion Maneker
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February 7, 2025
The Mod Squad
Two new shows—Orozco in Mexico City and an enlightening survey of Brazilian modernists in London—make yet another case for gazing far beyond Europe.
Asia’s Failure to Launch
Just when the art market seemed like it was entering a new stratosphere, in late 2022, the trend reversed abruptly. Yes, interest rates went up and supply dwindled. But the Asian market also contracted substantially. Have Chinese bidders dropped out? Or are they simply more hesitant to buy the dip?
Julie Brener Davich
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February 4, 2025
Tavitian’s Gilded Age
Sotheby’s mega auction of the Aso O. Tavitian estate—a treasure trove of aristocratic objets, Old Master paintings, and English furniture—is a testament to the life of a singular collector. It is also, as Sotheby’s specialist Dennis Harrington puts it, a “history of the antiques trade.”
Marion Maneker
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February 2, 2025
A Gagosian Retrospective
Larry Gagosian, who knows more than anyone about selling overpriced trophy assets to very rich men, is being displaced at his 980 Madison flagship gallery by Bloomberg Philanthropies, which bought the property for $560 million. It’s a fitting end to one era—and a fascinating start to another.
Julie Brener Davich
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January 31, 2025
The Red Violin
Sotheby’s is hoping to create auction magic with the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius, which is named for its best-known former owners and can bring its players to tears with its sound. The auction house is expecting at least $12 million—and given the scarcity in the ultra high-end violin market, it could go higher.
Condition Report: Adam Fields of Arta
A candid conversation about digitizing the “last frontier” of retail—luxury, art, and collectibles—and Arta’s evolution from its humble origins in 2012 to serving 80 percent of enterprise auction houses globally by the end of this year.
Marion Maneker
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January 28, 2025
The Mystery of the Morandi Market
A second extraordinary show of Giorgio Morandi’s art has opened in New York in the span of four months. Artists and collectors swoon over the Italian recluse’s muted masterpieces, but his auction market and prices have never followed suit. Will they now?
Marion Maneker
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January 26, 2025
Sotheby’s Billion-Dollar Real Estate Play
On a year-end call, the auction house reported that fine art sales were down 31 percent last year, and luxury sales and real estate are now driving the company. And that $1 billion investment from Abu Dhabi last fall? Don’t call it a bailout…
Julie Brener Davich
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January 25, 2025
A Nevelson Revival & New York’s Winter Show
Louise Nevelson is having a moment, with a show at Pace Gallery and jewelry by Celine; meanwhile at the Park Avenue Armory, a trove of treasures gets feted.
The Artnet of the Deal
The embattled art market company faces an intense five weeks of politicking that will determine, once and for all, who controls its future—and who will prevail in the interminable Weng–Neuendorf battle of wills.
Marion Maneker
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January 22, 2025
Americana Hustle
Formerly a musty shopping spree (brown furniture, silverware, weather vanes) for the Boston Brahmin set, the American art sales this week in New York will offer works by revered landscape and natural history painters such as Thomas Cole and Albert Bierstadt, as well as a trove of outsider art from the collection of William Louis-Dreyfus.
Julie Brener Davich
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January 19, 2025
An Art Collection’s Escape From L.A.
Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall decided to sell their collection six months before fires ravaged Los Angeles. Now, dozens of 20th century works are safe, sound, and for sale in Tribeca.
Marion Maneker
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January 17, 2025
The Way of Christie’s
News of Guillaume Cerutti’s ascent to run the Pinault Collection set off a predictable game of telephone in the art market, filled with all sorts of informed (and uninformed) speculation about what the family might be plotting. Herewith, a summary of the inside conversation, from the Qataris to the Arnaults.
The Morandi Moment
Mattia De Luca’s dream was to hold a pop-up exhibition of his favorite artist, Giorgio Morandi, in New York. On the eve of another important Morandi show at David Zwirner, he speaks about his experience with the artist.
Julie Brener Davich
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January 14, 2025
An Art World Brokerage Play
News and notes on the future of Gurr Johns, the historic appraisal firm, as its new C.E.O. jumps into the brokerage business.
Marion Maneker
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January 14, 2025
Policing Peter Beard’s Legacy
The strength and quality of an artist’s studio or foundation can be the difference between their legacy dissipating into the ether or gathering strength with time. And soon enough, Beard’s own fate might be decided.
Marion Maneker
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January 12, 2025
Private Parts
After perusing endless 2024 sales data, I’m optimistic about the art market, especially because so much of the growth is at the lower end; in collectibles; and in the uppermost tier, where the impact of the private market cannot be captured by data alone.