Art sale
Encyclopedia
Work of art
A work of art, artwork, art piece, or art object is an aesthetic item or artistic creation.The term "a work of art" can apply to:*an example of fine art, such as a painting or sculpture*a fine work of architecture or landscape design...
, in most cases in an auction house.
In England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
this dates from the latter part of the 17th century, when in most cases the names of the auctioneers were suppressed. Evelyn (under date June 21, 1693) mentions a "great auction of pictures (Lord Melford's) in the Banqueting House, Whitehall
Banqueting House, Whitehall
The Banqueting House, Whitehall, London, is the grandest and best known survivor of the architectural genre of banqueting house, and the only remaining component of the Palace of Whitehall...
", and the practice is frequently referred to by other contemporary and later writers.
Normally, an auction catalog
Auction catalog
An auction catalog or auction catalogue is a catalogue that lists items to be sold at an auction which is written and made available well before the auction date...
, that lists the art works to be sold, is written and made available well before the auction date.
Some of the best known auction houses are Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
and Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
.
Early days
Before the introduction of regular auctions the practice was, as in the case of the famous collection formed by Charles ICharles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
., to price each object and invite purchasers, just as in other departments of commerce. But this was a slow process, especially in the case of pictures, and lacked the incentive of excitement. The first really important art collection to come under the hammer was that of Edward, Earl of Oxford, dispersed by Cock, under the Piazza, Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, on 8 March 1741/2 and the five following days, six more days being required by
the coins. Nearly all the leading men of the day, including Horace Walpole, attended or were represented at this sale, and the prices varied from five shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s for an anonymous bishop's "head" to 165 guinea
Guinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
s for Vandyck's group of "Sir Kenelm Digby
Kenelm Digby
Sir Kenelm Digby was an English courtier and diplomat. He was also a highly reputed natural philosopher, and known as a leading Roman Catholic intellectual and Blackloist. For his versatility, Anthony à Wood called him the "magazine of all arts".-Early life and career:He was born at Gayhurst,...
, lady, and son".
The next great dispersal was Dr Richard Mead
Richard Mead
Richard Mead was an English physician. His work, A Short Discourse concerning Pestilential Contagion, and the Method to be used to prevent it , was of historic importance in the understanding of transmissible diseases.-Life:The eleventh child of Matthew Mead , Independent divine, Richard was born...
's extensive collection, of which the pictures, coins and engraved gems, &c., were sold by Abraham Langford
Abraham Langford
Abraham Langford was an English auctioneer and playwright.-Life:He was born in the parish of St Paul, Covent Garden. As a young man he wrote for the stage, and was responsible, according to the Biographia Dramatica, for an 'entertainment' called 'The Judgement of Paris,' which was produced in 1730...
in February and March 1754, the sale realizing the total, unprecedented up to that time, of £16,069. The thirty-eight days' sale (1786) of the Duchess of Portland's collection is very noteworthy, from the fact that it included the celebrated Portland vase
Portland Vase
The Portland Vase is a Roman cameo glass vase, currently dated to between AD 5 and AD 25, which served as an inspiration to many glass and porcelain makers from about the beginning of the 18th century onwards. Since 1810 the vase has been kept almost continuously in the British Museum in London...
, now in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. Many other interesting and important 18th centurysales might be mentioned. High prices did not become general until the Calonne
Calonne
Calonne may refer to:* Charles Alexandre de Calonne, a French statesman.* Jacques Calonne, a Belgian artist, musician, and writer.* The Calonne River, a minor tributary of the Touques River in Normandy....
, Trumbull
Trumbull
Trumbull can refer to* Trumbull County, Ohio** Trumbull Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio* Trumbull, Connecticut* Trumbull, Nebraska* Trumbull College, a residential college of Yale University* Fort Trumbull, Connecticut...
(both 1795) and Bryan
Bryan
- Places :* Bryan, California* Bryan, Ohio* Bryan, Texas* Bryan, Wyoming* Bryan Township - Names :*Bryan , list of people with this name*Bryan , list of people with this name- See also :* O'Bryan...
