Current location: News | ART & PHOTOGRAPHY | 2009 News Archive

2009 Art & Photography News Archive

All of our Art & Photography news stories from 2009 can be found here

Documents in this Section

'Factory' art to net €4m in Amsterdam

The incredible story of how an employer inspired his factory workers using amazing works of art...

Posted: 31 December 2009
Early Warhols and a $25k Cornell auction in New York

Thinking of starting an art collection in the New Year? This could be your ideal place to begin...

Posted: 30 December 2009
Ski posters to hit the peaks at Christie's

Classic pieces of early-to-mid 20th century design will auction in London, next month

Posted: 29 December 2009
$93k for the goddess of fortune and luck

A 1989 sculpture by the German artist Jörg Immendorff is among 2009's final art sales

Posted: 23 December 2009
Francoise Gilot (1921- ) self portrait (PF71)

Respected artist and Picasso Muse - a rarely seen self-portrait

Posted: 23 December 2009
Horse riders to gallop ahead at Asian art sale

The Tang dynasty pieces will join Han pottery figures at auction in California

Posted: 23 December 2009
Gold Mary I medal achieves record price

The £276k piece was the top lot at a sale of historical medals

Posted: 22 December 2009
Paul Fraser Collectibles: one of the 100 best things about Bristol

With Banksy and Wallace and Gromit, we've been named among the Top 100 things to love about our home city

Posted: 22 December 2009
Ming dynasty vase sells for €1.7m at Sotheby's

The porcelain flask sold for over five times its estimate in a €7.8m Asian art sale

Posted: 21 December 2009
Winnie the Pooh's map and dream fetch £100k

Two illustrations for the classic books have excited bidders at Sotheby's

Posted: 20 December 2009
€3.3m for a 'fake' Michelangelo?

The authenticity of a carving of Jesus Christ bought by the Italian government is to be probed

Posted: 18 December 2009
Solomon's Eve tempts bidder to part with £713k

The towering painting led Christie's auction, followed by Frith and La Thangue

Posted: 18 December 2009
Painting of a painter, behind a painting

Found after years concealed beneath another artwork, a portrait of Alfred Munnings doubles its estimate

Posted: 17 December 2009
'Prince of landscape painting' leads Sotheby's sale

A Koekkoek work brought €300k at the auctioneer's old and modern art sale in Amsterdam

Posted: 16 December 2009
Solomon's £1m Eve heads Victorian and Impressionist sale

Harold Knight portrait hidden in a Laura Knight work also goes under the hammer

Posted: 15 December 2009
$20k Warhol 'Mick Jagger' leads online sale

The Rolling Stone, a Roman carved bust and antique furniture will sell in a pre-Christmas auction

Posted: 14 December 2009
Caligula's brother dominates sale at $700k

A 1st century bust depicting him as a child sold with Emperor Hadrian at Christie's $8.3m sale

Posted: 14 December 2009
WW2 soldier returns stolen 'Hitler art' to Germany

Paintings taken as a souvenir from Hitler's home in 1945 could be displayed at the Linz museum

Posted: 14 December 2009
An £8.3m world record for Van Dyck

A self portrait by the Flemish Baroque painter has smashed its estimate at Sotheby's

Posted: 11 December 2009
$1.5m Tiffany lamp lights-up Decorative Art sale

A trio of Christie's New York auctions this week featured François-Xavier Lalanne and others

Posted: 10 December 2009
Rare pair of Roedig oils brings £1m

Old Masters doubled and quadrupled their estimates at Bonhams' successful London sale

Posted: 10 December 2009
$60k Ansell Adams snap stars at Christie's

The American photographer sold alongside a nude Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski portrait in NY

Posted: 9 December 2009
£29m Raphael eclipses Rembrandt at Christie's

But the latter's Portrait of a Man still sold for over £20m, a record price for the Old Master

Posted: 9 December 2009
James Bly's Topical Tips

Antique expert James Bly makes sure your antiques will survive the Festive Period

Posted: 9 December 2009
Lucian Freud's works star in Bloomsbury auction

The modern master's Painter's Garden sells for £30k

Posted: 9 December 2009
'Magnificent' £25m Rembrandt to sell in London

One of the Old Master's greatest paintings will feature in a landmark sale at Christie's

Posted: 8 December 2009
Pair of Roedig oils to sell for £900k

It is exceptional for two examples of Roedig's work to appear together on the market

Posted: 6 December 2009
$150k bronze elk at Decorative Art sale

The largest single-owner collection ever to auction features François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne

Posted: 4 December 2009
£6m Rubens to sell in London

The rediscovered work will appear alongside a £3m Van Dyck self-portrait

Posted: 4 December 2009
Andrew Wyeth dominates $32.2m art sale

$6.9m is the second highest price ever paid for one of the 20th century's best-known artists

Posted: 3 December 2009
Renaissance medal to sell for over £65k

Hollywood actor's rarely seen collection of 2000 medals to go under the hammer

Posted: 2 December 2009
$15.7m Hirst sale defies the critics

His painting skills have been vilified by the press, but art collectors are still on Damien Hirst's side

Posted: 1 December 2009
How to start an art collection

Art is subjective, fascinating and driven by passion. Here are some Top Tips on how you can get involved

