The first semester for the art market is about to come to an end and before its conclusion Christie’s auction house is going to try itself out with an auction completely dedicated to author prints. Indeed, on 31st July Christie’s New York is going to propose a very interesting sale that will attract many neo-collectors, thanks to the very low estimates that vary from 300 to 18 thousand dollars. “Prints & Multiples” will auction 357 lots, including 29 works by Pablo Picasso, 23 by Joan Mirò and 5 by Marc Chagall. If we look through the catalogue we will see many interesting works that could give an excellent result to this sale dedicated to prints and multiples, a sector considered as one the minor sectors of the art market.

Last 1st June the world of fashion came to a halt to commemorate the death of Yves Saint Laurent, the French fashion designer considered one of the greatest fashion creators of the twentieth century who started his career at the Christian Dior maison to then found the homonymous label (Yves Saint Laurent) with his life and business partner Pierre Bergè.
His mark in the world of fashion and luxury remains recognizable and his name will always be symbol of style, becoming symbol of sophisticated but also innovative elegance.

One of the most famous works of art from twentieth-century history has greatly moved art lovers. Pablo Picasso’s painting the “Guernica” is sick and its conditions are serious although stable: this was the diagnosis given by experts at the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid, who in these days have been carrying out a last check-up on Picasso’s work. An analysis that will allow to understand more thoroughly its damage, its genes, the hidden curiosities about its life.

Title: Pipe, Glass, Bottle of Rum: The Art of Appropriation
Location: NEW YORK - MoMA
Description: When Pablo Picasso collaged pieces of newspaper into his 1914 work Pipe, Glass, Bottle of Rum, he brought the outside world into the frame, initiating a dialogue with popular culture that has extended for generations.
Start Date: 2008-07-30
End Date: 2008-11-10

	FRANCIS BACON THREE STUDIES FOR SELF-PORTRAIT Estimate: n.a. Price Realized: 17,289,250 GBP Christie’s - London 30 June 2008
	GINO SEVERINI DANSEUSE Estimate: 7,000,000 - 10,000,000 GBP Price Realized: 15,049,250 GBP Sotheby’s - London 25 June 2008

A painting by the Italian Futurist artist Gino Severini sold for $29.6 million including fees, a record for the artist, at a Sotheby’s auction of Impressionist and Modern art in London on Wednesday. The sale brought in a total of more than $200 million.
The brightly colored 3-foot, 3-inch-high canvas, “Danseuse” (1915) had not been seen on the auction market for more than 80 years. It had been expected to fetch up to $20 million, Sotheby’s said. The seller of the painting had been guaranteed a minimum price, the New York-based auction house said. The previous record for Severini was $3.6 million, the saleroom result tracker Artnet said.
There were four telephone bidders for the work, which sold to a senior specialist in Impressionist and Modern art at Sotheby’s Europe, Philip Hook, taking instructions from a client. Mr. Hook was underbid by Mark Poltimore, who presides over Sotheby’s Russian auctions.
The 1939 Pablo Picasso oil-on-canvas portrait, “Tête de Femme (Dora Maar),” measuring 16 inches high, sold for $15.6 million.
It was one of five works being sold from the estate of the Norwegian dealer and collector Haaken Christensen to benefit the charity Médecins Sans Frontières. Never offered at auction before, the portrait of Picasso’s mistress had been expected to fetch up to $10 million, Sotheby’s said.
A sculpture by Alberto Giacometti sold for $18 million with fees, by telephone, to a New York-based Sotheby’s Contemporary art specialist, August Uribe, who was also taking instructions from a client.
The 2-foot, 4-inch-high bronze, “Trois Hommes Qui Marchent I,” had been estimated to sell for between $8 million and $12 million.
The 1948 sculpture was cast during the artist’s lifetime in an edition of six, Sotheby’s said. (Bloomberg News)

translated by Giorgina Arcuri

If quotations for contemporary art still do not seem to present symptoms of a crisis, those relative to the modern sector actually seem to be going through a moment of settlement.
The first signs of a change of course were observed in November 2007, when “The Fields (Wheat Fields)” by Vincent Van Gogh, auctioned by Sotheby’s New York, was withdrawn because it did not even reach its lowest estimate, which was 28 million dollars. In the same evening also “Te poipoi (Le matin)” realized by Paul Gaughin in 1892, was a disappointment.

translated by Giorgina Arcuri

An interesting week is opening up for French auctions of modern and contemporary art. Paris and surroundings are going to offer various occasions to buy important pieces of high quality or even become owners of minor works, realized by very famous artists, for moderate amounts.
The events will be inaugurated on Monday 23rd by Cornette de Saint Cyr (Paris) with the Art Moderne -