Displaying items by tag: Auction

A watch given to Sir Winston Churchill to celebrate victory in the Second World War, proclaiming him a “happy warrior” and likening him to St George, is to be sold at auction for up to £100,000.

The watch, commissioned by a group of “prominent Swiss citizens”, was one of four given to leaders including Charles de Gaulle, Joseph Stalin and Harry S. Truman, to commemorate VE Day.

Sotheby’s will offer a selection of exceptional Japanese and Chinese works of art drawn from the collection of Japanese connoisseur Tsuneichi Inoue on May 13, alongside its biannual auction of Important Chinese Art.

“The Soul of Japanese Aesthetics: The Tsuneichi Inoue Collection” offers a revealing cross section of prevailing aesthetic tastes in Tokyo during the early to mid-20th century. Classical Ming and Song Dynasty porcelain and ceramics were very much in vogue, along with archaic Chinese bronzes.

A wooden Le Corbusier statue of a woman sold for 3.1 million francs ($3.3 million) at Christie’s in Zurich, setting an auction record for the Swiss artist.

“Femme,” a 6-foot-tall mahogany sculpture with red and white painted elements, was created by modernist architect Le Corbusier in 1962. The price, which includes a buyer’s premium, beats Le Corbusier’s previous record of 1 million pounds ($1.5 million), according to Hans-Peter Keller, head of Swiss art at Christie’s.

Asian collectors snapped up paintings by Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet at a Sotheby’s auction in New York that totaled $368.3 million.

The tally on Tuesday was the second highest for an Impressionist and modern art auction at Sotheby’s and a 67 percent increase from a similar sale last May. The auctioneer also surpassed its high presale target of $351 million despite failing to sell 14 of the 64 lots.

Sotheby's annual American art auction this May will have Georgia O'Keeffe's "White Calla Lily," with an estimate of $8–12 million, as its star lot.

The announcement of the offer of "White Calla Lily" comes on the heels of O'Keeffe's biggest sale, just last year. Her "Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1" went for a whopping $44.4 million (three times its $15-million estimate) at Sotheby's, making it the most expensive painting by a female artist ever sold at auction.

Nearly a hundred examples of iconic Tiffany Studios works are forming the centerpiece of Sotheby’s sale of Tiffany and Prewar Design: The Warshawsky Collection in New York on May 19.

Led by the "Elaborate Peony" Lamp, circa 1910 (est. $600,000-$900,000), the variety of colorful glass works in mostly floral motifs is emblematic of the collection of noted Chicago businessman Roy Warshawsky and his wife Sarita, who assembled the works from the 1960s through the 1990s. There are also leaded glass lighting and windows, favrile glass, enamels, pottery, and bronze pieces produced by the firm founded by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

The private art and furniture collection of the famed architect and designer of Sydney Opera House Jørn Utzon is going under the hammer at Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers in Copenhagen in June.

Built upon Utzon's refined taste and close personal relationships to many renowned artists and designers, the Dane's collection includes pieces from the likes of Le Corbusier, Georges Braque, Fernand Léger, Henri Laurens, Pablo Picasso, Asger Jorn, and Alvar Aalto.

The highlight of the collection is doubtlessly a tapestry by Le Corbusier titled "Les dés sont jetés" (the dice is cast) (1960) which Le Corbusier created when the pair collaborated on the decoration of the Sydney Opera House.

Two Francis Bacon self-portraits are going on public display for the first time after resurfacing in a private collection.

Descendants of the original collector have decided to sell the paintings, which are expected to fetch £15m each at auction.

Experts knew of the works’ existence, but had no idea who had bought them soon after they were completed about 40 years ago.

The paintings will go on show at Sotheby’s in London and New York before going under the hammer in July.

A "perfect" diamond said to be so large that it draws awe-struck people across a room has sold for $22 million at a Sotheby's auction in New York.

The 100-carat, emerald cut, D color, internally flawless diamond is the largest of its clarity and cut to ever be shown at auction.

"People everywhere have been drawn to it from across the room and they are in awe of its size, particularly when they put it on their hand," said Gary Schuler, the head of Sotheby's jewelery department in New York, before the sale. "They can't believe there's a diamond this pure of such impressive scale."

The collection of the highly regarded sculptor and philanthropist Lolo Sarnoff will be presented over several several sales in New York and London throughout the spring. The selection of work on offer  spans important Impressionist & Modern Art, follows Sotheby’s legendary six-day, 700 lot auction in 1978 of the collection of Lolo Sarnoff’s step-father, Robert von Hirsch. Works by artists such as Picasso, Chagall and Renoir are expected to sell for above the estimates. 

Warren Weitman, Chairman of Sotheby’s Americas, commented: “It is a great privilege for Sotheby’s to present works from this extraordinary collection."