Berthe Morisot, Femme en Noir (600-800k) 2m GBP
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The press covering the art market has become dangerously fixated on the market's health. Every story obsesses over the drop in sales volume while the surrounding economies continue to heal from a decade of macro-economic turmoil. The February sales in London are unlikely to give those outside of the art market a definitive statement on the market's future prospects. Last night's sales of Impressionist, Modern and Surrealist art in London, nonetheless, may start putting that question behind us.If interested see also:
Ermanno Rivetti at The Art Newspaper gathered the numbers and demonstrated that the trend line isn't always down:
The mood was high at Christie’s last night after the total haul for the evening’s Impressionist & Modern and Surreal auctions—£136.9m with fees and a high combined sell through rate of 92%—showed a 45% increase on results this time last year.
That doesn't mean the market always goes up, either. The current fixation among journalists is indulging in schadenfreude over Dimitry Rybolovlev's losses....MORE
WTH Is Up With Rybolovlev? "A $100 Million Mystery: A Russian, His Art, and His Big Losses"
Oprah Said to Snag $150 Million Selling Klimt to Chinese Buyer
Big Money: What Geneva’s Art King Lost in Battle with Russian Billionaire
Big Money: "What Did Sotheby’s Know And When Did They Know It"
Dirty deeds, not dirt cheap.Art: War Between the 'Freeport King' and the Oligarch and How Dmitry Rybolovlev Made a Quick $300 Million
It's pretty well established that the punishment for an agent's breach of the duty of loyalty to his principal is death.
At least in Russia at any rate
"Oligarchs and Orchestras: Inside Luxembourg’s Secretive Low-Tax ‘Fortress of Art’ Warehouse"
The Power of Potash: Russian Billionaire Part of Record Deal For Trump Mansion
Among the female impressionists, Morisot is more famous but Marie Bracquemond is probably the most interesting:
Under the Lamp, Private Collection 1887
