The Bidding Battle for Alexander Calder's Beetle that Sold for $4.2 Million at Sotheby's New York
Sotheby’s New York hosted a high‑profile auction of Alexander Calder’s 1948 sculpture “Beetle,” a standing work of sheet‑metal, wire, and paint that has been cataloged by the Calder Foundation. The hammer opened at $2.2 million and climbed in $200,000 increments, with the bid floor breaching $3 million within minutes. London‑based dealer Simon Shaw and collector Greg War led the competition, pushing the price to $3.4 million before the gavel fell. The auctioneer highlighted the piece’s provenance, noting its display on a “Jackabeti” table beside works by Finidio, Fabro, and Pistiletto, and referenced the Calder Foundation’s archival support in confirming its authenticity. The sale underscores the enduring demand for Calder’s kinetic sculptures, setting a benchmark for mid‑century modern art and signaling that top‑tier collectors will still pay premium prices for historically significant pieces.
This Is One of the Rarest Chairs in the World | Sotheby’s
The video examines one of the world’s rarest pieces of furniture—a 17th‑century Chinese horseshoe‑back folding chair that Sotheby’s is featuring in an upcoming auction. It traces the chair’s journey from a practical travel seat to a mobile throne used by...
Why M.F. Husain’s Second Act Changed Indian Modern Art | Sotheby’s
The video examines M.F. Husain’s 1958 masterpiece “Second Act,” arguing it marked a turning point in South Asian modernism by moving beyond narrative illustration to reshape the story of modern art itself. The canvas, monumental in size yet restrained in composition,...
Lucio Fontana's Slashed Canvas Hits £2.8 Million at Sotheby's Bidding Battle Record in London
Sotheby’s London auction on Thursday featured Lucio Fontana’s 1961 “Slashed Canvas,” a 14‑cut electric‑blue work that had not appeared at public sale since 1984. The piece opened at £1.6 million and, after a fierce contest between bidders Lorenzo and Claudia, closed at...
Napoleon's 200-Year-Old Diamond Brooch From Waterloo Auctions for 30X Estimate at Sotheby's
Sotheby’s held a landmark auction of a diamond pendant brooch that belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte until his defeat at Waterloo, marking the first time the 200‑year‑old piece has been offered to the public. The lot opened at 100,000 French francs, but...
Modigliani WWI Portrait Smashes Estimates, Sells for €10.6 Million | Sotheby's Paris Bidding Battle
Sotheby's Paris auctioned a 1915 Amedeo Modigliani portrait of Raymond Radiguet, a rare WWI‑era work, which closed at €10.6 million, far above the €4‑million opening estimate. The hammer began at €4 million and quickly surged past €6 million as bidders Thomas Bompard and Alex...
Roy Lichtenstein’s Tribute to Monet Sparks Bidding Battle in Sotheby's Paris Auction
The video covers Sotheby's Paris auction of Roy Lichtenstein's "Water Lily Pond with Reflection," a homage to Monet's Water Lilies series, kicking off at €200,000. Bidding escalated rapidly, jumping from €200k to €880k, with multiple increments and fierce competition between in‑room...
AUCTION PREMIERE | London Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction | Sotheby's
Sotheby’s kicked off its 2026 London modern and contemporary evening auction on March ... in partnership with Sabby’s International Realty, marking the start of a busy auction calendar and setting the tone for the year’s global art market. The catalogue featured a...
Watch the Action as Francis Bacon’s Self-Portrait Doubles Its Low Estimate #sothebys #art #auction
Sotheby’s London auction house showcased the star lot of the evening – Francis Bacon’s 1972 self‑portrait – which ultimately fetched £13.5 million, far surpassing its modest low estimate. The auctioneer opened the bidding at £7 million, guiding the hammer through a rapid...
Bidding Battle for a Rare Kossoff Painting Sets New World Record | Sotheby's
At a Sotheby’s London evening sale, Leon Kossoff’s 1969 work “Children’s Swimming Pool” fetched a hammer price of £4.2 million, establishing a new world‑record for the artist. The painting, the centerpiece of the Lewis collection that also includes Francis Bacon and...
Watch the Action as Francis Bacon’s Self-Portrait Doubles Its Low Estimate | Sotheby's
Sotheby’s London auction featured Francis Bacon’s 1972 self‑portrait, the centerpiece of the Lewis collection, as the star lot. The painting, created during a year marked by intense personal grief, was offered to the market with a low estimate of £7 million. Bidding...
Inside the Most Valuable Single-Owner Design Sale in Sotheby’s History | De Gunzburg Collection
Sotheby’s opened the doors to the de Gunzburg Collection, the most valuable single‑owner design sale in its history, offering a rare glimpse into a curated trove of mid‑century masterpieces assembled by the late collector Peter de Gunzburg. The auction comprised 300 lots and...
The Muse in Freud's Portrait Speaks: Sophie De Stempel on Modelling for a Master #sothebys #art
The video features Sophie de Stempel, a painter who modeled for Lucian Freud in the 1980s, recounting how she unexpectedly became his subject without a formal invitation. She describes Freud’s exacting approach—rejecting an elegant armchair, insisting she slump off the...
Monet Vs. The Mediterranean: A Battle with Light #sothebys #modernart #arthistory
The video examines Claude Monet’s 1880s sojourn on Italy’s Ligurian Riviera, focusing on his attempts to capture the fierce Mediterranean light of Bordighera and the resulting body of work, epitomized by the painting Maison Djardin. Monet’s letters reveal that the brilliance...
