Summer auctions Archives - Hippeus Art Brokerage

Frieze Week Eve Auctions in London – contrasting results & new artist records mark the Fall season

Christie’s kicked off the marathon of Frieze Week evening sales in London on October 13th with a hybrid, in-person/online event, with several cameras capturing the proceedings to be streamed online, and a 2 p.m. timing, meaning there was a more casual feel among attendees in the sale room.

Maigre catalogues and sale ‘fiascos’ – a review of classic art Summer auctions in London

From a triumphant nymph by Lucas Cranach to an inexplicably overlooked sculpture by Antonio Canova, a review of Christie’s and Sotheby’s Ancient Art and Old Masters auctions in London, July 2022.

Is recession tackling the art market too? Lack of fireworks at London’s marquee sales

Last week Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips held their traditionally packed and highly anticipated Summer week of high-profile modern and contemporary art auctions in London.

New players, new buyers, new artists…a whole new art market is shaping up!

The recent marathon of high-profile Spring auctions in NY confirmed a market trait already seen in London earlier this year: prices and records for emerging stars soaring into the millions of dollars, suggesting a slowdown at the highest end of the market.

The best pavilions at the 2022 Venice Biennale

After the cancellations due to the Covid pandemic, the 59th edition of The Venice Biennale, titled The Milk of Dreams, opened last April 23rd and will welcome visitors until the 27th November 2022, curated by Cecilia Alemani.

New Masters taking the stage…London Marquee auctions, March 22

Despite the hearts and minds of everybody were understandably focused on the developments of the escalating Ukrainian crisis, last week in London saw major auction house powerhouses Christie’s and Sotheby’s pulling off a combined £470m from their Modern, Post War & Contemporary Art evening sales.

New year, new Botticelli – Sotheby’s put together a $91M OMP auction in NY

As it has by now become a consolidated tradition, the international auction business properly started the 2022 season with Sotheby’s high-profile series of old masters sales in NY at the end of January.

A warrior, the game changer and emerging female artists – 20th century art bonanza at Christie’s!

On 23 March Christie’s three global live-streamed evening sales of 20th-century art realised a combined total of £198,716,619, offering a 82-lot mix of Impressionist, modern, Surrealist, postwar, and contemporary art. Bids came simultaneously from clients based in London as well as Hong Kong and New York through phone banks and online, with more than 400,000 […]

Old & Modern Masters at Sotheby’s London – a post auction review

Despite the prolonged uncertainties linked to the pandemic – will vaccines save us all? If yes, when? – auction houses seem to have found a somewhat solid emergency plan in order to fare well through these difficult times: squeezing highly valuable artworks by names with great potential or consolidated market power in a single catalogue […]

An art journey behind the history of Saint Valentine’s Day celebration

Frankly overshadowed by a mostly pseudo-romantic, cheesy and market-led iconography that nowadays has largely transcended its original meaning, the history of Saint Valentine’s day dates back to the late Roman age. It was in fact established by Pope Gelasio in 495 AD. Historians and hagiographers managed to track down at least three different saints under […]

Old to Whom?!? Botticelli’s portrait at Sotheby’s auction in NY makes waves

After the ups and downs of an all too bumpy and complicated 2020, painfully marked by the disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic, which promises to make our lives joyous for most of 2021 as well, the international art market – or at least its auction segment – woke up vigorously in NY earlier this […]

Amoako Boafo’s star auction debut in London

The only genuinely surprising event during what was an otherwise flat week of Post War & Contemporary Art auctions in London was the remarkable result achieved by African rising star Amoako Boafo at Phillips’ evening sale on February 13th. His painting entitled The Lemon Bathing Suit managed to find a buyer at £675,000 (fees included), […]

NY $2bn art auction bonanza!

No Brexit fear at London auctions!

Overall solid results dismiss speculations that UK art market would be badly affected…will it last?!?

Old Masters warm up freezing NY this January!

Overall solid results dismiss speculations that UK art market would be badly affected…will it last?!?

London Summer 2018 big auctions – what sold

Now that the market is taking a well-deserved break, we look back at what happened in the London salerooms of major auction houses in June/July. Here is a brief carousel featuring the highlights that were recently sold for you to enjoy…happy Summer!

It’s already joyous Spring time for the international art market!

Following on the results of the Impressionist & Modern Art auction, March wrapped up a highly successful week for Contemporary Art as well. Results were even more impressive, showing how the international art market is in full recovery – at least for the above segments – after a string of depressing outcomes marking most of […]

TEFAF Maastricht 2018 – our video with the fair highlights

Being now a consolidated tradition, please have a look at our latest video showcasing some of the highlights included in the 2018 edition of TEFAF, The European Fine Art Fair, which took place in Maastricht (Holland) from March 9th to 18th.

