Stories

Contemporary Art

Making the Hot List for Spring 2022

There are some obvious and not so obvious names on our list of artists with some of the most dynamic sales in the second quarter of 2022. For example, Anna Weyant’s name is no surprise to anyone who followed the May auction season in New York. Nor is Ernie Barnes, for that matter.
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NFT

What Will the Luxury Metaverse Look Like?

Christie’s fifth Art & Tech Summit held this week at the auction house’s New York headquarters featured crypto-luminaries like ConsenSys CEO Joe Lubin and Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz, a sponsor of the conference.
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Outsider Art

The Magical Modernism of Gee’s Bend

There is one story in the history of Outsider art that is now so familiar and well covered that we often overlook its significance. Although it took as much as a century to unfold, the discovery and elevation of the quilters of Gee’s Bend, Alabama to the level of Modern art now recognized and enshrined in museums is one of the undeniable success stories in the recognition of Outsider art.
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Auctions

Phillips Announces $746m in Sales, up 37%

Phillips released its mid-year sales figures today along with the announcement that it would be opening a Los Angeles location in West Hollywood. For the first half of 2022, Phillips had total sales of $746 million. According to the firm, that’s a 37% increase over the previous record year.  Auction sales rose to $590
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Outsider Art

Outsider Art Moves Inside

The Contemporary art world has been on a long-term collision course with the world of Outsider artists for decades. A fascination with artists who lack formal training may be a product of the art world’s interest in representation and authenticity.
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Auctions

Bonhams Announces Ernie Barnes for Early September

If you thought the Ernie Barnes wave had run its course, last week gave you a big surprise. During Christie's London sale, Main Street Pool Hall from 1978 made $1.8 million against an estimate under $100,000. That was the third highest price paid for a Barnes painting after the $15 million record Sugar Shack from 1976 and the $2.34 million paid for Storm Dance from 1977. Both of those sales took place in early May.
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Contemporary Art

After Action Report: Phillips London Evening Sale

Young artists with persistent markets helped the house close the season with a £17.5 million sale. Phillips London Evening Sale totaled £17.5 million ($21.28 million) with 31 of the 33 lots offered finding buyers. That’s a 94% sell-through rate, helped along by the withdrawal of two lots—a Baselitz and a Grotjahn—before the sale.
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