Francis Bacon's Journey to the Darkest Depths of the Self-Portrait at Sotheby's London
The Sotheby’s London video examines Francis Bacon’s relentless pursuit of the self‑portrait, positioning his work as a visceral confrontation with identity and mortality. The narrator highlights that the 1970s were dominated by Bacon’s self‑portraits, especially after the 1972 death of his...
Chaos, Light & Movement: Leon Kossoff’s Swimming Pool Masterpiece | Sotheby’s
Leon Kossoff’s “Children’s Swimming Pool” (1969) is the opening work of his celebrated series depicting the public pool at Wilson’s in London, a piece Sotheby’s highlights as a turning point in the artist’s career. The canvas bursts with more than forty...
Monet Vs. The Mediterranean: A Battle with Light | Sotheby’s
The video explores Claude Monet’s 1890‑91 sojourn on Italy’s Ligurian coast, where the intense Mediterranean light of Bordighera both mesmerized and terrified the Impressionist master. Sotheby’s frames his experience as a clash between the artist’s relentless quest for new visual...
Sotheby’s Presents Artists Supporting Artists | How the Royal Academy of Arts Are Giving Back
Sotheby’s recent “Artists Supporting Artists” auction highlighted a collaborative fundraising effort for the Royal Academy of Arts, inviting its Royal Academicians to donate works that will be sold to sustain the Academy’s free‑education schools. The initiative builds on the Academy’s 1768...
What Connects Warhol, Magritte & Judd? Inside “Contours of Modernity” | Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s “Contours of Modernity” exhibition draws from a private European collection to map the evolving dialogue among 20th‑century masters such as Andy Warhol, René Magritte, and Donald Judd. Rather than following a strict chronological or stylistic taxonomy, the show relies...
The Muse in Freud's Portrait Speaks: Sophie De Stempel on Modelling for a Master | Sotheby's
The video features Sophie de Stempel, a painter who modeled for Lucian Freud during the 1980s, recounting how the sessions began and the charged atmosphere of Freud’s studio. She describes Freud’s singular focus, his use of specific pigments such as Naples...
How Italian Artist Lucio Fontana Tore Through the Fabric of Space and Time | Sotheby's
The video spotlights Sotheby’s “Beyond the Canvas” exhibition, which reunites a hidden trove of Lucio Fontana’s works that have lain unseen for almost sixty years. It frames Fontana as a pioneer who literally pierced the canvas, turning flat surfaces into...
Jean-Marie Rossi — Rebel Art Dealer, Collector & Patron #sothebys #collection #artcollectors
The video profiles Jean‑Marie Rossi, a Dutch‑born dealer who defied conventional market boundaries by operating simultaneously as an antique merchant, contemporary art collector, and patron. Raised by his father, an antique dealer who warned against selling to collectors, Rossi began buying...
Step Inside the World of Jean-Marie Rossi — Rebel Art Dealer, Collector & Patron | Sotheby’s
The video profiles Jean‑Marie Rossi, a French antique dealer turned avant‑garde patron, tracing his upbringing in a family of dealers and his evolution into a “rebel” who refused to separate old masters from contemporary creations. Rossi began buying contemporary pieces in...
Francis Bacon's Journey to the Darkest Depths of the Self-Portrait at Sotheby's London
The video examines Francis Bacon’s recent self‑portrait offered at Sotheby’s London, positioning the work as a culmination of the artist’s lifelong obsession with the darkest corners of self‑representation. It highlights how Bacon used the canvas as a private journal, turning...
Sotheby’s Presents Artists Supporting Artists | How the Royal Academy of Arts Are Giving Back
Sotheby’s has partnered with the Royal Academy of Arts to stage the “Artists Supporting Artists” auction, a fundraising initiative that invites Academy members to donate works whose proceeds will back the Academy’s free‑education schools and independent exhibition programme. Founded in 1768...
Four Paintings, Two by Lucian Freud and One Each by Francis Bacon and Leon Kossoff
The Lewis Collection unveiled four seminal works by three of Britain’s most celebrated figurative painters at Sunbees at the Buer in New York. The showcase featured a 1972 self‑portrait by Francis Bacon, two paintings by Lucian Freud spanning his early and later...
How Italian Artist Lucio Fontana Tore Through the Fabric of Space and Time | Sotheby's
The Sotheby’s video spotlights Italian avant‑garde artist Lucio Fontana, focusing on a newly unveiled collection that spans his most radical experiments—from the iconic 1959 canvas slashes to three‑dimensional sculptures—positioned as a visual chronicle of the space‑age era. The narration ties Fontana’s...
Inside the Most Valuable Single-Owner Design Sale in Sotheby’s History | De Gunzburg Collection
Sotheby’s hosted the most valuable single‑owner design auction in its history, featuring the de Gunzburg Collection, a privately assembled trove of mid‑century modern furniture, lighting, and decorative objects. The sale generated more than $200 million, with the Eames Lounge Chair & Ottoman fetching...
How Did the Apollo Space Missions Inspire This Landmark Alma Thomas Painting? #artworld
The video examines Alma Thomas’s monumental 1970 painting “Snoopy sees Sunrise on Earth,” a 50‑inch canvas that translates the awe of the Apollo era into abstract color. Thomas’s signature kaleidoscopic brushwork renders an abstracted Earthrise, with a central circular form evoking...
What Connects Warhol, Magritte & Judd? Inside “Contours of Modernity” | Sotheby’s
The Sotheby’s exhibition “Contours of Modernity” assembles a private European collection that reframes 20th‑ and 21st‑century art beyond chronological or stylistic categories. Curator Renee McGreet emphasizes a rigorous, concept‑driven selection that connects European, American, and global practices, positioning figures such as...