A Rolex Pussy Galore at Auction
The starting line included 130 collector’s watches. The race was comfortably won by several Rolexes, synonymous with reliability and elegance.
Collecting
Magritte: Number One Among the Moderns
He now ranks alongside Picasso, Monet, Vinci, Giacometti, Matisse and Van Gogh in the select circle of 24 artists whose works have sold for over $79 M at auction.
The Château in Coigny: From the Franquetots to the Talleyrands
Illustrious families have succeeded each other at the Franquenot Chateau, an imposing yet understated residence in the département of La Manche. A new chapter begins with the sale of its contents.
Art in the Open Air at Le Muy
In this village in the department of the Var, private foundations and estates full of sculptures attract the cream of the art collecting crop each summer. It’s a different way of doing business.
€837,545 for A Precious Eighth-Century Umayyad Parchment!
Enriched with gold illuminations and intricate calligraphy, Islam’s holiest texts were available in sumptuous forms. However, it was a more sober version that attracted the most attention at a recent auction.
Art Market Overview: The Dutch Market
The Zeeuws Veilinghuis Auction House has just held the Netherlands’ first €2M sale.
Report: Art Basel Confirms the Market’s Rosy Health
The 2022 edition of Art Basel posted record sales and splendid attendance. A return “to normal” welcomed by gallery owners.
Gabriela and Mathieu Sismann: A Passion for Sculpture
In their 30-year career, Gabriela and Mathieu Sismann have become the go-to dealers in the antique sculpture market. In June, they are taking part in BRAFA, and, for the first time, in TEFAF Maastricht.
The Edmonde and Lucien Treillard Collection: Man Ray and His Fellow Surrealists
In this second sale of the Treillard Collection, photos, screen prints and Surrealist objects by Man Ray will go hand in hand with pictures by several of his artistic collaborators, including Jacques-André Boiffard.
BRAFA: More Appealing Than Ever
For its 67th edition, BRAFA is leaving Tour & Taxis for Brussels Expo, while maintaining its highly successful eclectic, across-the-board approach.
A Rembrandt Bugatti Captivated by the Elephant
One of Rembrandt Bugatti’s most iconic animals comes from the collection of René de Knyff, a racing driver and friend of his no less famous brother, Ettore.
Chinese Automaton Clock: An Eighteenth-Century Gem
This clock made in China in the 18th century to please the Qianlong emperor not only gives the time—it comes alive from top to bottom to pay tribute to the sovereign.
Photography Market is Losing Steam
International auction houses are planning another week of photography sales even as some, like Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips, have posted mixed results.
Collecting History: “Œuvres Choisies” Celebrates Important Art Patrons and Collectors
The Hôtel Drouot welcomes visitors to the new installment of its regular collegial exhibition, known as the “Œuvres Choisies” (“Selected Works”). The exhibition presents some of the most exciting works to come up for sale in the upcoming months.
The Creuzevault Collection, a Family Affair
Germaine Richier, Jean Dubuffet and Bernard Buffet are the names to remember from the collection gallerist Henri Creuzevault left to his children. It proves that it is not always quantity but rarity that counts.
Art Market Overview: Oscar Murillo’s Comeback
The Colombian painter is back in the market’s good graces, after a resounding debut was followed by a dramatic decline in his performance at auction.
“The Bird Trap,” a Flemish Bestseller from the Bruegel Dynasty
One icy winter, Pieter Bruegel the Elder painted his Brabant village, Sint-Anna-Pede. In this unique work, his son, Pieter Bruegel the Younger, delivers his version of the composition, one of the famous family’s most highly-prized works.
The Middle Ages Under Angelic Protection
Held following a court order, this sale gave pride of place to the Medieval and Renaissance periods with sculptures and paintings.
Oscar Graf: A Gallery Owner with a Fin de Siècle Spirit
A keen promoter of the wide-ranging Arts & Crafts movement, the son of designer François-Joseph Graf is poised to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his gallery with a new venue in Paris.
The Aristophil Collection: An Immersion Into the Creative Lives of Authors and Artists
The next two sales of autographs from the Aristophil Collection include a few items that have never come up for auction before, but also a collection of historic objects and some treasures, paintings and drawings.
Collector Simon Kidston’s Love for Mechanical Wonders
Impressive automobiles hold no secrets for him. Simon Kidston, a charismatic figure in the classic car world, divides his time between London, Geneva and Dubai.
A Successful Comeback for Arco in Madrid
Foundations, museums and collectors showed a keen appetite for the 40th anniversary of the Spanish fair, which took place from February 23 to 27.
The Jeanne Tachard Collection: The Choice of Modernity
Free-spirited, headstrong Jeanne Tachard ranks among the 1920s’ leading patrons. She commissioned works from French cabinetmaker and designer Pierre Legrain and was a pioneering collector of African art.
David Hockney, a High-Tech Artist
The success of this printed landscape created on a tablet computer by the British artist, now living in Normandy, attests to changing artistic mentalities.
