Auction News Network

Miro & Klimt Lead Sotheby’s Sale

“Peinture,” a modernist work that Joan Miro painted in the single day of April 29, 1933 during a period of exceptional creative ferment, is expected to fetch $11m-$15.7m when it comes up for auction at Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art sale in London on February 8^th. Anticipated to be a bit less valuable is a recently rediscovered landscape from 1901 by Gustav Klimt, “Seeufer Mit Birken (Lakeshore With Birches.’ In one family’s possession for a century and not seen publicly since 1902, it carries an estimate of $9.4m-$12.6m.

Update: Miro’s “Peinture” failed to find a buyer at the auction, in which Klimt’s “Seeufer Mit Birken” realized $8.8m, below estimates. In all, the evening sale brought in $125.5m.

Record $718,000 For Pancho Villa Saddle

Shortly before Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa was assassinated in 1923, two artisans created a silver embroidered parade saddle for the desperado. After his death, Villa’s widow gave to the saddle to famed director Howard Hawks when he was on location in Mexico shooting “Viva Villa!” This past weekend the saddle, which had been estimated at $150,000-$250,000, sold for $718,000—a new world auction record for a saddle.

Hitler Seascape Sells For $53,000

Historians have speculated on the course of history had Hitler not been rejected as by a famous art academy, and instead found notoriety writing Mein Kampf . As a young Bohemian artist bumping around Vienna in his 20’s, Hitler turned out a number of oils, one of which is a moonlit seascape that just sold for $53,000 at an online Slovakian auction. The buyer was not revealed.

Miro’s “Poem-Painting” Leads Surrealism Sale

Considered one of Joan Miro’s most important works, the “Poem-Painting” known as “le corps de ma brune…” has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (N.Y.), the Tate (London), the Guggenheim (N.Y.), and the Pompidou (Paris), to name just a few. When it comes up for sale at Christie’s Surrealism sale on February 7^th, the anticipated price of the influential 1925 painting is expected to match its distinguished provenance. Its estimate is $9.4m-$14.1m.

Value of Aussie ‘Toss Coin’ Up In Air

They call them “Toss Coins.” The money the referee flips in the air to determine which team or player gets first choice. Then they auction that coin used. Prices can get crazy. The toss coin used for the India/Sri Lanka cricket championship last year sold for $100,000. (India won) Right now the coin used at the 100^th Australian Open Mens’ Tennis Championship is listed on eBay. Bidding closes Jan.31.

Acker, Merrall–And The “Icemen”–In Chicago

Acker, Merrall and Condit may have seasonally titled its first wine sale of 2012 “The Icemen Cometh,” but even in Chicago, it’s expecting a warm result. The world’s top selling wine auctioneer in 2011 will be offering 726 lots at the January 28th event, the highest valued of which is a 12-bottle assortment of 1985 Domaine de la Romanee Conti including 3 bottles of La Tache, 2 of St. Vivant-lstdc, and 3 of Echezeaux. It’s estimated at $40,000-$60,000.

Rare $100 “Watermelon” Note May Roll To $150,000

The 1890 $100 “Watermelon” Note took its name from its design details and green ink, which some thought made the bill resemble the skin of a watermelon. The $100 version, with Admiral Farragut on the face, was referred to as the “Baby Watermelon” and the much rarer $1000 note as the “Grand.” The “Baby” that Heritage will offer on February 3^rd in Long Beach, California is the first to come on the market since 2008. It’s estimated at $150,000 up.

Elizabeth Taylor’s Franz Hals Doubles Estimates

Is what may be a harbinger of what’s to come in Christie’s Impressionist sale next month that includes the collection of Elizabeth Taylor, the late actress’s Franz Hals painting more than doubled its high estimate at the auction house’s Old Masters sale in New York yesterday. The 17^th century “Portrait of A Man”—the only Old Masters painting owned by Taylor—was estimated at $700,000-$1m, but sold for $2.1m.

Juan Gris–And Elizabeth Taylor–Lead Impressionist Sale

Of the 51 lots that Christie’s will offer at its Impressionist & Modern Art auction in London on February 7^th, the standout is “Le livre (the book), ” a transitional work by Juan Gris that the painter created between the end of 1913 and the beginning of 1915. Not seen for some 30 years before its inclusion in a 2005 retrospective in Madrid, the painting is expected to bring $18.6m-$27.9m.

Stalin Death Mask Goes For $8,700

He was one of the most monstrous tyrants of the 20^th Century, but a rare bronze death mask of Stalin fetched only $8,700 when it was auctioned yesterday by Mullock’s Auction House in England. Also included in the deal were casts of Stalin’s hands, one of which he kept out of sight because it was badly withered.

Over $1m Expected For 1961 Aston Martin Classic

In 1958, Aston Martin introduced Britain’s answer to Italy’s automotive mastery. Engineered to be the ultimate Gran Turismo, the DB4GT was designed for competition. Only 30 left hand drives were produced, and the rare 1961 example that Bonhams will offer in Paris on February 2^nd is the product of a ground-up restoration. Campaigned extensively–and successfully–on the historic race circuit, it’s estimated at $1.7m-$2.2m.

$524,000 For Marlene Dietrich’s Rolls

Although the top seller at Bonhams vintage automobile auction in Scottsdale, Arizona was a $667,000 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet, much of the attention at the event went to another car, a 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom 1, once owned by Marlene Dietrich. It sped to $524,000, well above its $300,000-$400,000 estimate.

$3.55m For Townsend Chest

John Townsend, the celebrated 18th Century New England cabinetmaker, was not much more than a lad when he crafted his “masterwork” high chest of drawers that sold at Sotheby’s Americana Sale in New York for $3.55m. The piece had been in the family that commissioned it for the past 255 years. Townsend liked it so much he signed and dated it two times, (1756) and added his maker’s mark five times.

JFK Hearse Sells For $176,000

A 1964 white Cadillac hearse that carried the body of assassinated President John F. Kennedy sold this weekend at a Scottsdale, Arizona auction for  $176,000. The car, offered at a Barrett Jackson event, transported JFK’s body and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis from Parkland Memorial Hospital to Dallas Love Field, where Air Force One waited.

High-End Real Estate Roundup

The focus this week is on Florida, where a number of imposing residences are headed towards the block. Two newly constructed homes in Naples lead the pack. Another estate, also new, is located on the Intracoastal Waterway in Delray Beach. Read more in this week’s high-end real estate auction roundup.