At Spring Auctions, Big Names Are Selling, and Being Sold

By CAROL VOGEL

Published: April 27, 2006

Christie's

Picasso's "Repose" is estimated to bring up to $20 million.

Correction Appended

Some of the greatest hits in art history are coming to Sotheby's and Christie's in Manhattan this weekend: a van Gogh portrait of Madame Ginoux, the proprietress of the Café de la Gare in Arles, France, which the artist frequented until his suicide in 1890; a 1941 Picasso painting of his mistress Dora Maar with a black cat perched on her shoulder, not publicly seen for more than 40 years; and a haunting 1902 Blue Period Picasso of Germaine, one of his earliest muses.

Lovers of postwar and contemporary art will have lots to ogle this weekend too: a Warhol soup can with its top cut open; three of Donald Judd's signature wall stacks; Jeff Koons's vacuum cleaners encased in a Plexiglas box; even a lamb submerged in formaldehyde by Damien Hirst. (Phillips, de Pury & Company also has a sale of contemporary art on May 11, filled with newer works by some of today's hot artists.)

Those studying the catalogs of the important auctions of Impressionist, modern, postwar and contemporary art — two weeks of back-to-back sales starting Tuesday — may wonder who is selling these famous images, and why. It is the pros who are cashing in this season. As the art market continues to spiral upward, the consignors are, for the most part, familiar names in the art world. Not only do they believe that rising prices make it the right moment to sell, but they also see many new collectors. In the last year the newly rich from markets like Russia and Asia have become a presence at auctions.

Some sellers are seasoned collectors, like the British advertising executive Charles Saatchi and his ex-wife, Doris; the newsprint magnate Peter Brant; and the financiers Eli Broad of Los Angeles, Mitchell P. Rales of Washington and Henry R. Kravis of New York. A surprising number of dealers are also selling works, among them Irving Blum of Los Angeles and his ex-partner Joseph Helman, as well as Marianne Boesky and Christophe Van de Weghe of New York. Several well-known names are parting with works, among them Happy Rockefeller; L. Dennis Kozlowski, the former chairman and chief executive of Tyco International; and Gunter Sachs, the German industrialist who became famous in the 1960's as a playboy who married Brigitte Bardot. Even two former chief executives of Phillips are trying their luck at auction this season: Daniella Luxembourg and Louise T. Blouin MacBain. (Ms. MacBain gave her business to Christie's, Ms. Luxembourg to Sotheby's.)

The record-breaking prices at last fall's auctions in New York and those in London in February encouraged sellers, making the war between Sotheby's and Christie's so cutthroat that both houses have been doling out large guarantees — undisclosed amounts promised to sellers regardless of a sale's outcome — to win the business. Their financing arrangements also include giving sellers a percentage of the buyer's premium and finding third parties to supply some of the money necessary to make good the guarantees.

"There's definitely a greater demand for guarantees," said David Norman, a co-chairman of Impressionist and modern art for Sotheby's worldwide. "People feel they are selling in a strong market, but they also want protection."

But when big money is on the table, auction house executives are inevitably anxious. What they cannot sell either at auction or immediately afterward at a lower price, they must store in their warehouses, sometimes for years. Still, all say the market is so hot they are not concerned about their guarantees.

"This season was deal driven; it was not about specific loyalties," said Brett Gorvy, a co-head of postwar and contemporary art at Christie's. "For the best material we had to stretch and be very aggressive."

Two of the top paintings at Christie's Impressionist and modern art auction on Tuesday night — the van Gogh and the 1932 Picasso — have no such strings attached. "The sellers felt that a guarantee wasn't necessary when selling such iconic works in a market as majestic as it is today," said Guy Bennett, head of Christie's Impressionist and modern art department.

By far its most famous image is van Gogh's "L'Arlésienne, Madame Ginoux" (1890). One of the most recognizable faces in art history, the subject was painted extensively by both van Gogh and Gauguin. Christie's estimates the work could fetch $40 million to $60 million.

