Sotheby's Sale Busts, Picasso Goes Unsold

Expectations low as auction houses try variety of tactics

(NEWSER) - After a 7-year boom, art auction houses are struggling as collectors hit hard by the recession close their wallets. Sotheby’s predicts it will pull in $179 million to $256 million at spring sales, compared to $742 million a year ago. As the spring events approach, auctioneers are employing an array of strategies to restore the market, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Paris art dealer's collection hidden since 1939

(NEWSER) - A stash of 20th-century artworks hidden for generations because of war and legal wrangling is finally seeing the light of day. The 140 artworks, including works by Picasso, Derain, and Renoir, had been placed in a Paris bank vault by influential art dealer Ambroise Vollard's assistant after Vollard's death in 1939. The Jewish assistant died at the hands of the Nazis and the stash wasn't uncovered until the bank unsealed the vault in 1979 after storage fees went unpaid for 40 years. More»

Top lot in Nov. auction withdrawn as seller panics

(NEWSER) - A painting from Picasso's Cubist period that was one of the highlights of the fall auction season has been pulled "for private reasons," Sotheby's New York office said yesterday. The withdrawal of Arlequin, a 1909 work which was estimated at more than $30 million, had been rumored for weeks as art prices began heading south, reports the New York Times. More»

Pablo Picasso makes 2 appearances

(NEWSER) - Following the record-breaking sale of Edvard Munch's The Scream , the Guardian takes a look at the other biggest sales of art at auction. The top five:

1. Edvard Munch, The Scream, $119.9 million.
2. Pablo Picasso, Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust, $106.5 million.
3. Alberto Giacometti, L'homme qui Marche I, $105.2 million.
4. Pablo Picasso, Boy With a Pipe, $104.2 million.
5. Gustav Klimt, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II, $87.9 million.

A dozen works are priced near $20 million each at auctions

(NEWSER) - The art market has bounced back amazingly well from the downturn, and auction houses are aiming to sell $1 billion in Impressionist and modern works at two major sales next week. A dozen works are expected to fetch close to $20 million apiece, a price the auction houses couldn't reach for even a single piece in spring sales two years ago, reports the Wall Street Journal . Huge fortunes were lost during the downturn, but dealers say plenty of new investors don't seem especially worried. More»