BY BLAIR LEAKE
January’s Old Master paintings sales in New York were dominated by Sotheby’s.  During the Thursday morning sale, rare and spectacular paintings on offer included the infamous Portrait of a Woman Called “La Belle Ferronnière” (Lot 181), a dramatic ‘The Contnience of Scipio” by Il Baciccio(Lot 177), and a highly anticipated restituted work,  “Jupiter [...]

OMNP takes a look at some of the highlights of Old Master paintings up for auction this week at Christie’s and Sotheby’s in New York.
A fantastic selection of works on both sides, however Sotheby’s is offering a veritable cornucopia from all ages and periods; headed up by a Mannerist masterpiece by Hendrick Goltzius, (lot [...]

OMNP highlights select lots from today’s sale of Old Master drawings at Sotheby’s New York. Highlights include a preparatory sketch by the famous sculptor Giambologna who rarely worked from drawings,  fantastical beasts of the underworld by Il Volterrano (lot 20) the efficient use of penmark by Tiepolo  in a preparatory drawing for an altarpiece (lot [...]

BY BLAIR LEAKE
January is the month of short days, little light and grim weather. While most people spend this month hibernating, in eager anticipation of Spring. There is, nevertheless, one event in January which promises to shake weather-intrepid art connoisseurs from their Winter blues. The fourth annual Master Drawings Week (January 23rd-30th) is a showcase [...]

The consistent banter of “once in a lifetime” type opportunities that are  used to describe star lots at the major Old Master painting auctions can lead to one taking comments from Christie’s and Sotheby’s with a grain of salt. In the case of some of the spectacular successes during last week’s sales in London  however, [...]

As we enter the dog days of Summer, OMNP looks back at some of the highlights of the year, in a three-post series. In this entry, a look at the market’s movement.

Market News
Following the encouraging results of last December’s auctions in London Old Masters continued to assert themselves as a small isle of [...]

Reports from the inaugural “Master Paintings Week” collaboration between London’s Old Master dealers and auction houses have been smashing. For many of the private dealers, business was bountiful. The Antiques Trade Gazette described bustling commerce amidst the distraction of an epic men’s final at Wimbledon, and fortified interest from many of the top [...]

A preview of the inaugural Master Paintings week, being held by London’s leading Old Master galleries this July.

OMNP previews selected lots from Sotheby’s New York sale of Old Master Paintings, European Sculpture & Antiquities on , 04 June 2009

A look back at some of the atmosphere surrounding the bidding room floor during Old Masters week, this past January

OMNP previews Sotheby’s New York sale of Old Master Paintings, from January 29-30

OMNP details the recent year that was Old Masters news, sales, and exhibitions.
News Highlights
Christie’s and Sotheby’s Old Master auctions are successes in spite of the art market’s recent struggles
England attempts to save its own “Mona Lisa,” Titian’s “Diana and Acteon,” from being sold on the open market, by raising the funds to meet [...]

After the encouraging results of Christie’s sale on Tuesday night, Sotheby’s follow up on Wednesday was an uneven one (20 of the 54 lots did not sell,) yet overall, produced some spectacular surprises. The market’s connoisseurship once again demonstrated that value is not necessarily found in a big name-two of top selling lots were [...]

So where exactly are you parking your millions of dollars during the recession? Apparently, buying an Old Master painting is a good bet- Christie’s first major Old Masters sale since the September financial collapse, sold 80% of its lots last night.
The small rediscovered portrait of “Flora” by Venetian master Giambattista Tiepolo more than tripled [...]

OMNP previews select lots from Christie’s London sale of Old Master paintings on Tuesday, December 2rd.
An excellent Breughel work, comparable to Sotheby’s showcase lot on Wednesday, is being estimated by Christie’s at under $1m USD
Rediscovered Masterpiece by Tiepolo Goes on Public View at Christie’s [Art Knowledge]

Previous reading:
Upcoming Old Masters Auctions [Old Masters, New Perspectives]
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A few articles leading up to this weeks Old Master sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s. Will the market’s softening extend itself to the market, or will history repeat itself? From Margaret Studer’s article below:
“In the last major art-market slowdown, in the early 1990s, old masters were “affected, but less,” says Alex Bell, world-wide head [...]

OMNP previews select lots from Sotheby’s London sale of Old Master paintings on Wednesday, December 3rd. Below, are listings for lot pictures and information, organized in price range from lowest to highest estimates.
For further information, click on each lot image to be redirected to Sotheby’s website..
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LOT 8

THE PROPERTY OF THE TRUSTEES OF FREDERICK, 2ND BARON [...]

The Winter Old Master sales in London are steadily approaching with a fair amount of anticipation in light of the art market’s recent struggles. Following the strong results of this past July, will the Old Master market be less affected by recent economic downturn? Click MORE for a basic rundown of some the notable upcoming [...]

Unearthed Masterpieces
Old Masters treasures from sunken Russian ship to be salvaged [Russia IC] [Dutch News.nl]
Lets hope that the paintings from this sunken, 237 year-old ship were WELL packaged
Trove of Raeburn drawings discovered in England [ART INFO]
Lost Caravaggio Goes on Display in Scotland [ART INFO]
Click MORE for a remembrance of a distinguished dealer, and the latest [...]

Restoration, attribution, and temporary replacement happen are respective occurrences for different museum masterpieces:
Raphael’s Masterpiece “Madonna of the Goldfinch” Presented Fully Restored After Ten Years [Art Daily]
A before and after look at the recently restored Raphael

Veronese at Austin Museum Belongs to Long-Lost Altarpiece [ART INFO]

Lucian Freud portrait hangs beside Old Masters after collector fills gallery gap [...]