(1798) sales.
As to the quality of the pictures which had been sold by auction up to the latter part of the 18th century, it may be assumed that this was not high. The importation of pictures and other objects of art had assumed extensive proportions by the end of the 18th century, but the genuine examples of the Old Masters probably fell far short of 1%. England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
was felt to be the only safe asylum for valuable articles, but the home which was intended to be temporary often became permanent. Had it not been for the political convulsions on the continent, England, instead of being one of the richest countries in the world in art treasures, would
have been one of the poorest. This fortuitous circumstance had, moreover, another effect, in that it greatly raised the critical knowledge of pictures. Genuine works realized high prices, as, for example, at Sir William Hamilton
William Hamilton (diplomat)
Sir William Hamilton KB, PC, FRS was a Scottish diplomat, antiquarian, archaeologist and vulcanologist. After a short period as a Member of Parliament, he served as British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples from 1764 to 1800...
's sale (1801), when Beckford
Beckford, Worcestershire
Beckford is a small village on the main Cheltenham to Evesham Road, five miles north-east of Tewkesbury, on the Worcestershire - Gloucestershire border, England....
paid 1300 guineas for the little picture of "A Laughing Boy" by Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
; and when at the Lafontaine sales (1807 and 1811) two Rembrandts each realized 5000 guineas, "The Woman taken in Adultery
The Woman Taken in Adultery (Rembrandt)
The Woman Taken in Adultery is a painting of 1644 by Rembrandt, bought by the National Gallery, London in 1824, as one of their foundation batch of paintings. It is in oil on oak, and 83.8 x 65.4 cm....
," now in the National Gallery, and "The Master Shipbuilder," now at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
. The Beckford sale of 1823 (41 days, £43,869) was the forerunner of the great art dispersal of the 19th century; Horace Walpole's accumulation at Strawberry Hill
Strawberry Hill House
Strawberry Hill is the Gothic Revival villa of Horace Walpole which he built in the second half of the 18th century in what is now an affluent area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in Twickenham, London...
, 1842 (24 days, £33,450), and the Stowe
Stowe House
Stowe House is a Grade I listed country house located in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of Stowe School, an independent school. The gardens , a significant example of the English Landscape Garden style, along with part of the Park, passed into the ownership of The National Trust...
collection, 1848 (41 days, £75,562), were also celebrated.
They comprised every phase of art work, and in all the quality was of a very high order. They acted as a most healthy stimulus
to art collecting, a stimulus which was further nourished by the sales of the superb collection of Ralph Bernal
Ralph Bernal
Ralph Bernal was a British Whig politician and art collector. His family were Sephardi Jews of Spanish origin, but he was baptised at St Olave Hart Street in London....
in 1855 (32 days, £62,690), and of the almost equally fine but not so comprehensive collection of Samuel Rogers
Samuel Rogers
Samuel Rogers was an English poet, during his lifetime one of the most celebrated, although his fame has long since been eclipsed by his Romantic colleagues and friends Wordsworth, Coleridge and Byron...
, 1856 (18 days, £42,367).
Three years later came the dispersal of the 1500 pictures which formed Lord Northwick
John Rushout, 2nd Baron Northwick
John Rushout, 2nd Baron Northwick was an English peer, landowner and collector of art works.Rushout was the son of John Rushout, 1st Baron Northwick and his wife Rebecca Bowles. He was educated at a school at Hackney rather than Eton like his father and did not go to an English university....
's gallery at Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
(pictures and works of art, 18 days, £94,722).
