Edward Dolman via Businessworld

Edward J. Dolman, a 27-year Christie’s veteran, has quit the auction business to become executive director of the Qatar Museums Authority.

He will be working for the emir’s daughter, chairperson H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, according to a statement from Christie’s.

Dolman was named Christie’s chairman in 2010 after a decade as CEO. At the time, Christie’s named a new CEO, Steven Murphy. Dolman rose through company ranks, after starting at the London-based auction house in the European furniture department.

Christie’s is a privately held company owned by French magnate Francois Pinault.

Roman marble head of Apollo sold for $902,500 at Christie's on June 9, 2011

By Eric Russ, Art Market Views contributor

Christie’s June 9 antiquities sale failed to match the success of Sotheby’s sale a day earlier. The event included 202 lots, a third of which failed to sell, including many of the highest estimated lots. The sale tallied $10.4 million, towards the lower end of the projected $9 million to $14 million range.

The bright spots included a few Roman works. A Roman bronze head of Hercules, circa 1^st century A.D., exceeded a $50,000 high estimate and sold to a phone bidder for $140,500.  Next followed a Roman marble head of a handsome Apollo, circa late 1^st-early 2^nd Century A.D., which sold for an $902,500, triple the high estimate.

Next  up was a Roman marble head of Venus, circa 1^st-2^nd century A.D., sold to a man in a light red button-down shirt, standing at the back of the room where dealers tend to hover, for $422,500, more than double the high estimate.

The top price was paid for a headless Roman marble statue of Isis, circa 1^st-2^nd Century A.D. which went for $962,500, above the $800,000 high estimate.  She stands, right leg forward,…

Matta's 1956 "Regard du germe" sold at Christie's on May 26, 2011 for $710,500

By Eric Russ, Art Market Views Contributor

Christie’s May 26 Latin American auction pulled in $16.6 million sale last week, led by a tropical 1932 painting by Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias which fetched more than three times the high estimate, selling for $1 million.

The evening started strong with 11 Mexican lots, including established art historical figures such as Rufino Tamayo, Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco.

Covarrubias’ wryly titled Offering of Fruits for the Temple, was estimated to sell for more than $200,000 and sold for $1 million to an unnamed Asian buyer. (Asians were active at Sotheby’s the night before, mainly for works by Botero). The painting features a bevy of serene and sensual Balinese women, toting bananas, and other fruit.

Two abstract contemporary artists ranked among the evening’s best sellers. Brazilian artist Adriana Varejao’s 1997 Paisagem II, sold for $542,500, over a $300,000 high estimate, continuing the week’s fervor for Brazilian works of art. Venezuelan artist Jesus Rafael Soto’s dizzying Rond et carre jaune, comprised of yolk-yellow painted wood and metal rods with nylon string, sold for $494,500, above a $220,000 estimate—a record for a sculpture by…

Link to story here on AiA website.

Christie’s auctioneer Christopher Burge usually rules the saleroom with an iron gavel. But last night, amid a rousing $301.7 million contemporary art sale, he lost control. For nearly 16 minutes, the auction was hijacked by a pair of dueling collectors, competing for a blue 1963–64 Warhol Self-Portrait, tagged at $20 million to $30 million. Tossing protocol to the wind, the contestants—an anonymous European collector on the phone and a client of private dealer Philippe Ségalot, also on the phone-bid in unorthodox, mind-numbing $100,000 increments, rather than the typical $1 million chunks, as the price tag climbed north of $20 million.

This was the longest bidding battle in recent memory, and Burge’s indulgence suggests Ségalot may have been bidding on behalf one of his most powerful clients, Christie’s owner, François Pinault. In the end, Ségalot bailed and the shooting match terminated as his opponent bid a final $38.4 million for a four-panel portrait that epitomizes Warholian cool.

The sale’s strong result, with 62 of 65 lots finding buyers, was a sharp reversal from a rocky Tuesday night at Sotheby’s. The rival house…

Maurice de Vlaminck "Paysage de banlieue" sold for $22.5 million to Acquavella Galleries.

Link to read on AiA website here.

An appearance by Leonardo DiCaprio brought frisson to Christie’s staid Impressionist and Modern art auction last night. Poorly disguised under obligatory blue baseball cap and puffy black parka, DiCaprio was the evening’s hottest accessory, appearing as a sidekick of New York dealer Helly Nahmad.

The May 4 auction totaled $156 million, missing the presale projected range of $162 million to $231 million. The final tally was less than half of the $335.5 million raised a year ago on the strength of material consigned by the estate of collector Frances Brody. Without any marquee estate property this season, both Sotheby’s and Christie’s offered a grab bag of artworks, wildly ranging in quality. Sotheby’s May 3 sale bested Christie’s, fetching $170.5 million.

“There is a whiff of uncertainty left over from the past couple of years,” said dealer Andrea Crane of Gagosian Gallery. “We are looking at sales that were cobbled together. Collectors are still sitting back and determining whether this is the right time to sell.” Other market professionals agreed that shaky economic conditions kept trophies off the block. “The world is…

Damien Hirst Fendi handbag

Auctioneer Christie’s, dealer Alberto Mugrabi and Fendi have teamed up to sell a batch of handbags for a good cause. The bags by big-name artists include the handiwork of Damien Hirst, Richard Prince and Tom Sachs.