Christie's also has two important Picassos. The earliest, from 1902, is the Blue Period portrait of Germaine, which Christie's estimates at $12 million to $18 million. The other, "Repose," a startling, almost demonic 1932 depiction of Picasso's mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter, is being sold by Bernard Picasso, the artist's grandson. Christie's expects it will bring $15 million to $20 million.

The next night Sotheby's counters with a Picasso it is betting will sell for $50 million. "Dora Maar With Cat" is a large canvas — 50½ inches by 37½ inches — depicting the subject in a large wooden chair with a black cat perched at her shoulder. For more than 40 years the painting has been in the Gidwitz family of Chicago. Sotheby's has admittedly taken a big gamble: experts believe it has given the sellers a guarantee that is around $50 million.

Although the Picasso is its prize painting, the cover image of Sotheby's sale catalog is Matisse's "Reclining Nude, View of Her Back" (1927), estimated at $12 million to $15 million. While the catalog does not designate the seller, art experts say he is Mr. Kravis.

Sotheby's is also auctioning two paintings famous for reasons other than artistic merit. Tyco is selling the Monet and the Renoir that once belonged to Mr. Kozlowski and have been at the center of a tax evasion scandal; he was indicted in 2002 for evading more than $1 million in New York State taxes by having art dealers ship empty boxes to Tyco's offices in New Hampshire while having messengers bring the paintings to his Fifth Avenue apartment.

As in the last several years, the postwar and contemporary market is exploding. This season Christie's sale on May 9 is packed — 94 lots — and starts at 6:30 p.m., a half-hour earlier than usual. The sale includes 26 Donald Judd sculptures that the Judd Foundation is selling to create an endowment to support its permanent installations in New York and Texas. Primarily late works from the 1980's and early 90's, they range in estimate from $30,000 to $40,000 for a small wood block from the 1960's to $1.5 million to $2 million for a 1993 stacked plywood sculpture. Getting the foundation's property was highly competitive; Christie's promised it more than $20 million.

It also had to give a generous guarantee to Mr. Blum, who has been selling portions of his collection over the years. This season he is parting with "Small Torn Campbell's Soup Can (Pepper Pot)," an early hand-painted work from 1962 estimated at $10 million to $15 million. (Experts say Christie's has guaranteed Mr. Blum about $10 million.)

Sotheby's has invested a lot of money on another Pop figure: Roy Lichtenstein, whose 1964 painting "Sinking Sun" is being sold by Mr. Helman. Sotheby's experts believe it will bring around $20 million. (Experts say it has guaranteed the painting for around $17 million.)

Collectors and dealers frequent Phillips for less expensive, more cutting-edge images. Phillips's May 11 sale features the work of popular painters like Elizabeth Peyton, Peter Doig and Marlene Dumas. Michael McInnis, its worldwide director of contemporary art, said about 20 percent of the sale comes from dealers and the rest from collectors. "People are inspired by the recent high prices," he said. "They feel it's too good to ignore the potential returns."

Correction: April 28, 2006

A front-page capsule yesterday about art auctions at Sotheby's and Christie's referred incorrectly to plans for Picasso's "Dora Maar With Cat" and other works. While they will be shown starting this weekend, the sales start Tuesday. They will not be up for auction this weekend.

Unknown artist's exhibition illustrates the enduring influence of Charles Saatchi

By Terry Kirby, Chief Reporter
Monday, 3 April 2006

Annie Kevans is a relatively unknown and struggling artist who lives in a council flat, works part time as a secretary and puts in long hours at her studio in London's East End. But her fortunes could be about to change with the opening this week of the first solo show of her paintings at a small gallery in Shoreditch.

Kevans, like Tracey Emin before her, is one of the young artists whose careers have benefited from the patronage of Charles Saatchi, arguably Britain's most important art collector.