Mid-19th century
Towards the latter part of the first half of the 19th century an entirely new race of collectors gradually came into existence;they were for the most part men who had made, or were making, large fortunes in the various industries of the midlands and north
of England and other centres. They were untrammelled by "collecting" traditions, and their patronage was almost exclusively
extended to the artists of the day. The dispersals of these collections began in 1863 with the Bicknell Gallery, and
continued at irregular intervals for many years, e.g. Joseph Gillott
Joseph Gillott
Joseph Gillott was an English pen-maker and patron of the arts.- Pen manufacturing :For some time he was a working cutler in his home town Sheffield, but in 1821 he moved to Birmingham, where he found employment in the steel toy trade, the technical name for the manufacture of steel buckles,...
(1872), Sam Mendel (1875), Wynn Ellis and Albert Levy
Albert Levy
Albert Levy may refer to:*Albert Levy *Albert Levy *Albert Levy *Albert Levy , editor of La Vara...
(1876), Albert Grant (1877) and Munro
Hugh Andrew Johnstone Munro of Novar
Hugh Andrew Johnstone Munro of Novar was a Scottish art collector.-Life:H.A.J. Munro of Novar was born in London, the nephew of Hector Munro, 8th of Novar, and the son of Sir Alexander Munro . On his father's death in 1809 he became the head of the Munros of Novar and succeeded to the estate of...
of Novar
Novar
Novar may refer to:Companies:*Novar plc - the international conglomerate based in the United Kingdom, that was formerly Metal Box, MB Group, MB-Caradon and Caradon plc, and was acquired in 2005 by Honeywell....
(1878). These patrons
purchased at munificent prices either direct from the easel or from the exhibitions not only pictures in oils
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
but also water-colour drawings. As a matter of investment their purchases frequently realized far more than the original outlay; sometimes, however, the reverse happened, as, for instance, in the case of Landseer's "Otter Hunt," for which Baron Grant is said to have paid £10,000 and which realized shortly afterwards only 5650 guineas. One of the features of the sales of the 'seventies was the high appreciation of water-colour drawings. At the Gillott
Joseph Gillott
Joseph Gillott was an English pen-maker and patron of the arts.- Pen manufacturing :For some time he was a working cutler in his home town Sheffield, but in 1821 he moved to Birmingham, where he found employment in the steel toy trade, the technical name for the manufacture of steel buckles,...
sale (1872) 160 examples realized £27,423, Turner's "Bamborough Castle" fetching 3150 gns.; at the Quilter sale (1875) David Cox
David Cox (artist)
- David Cox Junior :David Cox had a son of the same name who followed his calling as a watercolour painter. He was born in Dulwich, but educated in Hereford. He exhibited in London from 1827, although today he is known mainly through association with his father. He died in Streatham on 4 December...
's "Hayfield," for which a dealer paid him 50 gns. in 1850, brought 2810 gns. The following are the most remarkable prices of later years. In 1895 Cox's "Welsh Funeral" (which cost about £20) sold for 2400 gns., and Burne-Jones's "Hesperides
Hesperides
In Greek mythology, the Hesperides are nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world, located near the Atlas mountains in North Africa at the edge of the encircling Oceanus, the world-ocean....
" for 2460 gns. In 1908, 13 Turner drawings fetched £12,415 (Acland-Hood sale) and 7 brought £11,077 (Holland sale), the "Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
" reaching 4200 gns. For Fred Walker's "Harbour of Refuge" 2580 gns. were paid (Tatham sale) and 2700 gns. for his "Marlow Ferry
Marlow Ferry
Marlow Ferry, located in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, is the former site of a ferry which crossed Fish River. It is also the location of two important events from the American Civil War and the War of 1812.-War of 1812:...
" (Holland). The demand for pictures by modern artists, whose works sold at
almost fabulous prices in the 'seventies, has somewhat declined; but during all its furore there was still a small band of collectors to whom the works of the Old Masters more especially appealed. The dispersal of such collections as the Bredel
(1875), Watts Russell (1875), Foster of Clewer Manor (1876), the Hamilton Palace
Hamilton Palace
Hamilton Palace was a large country house located north-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The former seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, it was built in 1695 and subsequently much enlarged. The house was demolished in 1921 due to ground subsidence despite inadequate evidence for that...