The artistically modified one-of-a-kind Fendi bags are being sold online as part of Christie’s annual Bid to Save the Earth charity auction. Damien Hirst’s two bags are swaddled in swirls and dots. The dot version has already received five bids up to $5,600.

Tom Sachs has taken a less reverential approach, torching his white leather satchel to oblivion. Enoc Perez applied  hot pink tropical motifs, while Richard Prince scrawled one of his signature psychiatrist jokes across the back of an otherwise pristine white bag.

These items, plus other fashionable lots, are up for grabs on the Charity Buzz website until April 7.

Tonight Christie’s and Runway to Green’s Bid to Save the Earth event takes place in New York City, hosted by Francois-Henri Pinault – son of Christie’s owner Francois Pinault – with wife actress Salma Hayek, David and Susan Rockefeller and others.

Sale proceeds benefit environmental organizations including Oceana,…

"Southern Barbarians Come to Trade," attribted to Kano Naizen, courtesy Christie's

Today Christie’s sells a selection of Japanese artworks, a poignant reminder of the country’s rich cultural heritage coming in the wake of Japan’s recent national disaster.

The sale’s highlight is pair of twelve-foot wide gold-leaf six-paneled screens, attributed to Kano Naizen – who died in 1616 – titled Southern Barbarians Come to Trade. The screens had been in storage for 400 years, according to Christie’s, and never previously published.

The subject matter is commerce between the East and West circa 1600. By 1542, Portuguese traders were profiting by exchanging Chinese silk for Japanese silver. These foreign merchants were the Southern Barbarians referred to in the title.

The screen’s pre-sale estimate is unpublished, but is in the region of $4 million according to Christie’s.

Ron Mueck 1996 "Big Baby," est. £800,000 to £1.2 million, via Christie's

By Mackie Healy, Art Market Views, Contributor

Christie’s will offer 32 works from the collection of noted British collector Kay Saatchi in its June Post-War and Contemporary art auctions in London. The works are estimated to sell for up to £3.4 million.

Saatchi is moving to Los Angeles after 25 years in London as a major YBA patron. (She and ex-husband, advertising magnate and private museum owner, Charles Saatchi, divorced in 2001.) Read a long profile on Saatchi from the Times London here.

Take heed David Kordansky and Tim Blum: Saatchi is quoted in a Christie’s press release explaining that she plans to sell the U.K. works to make space for West Coast art acquisitions.

Evening sale highlights include Ron Mueck’s life-size, blue-eyed Big Baby sculpture from 1996, estimated to sell for £800,000 to £1.2 million. Kay and Charles Saatchi acquired seven of the hyper-realist sculptor’s earliest works, three of which were on display at the traveling Sensation show during the late 1990s.

Paula Rego’s Looking Back (1987), a large-scale painting of buxom lounging ladies, is estimated to sell for £600,000 – £800,000. The Saatchi duo purchased the work (along…

Jean Dubuffet 1961 "L'Erratique," sold fof $698,500 at Christie's on March 10, 2011

By Mackie Healy, Art Market Views, Contributor

Christie’s First Open sale of Post-War and Contemporary Art totaled $10.3 million yesterday, the highest grossing First-Open sale since the pre-bust days of March 2007.

The tally suggests a market uptick, even at lower points on the pricing index, and arrives on the heels of a commercially successful New York fair week. (See results here).

Eighty-four percent of lots found buyers, with 262 of the 312 lots selling. The top lots were acquired by U.S. private and trade buyers, along with Russian, European and Asian dealers and collectors.

The priciest work was Jean Dubuffet’s impasto oil on masonite, L’Erratique (1961) which sold for $698,500, trumping the $300,000 – 400,000 presale estimate.

Other highlights included work by the auction block’s old faithful, Andy Warhol. His 1985-1986 black and white cartoonish silkscreen text, Heaven and Hell are Just One Breath Away! (Positive) sold to an Asian collector for $242,500.  Christopher Wool’s 2007 black and white abstract Untitled enamel on aluminum sold for $362,500, above the the $250,000 – 350,000 estimate.

The Top Ten:

Artist / Title / Year / Price Realized / Estimate…

By Mackie Healy, Art Market Views, Contributor

Warhol propelled yet another contemporary auction last night in London. His 1967 tomato-hued Self-Portrait fetched $17.4 million (£10.8 million) at Christie’s. The buyer was dealer Larry Gagosian, according to salesroom reports.

The painting, depicting the artist with his fingers splayed over his mouth and gazing directly at the viewer, is from a series of ten 1960s self-portraits. This particular example had been in a private collection since 1974.

The evening’s sale totaled $99.2 million (£61.4 million), with a strong 92 percent of 64 lots finding buyers. Twenty-eight works sold for over $1 million (16 lots were over £1 million). Six auction records were set for Jenny Saville, Martial Raysse, Miquel Barcelo, Wade Guyton, Ged Quinn and Adriana Varejao.

Self taught artist Martial Raysse’s 1962 pop inspired portrait, L’année dernière à Capri (titre exotique) -  sold for $6.6 million (£4.1 million), more than quadruple the high estimate and a auction  record for a work by a living French artist.

Brazilian artist Adriana Varejao’s fleshy-tiled and Lucio Fontana-inspired Wall with Incisions a la Fontana II (2001) fetched $1.8 million (£1.1 million),…