Although his gallery at County Hall closed amid acrimony last December and his new exhibition space in London will not open for another year, the progress of Saatchi-endorsed artists such as Kevans, Conrad Shawcross and Toby Ziegler (see box) suggests that his influence on the contemporary art world remains as strong as ever.

Despite the lack of anywhere to display his unrivalled private collection of modern art and suggestions that he has lost his touch for spotting the next generation of art superstars, Mr Saatchi is still exhibiting work online and, more importantly, is still personally trawling small galleries and exhibitions, as well as the degree shows of the art colleges, and buying obsessively.

Karen Wright, the editor of Modern Painters magazine said: "He's looking for new material for his gallery. Mr Saatchi wants to demonstrate that he is still around. He leads with his eyes and collecting is a personal passion."

Kevans, she said, was only one of many artists bought recently by Mr Saatchi. "Philip Ziegler is very talented and Shawcross is an almost certain nominee for the Turner Prize in the future.''

Although Mr Saatchi often picks up such works relatively cheaply, his patronage alone can lead to an artist's prices rising, often allowing him to make a substantial profit later on.

Whether or not Kevans eventually achieves a status comparable to Emin or Damien Hirst, now said to be worth £100m, artistic immortality is likely to remain out of reach. Mr Saatchi has said that most contemporary artists will be viewed as footnotes by history and that most installation art "ends up rotting in a dumpster".

He has also proved ruthless about selling works that no longer take his fancy. And the sheer volume of his collection means that the competition for places at his new gallery, a former barracks in Chelsea, is strong.

Mr Saatchi bought Kevan's work Boys, consisting of 30 black and white paintings of dictators and war criminals, such as Hitler, Pol Pot and Radovan Karadzic, portrayed as children, when it was shown at the BA degree show at Central St Martins College of Art and Design in London, in the summer of 2004. She said: "I was pleased because it was a BA show and he normally only goes to MA shows. I'm hoping that it will be shown at the new gallery. I know he has had it framed, because I was asked to go and chose a frame with him, but I was too scared."

At 33, Kevans is a relatively late starter as a professional artist. Although she had wanted to paint since she was a child, she did not attend art college until she was 24 and then only part time. Her first solo exhibition opens at Studio 1.1, an artists collective gallery in east London, on Friday, and features a series of paintings of actresses and singers such as Charlotte Church and Jodie Foster, who first found success as child stars,

"Charles Saatchi's interest has been brilliant for my career, because its very difficult to get yourself established after leaving college," she said. "Lots of other collectors have expressed interest as a result. It can't help but get you noticed."

Her agent, Flora Fairbairn, said she hoped Boys would be shown at Chelsea next year. It was due to be part of the Triumph of Painting exhibition, postponed when the County Hall gallery closed last December in a dispute with its Japanese landlords. But, she said: "Saatchi is now buying so much, it is difficult to know what he is going to show or not.

"While it has been good for Annie, she is capable of success without his help. Many artists don't want to sell to him because if he sells you on quickly, it doesn't do a lot for your reputation.''

The opening of the new Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea is likely to reinforce Mr Saatchi's pre-eminence on the London art scene. Previews on his website show a series of large, open spaces, very different from the small rooms at County Hall, the former offices of the Greater London Council.

Ms Wright said: "People have suggested [Mr Saatchi] has lost his touch, but I think he is back in favour and people are happy to be bought by him. He has shown his ability to reinvent style and space and now believes he can do it anywhere."

Other protégés

* TOBY ZIEGLER

Sold a landscape painting to Saatchi for under £10,000 18 months ago and has since seen his work soar in value.

Ziegler, 33, trained at Central St Martins - the alma mater of many of the Young British Artist crowd - and now works from a studio in London.

Since being picked up by Saatchi, he has staged his first solo exhibition where his mixture of painting, sculpture and installation won plaudits from the critics.