(17 days, £397,562)—[one of] the greatest art sale in the annals of Great Britain—Bale
Bale
- Places :* Bale , a small town in Croatia* Bale, California, in Napa County* Bale, Norfolk in England* Bale, Poland* Balé Province, Burkina Faso* Basel, the Swiss city, for which the French name is Bâle-Ethiopia:* Bale Mountains...
(1882), Leigh Court
Leigh Court
Leigh Court is a country house which is a Grade II* listed building in Abbots Leigh, Somerset, England.The manor of Leigh at the time of the Norman Conquest belonged to the lordship of Bedminster but William the Conqueror awarded it to the Bishop of Coutances...
(1884), and Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
(1892) resulted, as did the sale of many minor collections each season, in many very fine works of the Old Masters finding eager purchasers at high prices. A striking example of the high prices given was the £24,250 realized by the pair of Vandyck portraits of a Genoese
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
senator and his wife in the Peel sale, 1900.
Late 19th century
Since the last quarter of the 19th century the chief feature in art sales has been the demand for works, particularly female portraits, by ReynoldsJoshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
, his contemporaries and successors. This may be traced to the South Kensington
South Kensington
South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
Exhibitions of 1867 and 1868 and the annual winter exhibitions at Burlington House
Burlington House
Burlington House is a building on Piccadilly in London. It was originally a private Palladian mansion, and was expanded in the mid 19th century after being purchased by the British government...
, which revealed an unsuspected wealth and charm in the works of many English artists who had almost fallen into oblivion.
A few of the most remarkable prices for such pictures may be quoted:
- ReynoldsJoshua ReynoldsSir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
's "Lady Betty Delmé" (1894), 11,000 gns.; - RomneyGeorge Romney (painter)George Romney was an English portrait painter. He was the most fashionable artist of his day, painting many leading society figures - including his artistic muse, Emma Hamilton, mistress of Lord Nelson....
's "The Ladies Spencer" (1896), 10,500 gns.; - GainsboroughThomas GainsboroughThomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter.-Suffolk:Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woolen goods. At the age of thirteen he impressed his father with his penciling skills so that he let...
's "Duchess of DevonshireDuchess of DevonshireSome women to have held the title Duchess of Devonshire, as wives of the Duke of Devonshire, include:* Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire , first wife of the fifth duke...
" (1876), 10,100 gns. (for the history of its disappearance see Thomas GainsboroughThomas GainsboroughThomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter.-Suffolk:Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woolen goods. At the age of thirteen he impressed his father with his penciling skills so that he let...
), "Maria Walpole," 12,100 gns. (Duke of Cambridge's sale, 1904); - Constable's "Stratford Mill" (1895), 8500 gns.;
- HoppnerHoppner-People:* Henry Parkyns Hoppner , officer of the Royal Navy, Arctic explorer, and draughtsman/artist* John Hoppner , English portrait-painter; father of Henry Parkyns Hoppner* Reinhard Höppner , German politician-Places:...
's "Lady Waldegrave" (1906), 6000 gns.; - Thomas LawrenceThomas Lawrence (painter)Sir Thomas Lawrence RA FRS was a leading English portrait painter and president of the Royal Academy.Lawrence was a child prodigy. He was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper. At the age of ten, having moved to Bath, he was supporting his family with his...
's "Childhood's Innocence" (1907), 8000 gns.; - Henry RaeburnHenry RaeburnSir Henry Raeburn was a Scottish portrait painter, the first significant Scottish portraitist since the Act of Union 1707 to remain based in Scotland.-Biography:...
's "Lady Raeburn" (1905), 8500 gns.
Here may also be mentioned the 12,600 gns. paid for Turner
J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner RA was an English Romantic landscape painter, watercolourist and printmaker. Turner was considered a controversial figure in his day, but is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting...
's "Mortlake Terrace" in 1908 (Holland sale).