Picasso is still the man to beat…

If you were of the impression that heavy snow and Siberian weather conditions or financial turmoil can stop the appetite of big collectors, well think twice… Last week the Impressionist & Modern Art evening sales put on display by the big auction houses in London managed to amass an overall £285m (with fees). No records […]

A solid start for Old Masters in NYC: perhaps good old Leo has something to do with it?

A healthier start of the year has characterised the very first series of high-profile Old Masters auctions in NY, a few days ago.

Who will save this art market?

What happened the night of November 15th in the saleroom of Christie’s NY will be undoubtedly remembered for long, and not just by the international art market. Before the Salvator Mundi never had a work of art, of any medium/type, managed to achieve such a result. And still now, a week after that night, the […]

London Frieze Week 2017 – an auction review

Esthatic, mesmerised, puzzled, disappointed, enthusiastic, doubtful , frustrated…counting the expressions on the numerous faces we encountered during Frieze Week – at the fair, at the endless events squeezed in a very few days, in the auction salerooms etc – was simply impossible…as always, once the big circus settles in town the whole industry is turned […]

When art meets fashion: Mario Testino’s auctions at Sotheby’s London

Sparkling and glamorous as ever before, Sotheby’s opened the new Autumn/Winter sale season in London with a high profile single owner auction this September: the Collection of venerated Peruvian fashion photographer Mario Testino

London Summer 2017 Auction Season – a summary of what happened

It was frenzy weeks as usual, marked by stellar prices and numerous records, the ones which have just sealed the auction Summer season in London this June/July. Collectors, art aficionados and curious passers-by had the chance to admire an impressive series of fabulous art pieces – in some cases, real masterpieces – which in the […]

Impressionist/Modern & Post War/Contemporary Art frenzy in NYC – May 2017

New York was once more the ideal scenario of a pyrotechnic series of auctions which in the end wrapped up a new memorable week for the global art market.

TEFAF NYC Spring 17: our fair highlights video!

Following our first video produced on the occasion of TEFAF Maastricht earlier this year, we decided to replicate the experience in NYC this time round, presenting you with some of the fair highlights…after all, what’s better than a joyous Spring art triumph?

Modern & Contemporary Art in Milan – Christie’s & Sotheby’s auctions

The international auction calendar recently stopped in Milan, where Christie’s first and then Sotheby’s put together their respective two-day sales, entirely dedicated to 20th Century Italian art. In both cases, and as it has become customary since the introduction of the new themed format a few years ago, the efforts of the local teams produced […]

TEFAF 2017 – our video with some of the fair highlights

Hippeus Art Brokerage visited the 2017 edition of TEFAF (The European Fine Art Fair) – the world’s most important fair for the international art market, which took place in Maastricht (Holland) on March 10th – 19th. This is the brief video we produced!

London Post War & Contemporary Art Evening Auctions, March 17 – a summary

After covering the Impressionist, Surrealist and Modern Art auctions held in London last week our focus is on London again, this time to cover the results of the Post War & Contemporary Art sales. With TEFAF about to start (March 9th) and all the deadlines that such a relevant, high-profile event brings with itself, this […]

Impressionist and Modern Art & Surrealist Art Evening Auctions, London – Christie’s on February 28th, Sotheby’s on March 1st and Bonhams on 2nd

As part of the changes in the international calendar undertaken by the major auction houses (changes initially led by Christie’s, with Sotheby’s and Bonhams ‘forced’ to adapt their schedule accordingly), earlier this week London hosted a series of high-profile sales, focussing on Impressionism, Modern Art and Surrealism.

NYC ‘Masters Week’ at Sotheby’s and Christie’s, January 2017 – Old Master Paintings, Drawings and Fine Prints

After the Christmas/New Year break and a long, sleepy January, the international art market was awakened by the traditional series of auctions taking place in NYC, all dedicated to Old Masters.

Old Master auctions, London – Sotheby’s on December 7th; Christie’s & Bonhams on December 8th

The December 2016 Old Masters Week in London will definitely not be remembered for smashing any groundbreaking art market records but in a time when even the presence of Old Masters within the international auction calendar has been questioned, such outcomes work as much-needed healing balms.

Post War & Contemporary Art evening auctions, NYC – Christie’s on November 15th; Phillips on November 16th and Sotheby’s on November 17th

The sparkling NY auction week had the Post War/Contemporary masters on its stage too. And this time it was Christie’s that started first.

Impressionist & Modern Art evening auctions, NYC – Sotheby’s on November 14th and Christie’s on November 16th

If a reassuring response to the gloomy performances of the past few months – globally speaking and across several categories – and to the more recent uncertainties risen after the US presidential campaign was expected from the international art market, this definitely arrived and did not leave the (anxious?) expectations of many unattended.