* DAMIEN HIRST

One of the first and most famous of Saatchi's artists, He is worth an estimated £100m and is due to stage a new exhibition in London next year. His pickled shark was exhibited in the Sensation show at the Royal Academy in 1997. Saatchi bought it for £50,000 before selling it back to Hirst. An American collector bought it two years ago for £7m

* CONRAD SHAWCROSS

Son of royal biographer William Shawcross, the sculptor, 28, sold one of his mechanical machines to the collector for £26,000 two years ago.

Last year he sold five copies of a film he made of another of his machines for £45,000 and is now moving from a second floor studio above a cash and carry in east London to 5,000 sq feet of new space, partly as a result of Saatchi's patronage.

* TRACEY EMIN

Saatchi's taste was derided when he paid £150,000 for Emin's unmade, detritus-strewn bed six years ago. It is now worth £1M. Saatchi has said: "I was very slow to get the loopiness of Tracey's work. I'm a helpless fan now."

Saatchi scoops up new British art talent at budget prices

From The Sunday Times

April 2, 2006

Richard Brooks and Olivia Cole CHARLES SAATCHI, the art collector who discovered and then disowned Britart, has snapped up the works of a new breed of young artist.

He has scoured obscure galleries, small exhibitions and final degree shows, and paid modest rates of £1,000 to £5,000 for the works of 20 young Britons.

Saatchi’s purchases have the power to move markets and any artist who becomes his protégé can expect to make a fortune. Many of the exhibits will go on display in spring 2007 when his latest gallery opens in Chelsea, west London.

His past favourites include Damien Hirst, who recently put his wealth at £100m. He sold a pickled shark to Saatchi for £50,000 before buying it back and selling it on to an American collector in 2004 for £6.25m.

The value of Tracey Emin’s My Bed — which featured soiled sheets and empty bottles of booze — is thought to have risen to more than £1m six years after Saatchi paid £150,000 for it.

Saatchi, who is married to Nigella Lawson, the author and celebrity cook, bought the work of Annie Kevans, a 33-year-old British artist, at her final degree show at London’s St Martin’s School of Art.

Her work, called Boys, consisted of black and white portraits of children who went on to become dictators. Kevans used childhood photos of Hitler, Pol Pot, Nicolae Ceausescu and Radovan Karadzic as the basis of her pictures.

“A deal was concluded and a car came to collect the works,” Kevans said.

Thanks to the Saatchi purchase, Kevans now has her first solo exhibition, Girls, opening this week at the Studio 1.1 gallery in east London. The paintings depict actresses and singers who were child stars — such as Brooke Shields, Shirley Temple, Jodie Foster, Britney Spears and Charlotte Church.

The portraits are all somewhat suggestive: Spears is depicted in her bra, while Shields is shown at 12, when she became famous as a hooker in the film Pretty Baby.

There is no obvious pattern to Saatchi’s purchases from young artists. He recently bought Swarm, two miniaturist sculptures from Tessa Farmer, 27, for £3,500 and £4,000. The works, now united in one piece, are made up of insects. “Of course I was pleased,” Farmer said.

Toby Ziegler’s 12ft by 9ft landscape painting, Designated For Leisure, was bought 18 months ago by Saatchi for less than £10,000 from an exhibition at London’s Royal Academy. Since then Ziegler’s work has appreciated in value.

Conrad Shawcross, 28, son of William Shawcross, official biographer of the late Queen Mother, sold a sculpture to Saatchi two years ago, while Lynette Yiadom Boakye, who is of Nigerian origin, and Donald Urquhart, have sold him portraits of women.

An East End show of nocturnal scenes in charcoal by Reece Jones, who trained at the Royal Academy, was bought in its entirety. Other artists to catch Saatchi’s eye include Ged Quinn, Liz Neal, Lucy Skaer and Mario Rossi.

Saatchi, who has in recent years sold much of his Britart work, said in late 2004 that most of the movement’s controversial figures will be “nothing but footnotes” in art history.