The "appreciation" of the modern continental schools, particularly the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, has been marked since 1880; of high prices paid may be mentioned
- CorotJean-Baptiste-Camille CorotJean-Baptiste-Camille Corot was a French landscape painter and printmaker in etching. Corot was the leading painter of the Barbizon school of France in the mid-nineteenth century...
's "Danse des Amours" (1898), £7200; - Rosa BonheurRosa BonheurRosa Bonheur, born Marie-Rosalie Bonheur, was a French animalière, realist artist, and sculptor. As a painter she became famous primarily for two chief works: Ploughing in the Nivernais , which was first exhibited at the Salon of 1848, and is now in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris depicts a team...
's "Denizens of the Highlands" (1888), 5550 gns.; - Jules Breton's "First CommunionFirst CommunionThe First Communion, or First Holy Communion, is a Catholic Church ceremony. It is the colloquial name for a person's first reception of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Catholics believe this event to be very important, as the Eucharist is one of the central focuses of the Catholic Church...
," £9100 in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
(1886); - Meissonier'sJean-Louis-Ernest MeissonierJean-Louis Ernest Meissonier was a French Classicist painter and sculptor famous for his depictions of Napoleon, his armies and military themes. He documented sieges and manoeuvres and was the teacher of Édouard Detaille.-Biography:Ernest Meissonier was born at Lyon...
"Napoleon I. in the Campaign of Paris," 12¼in. by 9¼in. (1882), 5800 gns., - "The Sign Painter" (1891), 6450 gns.
High prices are also fetched by pictures of Daubigny, Fortuny
Fortuny
Fortuny is a surname of Catalan origin. It may refer to:* Enzo Fortuny, Mexican voice actor* Jason Fortuny, creator of an internet hoax* Mariano Fortuny , Spanish painter...
, Gallait, Gérôme, Troyon
Troyon
Troyon is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Meuse department*Parc naturel régional de Lorraine...
and Israëls. The most marked feature of late has been the demand for the 18th century painters Watteau, Boucher
François Boucher
François Boucher was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, intended as a sort of two-dimensional furniture...
, Fragonard
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Jean-Honoré Fragonard was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. One of the most prolific artists active in the last decades of the Ancien Régime, Fragonard produced more than 550 paintings , of which only five...
, Pater
Pater
Pater may refer to:*the Latin for "father"*a title given to a father deity** Dis Pater, a Roman and Celtic god of the underworld, later subsumed by Pluto or Jupiter** God the Father in Christianity*a title or honorific applied to a male community leader...
and Lancret; thus La Ronde Champêtre of the last named brought £11,200 at the Say Sale in 1908, and Fragonard
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Jean-Honoré Fragonard was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. One of the most prolific artists active in the last decades of the Ancien Régime, Fragonard produced more than 550 paintings , of which only five...
's Le Reveil de Vénus £5520 at the Sedelmeyer sale, 1907.
"Specialism" is the one important development in art collecting which has manifested itself since the middle of the 19th century. This accounts for and explains the high average quality of the Wellesley
Wellesley
- People :* Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , Irish soldier, statesman, and Prime Minister of the UK* Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington , British politician* Arthur Wellesley, 4th Duke of Wellington , British soldier...
(1866), the Buccleuch
Buccleuch
Buccleuch may refer to* the village of Buccleuch, Scottish Borders* Duke of Buccleuch, created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1663. The Chief of Clan Scott, and a claimant to the chieftaincy of the House of Douglas...
(1888) and the Holford
Holford
Holford is a village and civil parish in West Somerset within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and about west of Bridgwater and east of Williton. The village has a population of about 200. The village is on the Quantock Greenway and Coleridge Way footpaths...