T is for Tapestry: Volume 2
The creation of the royal tapestry workshops under Louis XIV broke with the mural approach specific to medieval and Renaissance tapestries. In these spaces dedicated to the service of power, the loom established roots as an art of the multiple, which was also dependent on painting.
Art Market Overview: Omar Ba, a Young Talent in the African Art Scene
Recently exhibited at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (2019) and the Centre Pompidou in Paris (2020), Senegalese artist Omar Ba (b. 1977) is now considered one of the most promising artists in the African scene.
The Art of Ceramics from Manises, in All Its Splendor
True jewels of “Hispano-Moresque” art, ceramics, with a distinct metallic luster, produced in Manises, a small town near Valencia, have been inspiring collectors since the 15th century.
Travel Posters
France pioneered this highly desirable specialty, which is increasingly popular with collectors.
Dubuffet and Kopac: An Obsession with Material
An oil painting by the master of Outsider art speaks of his friendship with the Croatian painter, whose work is poised for rediscovery
Art Market Overview: Gerhard Richter’s Comeback
2021 marked the German painter’s recovery in the market, when he was crowned the world’s best-performing living artist at auction, according to Artprice.
Alberto Giacometti’s Lucky Star
The bronze lamps created by the sculptor in the mid-1930s look as modern as ever.
Retrogaming: A Booming Market
Eight years after starting up in France, the retrogaming (also known as classic gaming) market is consolidating and setting record sales. The tenth art is gradually carving out a niche in the auction room.
In Search of Chartreux’s Secrets
This sale of French wines and liqueurs in Beaune, Burgundy, was focused on a secret recipe that is closely guarded by the monks of the Isère monastery.
Charles Cordier, Orientalist Sculptor
The sculptor of the Second French Empire, Charles Cordier, produced a large number of Orientalist busts and statues. Our two master models were used to create emblematic works.
Amin Jaffer: Curator of the Al Thani Collection
The delights of the fabulous collection of Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdullah Al Thani, cousin of the Emir of Qatar, are now on display for the next 20 years in the Hôtel de la Marine, the former French Royal Garde-meuble. Its chief curator looks back at its origins and explains why it ended up in Paris.
Collecting Art: Morozov and the Russian Art Connoisseurs
On display at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris this fall, the Morozov collection is one of most remarkable, yet not the only one of its kind: the collection is in keeping with a long tradition of Russian art connoisseurs.
M is for Mother-of-Pearl
In the sixth century, its iridescent nuances were already enlivening the mosaics at Ravenna’s Basilica of Saint Apollonia. Fragile and long inimitable, mother-of-pearl, also known as nacre, was used as a precious material to decorate cabinets of curiosities, jewelry and even garments.
Binoche et Giquello Present a Giant Triceratops Called Big John
Thrusting out its emblematic skirted skull and sharp horns, this fearsomeTriceratops is coming to Paris, where its unusual size is sure to cause a stir.
An International Rare Book Fair: Beautiful Books on the Champ-de-Mars, in Paris
In association with objets d’art experts, the 33rd Paris Rare Book Fair promises to whet our curiosity—a welcome antidote to the ongoing health crisis.
Nazy Vassegh: Reinventing the Traditional Art Fair with Eye of the Collector
We spoke to Nazy Vassegh in advance of the opening of the inaugural Eye of the Collector at the historic Two Temple Place in the middle of London. From auction house to advisor to art fair CEO, she has created a new model for collectors, where the artworks take center stage.
Art Market Overview: Peter Doig
Scottish superstar Peter Doig placed 75th in Art Price 2020’s overall rankings. His prices have remained stable despite Covid.
On the Road with André Becker’s Carriage Collection
The auction of André Becker’s carriage collection is a major event in a highly specialized market.
The Bernard De Leye Collection: The Quest for the Exceptional
“Objects do not belong to you,” says Bernard De Leye. “They are just passing through.” The time has come for the Belgian antique dealer and former BRAFA president to pass his collection on to the next custodian. Over 250 pieces, including several of museum quality, are up for sale.
The Heart of French Cabinetmaking During the Ancien Régime with Boulle and Roussel
Among the furniture in René Simeoni’s collection, three top names in French furniture stand out: André-Charles Boulle, Bernard II Van Riesenburgh and Pierre Roussel.
A Lalanne Rabbit Hops to Success
Modern and natural works were the core of this sale devoted to Claude Lalanne, Raoul Dufy and Jean-Michel Atlan.
Art Market Overview: Julie Mehretu is Back
Ethiopian-born American painter Julie Mehretu has made a noteworthy return to the auction room.
Surrealism’s Trailblazing Women
Their lives were bold and eventful, their travels extraordinary, their sexuality daring. Many of them wholeheartedly embraced the movement. La Gazette profiles three of these often-unsung women artists.
An Art Nouveau Ode to Nature by Alphonse Debain
Impressive for its decoration in the purest Art Nouveau vein, this vermeil teapot is the work of Alphonse Debain.
François Pannier, a Forerunner of the Himalayan Art Market
François Pannier has endeavored to build a Himalayan art market since the 1970s, when it was non-existent. He has just made two donations, one to a museum in Cannes, the other to Confluences in Lyon.