(1893) collections of drawings by the Old Masters; for the Sibson Wedgwood (1877), the Duc de Forli Dresden (1877), the Shuldham blue and white porcelain (1880), the Benson collection of antique coins (1909), and for the objects of art at the Massey-Mainwaring and Lewis-Hill sales of 1907. Very many other illustrations in nearly every department of art collecting might be quoted—the superb series of Marlborough gems (1875 and 1899) might be included in this category but for the fact that it was formed chiefly in the 18th century. The appreciation—commercially at all events—of mezzotint portraits and of portraits printed in colours, after masters of the early English school, was one of the most remarkable features in art sales during the last years of the 19th century. The shillings of fifty years before were then represented by pounds. The Fraser
Fraser
-Australia:* Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen* The Division of Fraser, an electoral division in the northern Australian Capital Territory* Fraser Island, along the coast of Queensland-Canada:* Fraser River...
collection (December 4 to 6, 1900) realized about ten times the original outlay, the mezzotint of the "Sisters Frankland," after Hoppner
Hoppner
-People:* Henry Parkyns Hoppner , officer of the Royal Navy, Arctic explorer, and draughtsman/artist* John Hoppner , English portrait-painter; father of Henry Parkyns Hoppner* Reinhard Höppner , German politician-Places:...
, by W. Ward, selling for 290 guineas as against 10 guineas paid for it about thirty years previously.
The H. A. Blyth sale (March 11 to 13, 1901, 346 lots, £21,717: 10s.) of mezzotint portraits was even more remarkable, and as a collection it was the choicest sold within recent times, the engravings being mostly in the first state. The record prices were numerous, and, in many cases, far surpassed the prices which Sir Joshua Reynolds received for the original pictures; e.g. the exceptionally fine example of the first state of the "Duchess of Rutland," after Reynolds, by V. Green, realized 1000 guineas, whereas the artist received only £150 for the painting itself. Even this unprecedented price for a mezzotint portrait was exceeded on the 30 April 1901, when an example of the first published state of "Mrs Carnac," after Reynolds, by J. R. Smith, sold for 1160 guineas. At the Louis Huth
Louis Huth
Louis Huth was a British art collector, art dealer and patron of Aesthetic movement artists. He was born at Finsbury in Greater London.Huth was Director of The London Assurance for Fire, Life and Marine Assurance....
sale (1905) 83 lots brought nearly £10,000, Reynolds's "Lady Bampfylde" by T. Watson, first state before letters, unpublished, fetching 1200 guineas. Such prices as these and many others which might be quoted are exceptional, but they were paid for objects of exceptional rarity or quality.
It is not necessary to pursue the chronicle of recent sales, which have become a feature of every season. It is worth mentioning, however, that the Holland sale, in June 1908, realized £138,118 (432 lots), a "record" sum for a collection of pictures mainly by modern artists; and that for the Rodolphe Kann collection (Paris) of pictures and objects of art, including 11 magnificent
Rembrandts, Messrs Duveen paid £1,000,000 in 1907. In every direction there has been a tendency to increase prices for really great artistic pieces, even to a sensational extent. The competition has become acute, largely owing to American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
acquisitiveness.
Market structure
The USA overtook the EU as the world's largest art market http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/03/08/wart08.xml&sSheet=/portal/2002/03/08/por_right.html with a global share of 47 per cent by 2001. Ranking second, the UK's world market share hovers around 25 per cent. In 2004, the global fine art market turnover was estimated at almost $3 billion.(pdf)In Continental Europe, France was the market leader while in Asia, Hong Kong continues its dominance.
The works of Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
still remains the most coveted lot as of 2004.
See also
- Art dealerArt dealerAn art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art. Art dealers' professional associations serve to set high standards for accreditation or membership and to support art exhibitions and shows.-Role:...
- Art valuationArt valuationArt valuation, an art-specific subset of financial valuation, is the process of estimating the potential market value of works of art and as such is more of a financial rather than an aesthetic concern, however, subjective views of cultural value play a part as well...
- Blockage discountBlockage discountBlockage discount is an art-business-related and legal term of art for referring to the money discount assigned to a group of artworks by a single artist when that group of works is to be released to market as a group rather than individually...
- CINOACINOACINOA is the principal art and antique federation worldwide...
, an international organization of art dealers