Posted: 1 December 2009
$1.5m Roerich leads Russian art sale

19th century artworks and ornaments will hit the auction block in London, today

Posted: 30 November 2009
Bonhams £1.9m sale

As 'Russian Art Week' hots up Bonhams reveal an exceptional sale result

Posted: 30 November 2009
Zinaida Serebriakova masterpiece at auction

The £1m Nude to feature in 'Russian Week' in London

Posted: 30 November 2009
$12k nude photo of Polanski and Tate to auction

An exceptional array of photographs will appear at a sale in New York

Posted: 26 November 2009
$500k goddess Venus for sale

The Roman marble sculpture leads a New York auction of antiquities and ancient jewellery

Posted: 26 November 2009
£880k de Chirico painting to hit the auction block

Bonhams' Impressionist and Modern art sale aims to make an impact on the recovering market

Posted: 26 November 2009
The Collections of Malcolm Forbes

The cheerful multi-millionaire businessman, philanthropist and enthusiastic collector...

Posted: 26 November 2009
$300k lamp leads Dutch Modernism sale in New York

More than 800 lots of fine 20th Century art and design will go under the hammer in December

Posted: 25 November 2009
£50k Lucien Freud and Paula Rego prints to sell in London

Works by Picasso, Matisse, Miró and Warhol will also feature

Posted: 25 November 2009
$5m Wyeth painting leads NY auction

Over $30m of sales are expected at the American Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture event

Posted: 24 November 2009
£250k life-size Tarquin statue for sale

Massive Greek, Spanish and Middle Eastern sculptures will be auctioning at Bonhams

Posted: 23 November 2009
Second Yves Saint Laurent sale nets €8.9m

At €109k the 'most valuable umbrella stand in the world' was an unlikely highlight at the Paris auction

Posted: 23 November 2009
Rule Britannia Art

20th Century British Art sale

Posted: 22 November 2009
Bronze Churchill head busts estimate to sell for £12k

Bidders battle for the great man's memorabilia

Posted: 20 November 2009
Dreweatts to sell a slice of England

A unique Country House sale commences 26 November

Posted: 20 November 2009
Latin American Art auction totals $14.7m

Fernando Botero achieves world record for work on paper

Posted: 18 November 2009
Video of the week

Andy Warhol (Part 1)

Posted: 18 November 2009
How to invest like a young Warren Buffett

The power of Luxury Collectibles as in investment

Posted: 16 November 2009
16 World records smashed at art auction

Interest in Greek Art sends prices rocketing.

Posted: 15 November 2009
Whisky Galore Author's art collection for sale

Artwork of Sir Compton Mackenzie, co founder of the Scottish National Party, is heading to auction.

Posted: 14 November 2009
Andy Warhol piece sells for $43.8m

200 One Dollar Bills quadruples estimate at auction

Posted: 13 November 2009
Early Beatrix Potter sketches sold for £30k

A set of early illustrations sold for more than expected

Posted: 13 November 2009
Attenborough's paintings double estimates

All 51 lots sell for a total £4.6m, led by an L S Lowry piece.

Posted: 12 November 2009
$10m for Peter Doig painting in New York

World records for Basquiat and Marden works at post-war art sale

Posted: 11 November 2009
Bernie Madoff auction set to raise over $500k

Swiss watches, handbags and jewellery are all going under the hammer

Posted: 11 November 2009
One of the world's largest collections of Chinese Art

Tucked away in Missouri, USA, this is the last place you'd find Chinese art... right?

Posted: 11 November 2009
The story of...

Yue Minjun: Chinese art selling at record prices

Posted: 11 November 2009
$1.2m Botero sculpture to sell at Christie's

A Latin American art sale will also feature paintings by Matta, Rufino Tamayo and Wilfredo Lam

Posted: 10 November 2009
How to collect Chinese Art

Here are 10 Top Tips to help get you started and know your Yue Minjun from your Lu Hao

Posted: 10 November 2009
18th century Chinese parrots soar to £200k

Estimated as low as £800, the two pottery birds sparked a bidding war

Posted: 9 November 2009
Russian art sale brings $13.8m

Most lot estimates were smashed, including a newly-discovered $1.3m Peter the Great miniature

Posted: 9 November 2009
George Grosz watercolour sells for $1.3m

And a De Chirico doubled its estimate, selling for £638k at Christie's successful art sale

Posted: 8 November 2009
$350k Toulouse-Lautrec at the year's best poster sale

The legendary Moulin Rouge artist will sell with Chéret, 'father of the modern poster', in New York

Posted: 6 November 2009
£300k Greek art to sell in London

Constantinos Maleas, Georgios Jakobides and other 19th century artists will go under the hammer

Posted: 5 November 2009
Rare and exotic travel posters for sale

Vintage and modern posters sale have maintained their value during the recession, says Bloomsbury

Posted: 4 November 2009
Two major art sales at Sotheby's

Historic English, continental and Chinese art and unique collectibles are selling in London

Posted: 4 November 2009
Lance Armstrong bikes raise $1.3m

Decorated by Damien Hirst and other artists, funds will go towards Armstrong's cancer charity

Posted: 3 November 2009
Lehman Brothers art sale nets $1.34m

Works by Lichtenstein and Lozowick went a small way to clearing the fallen giant's $250bn debt

Posted: 3 November 2009
Renoir, Matisse and more at $20m art sale

Impressionist and Modern works will feature in the Christie's New York sale

Posted: 3 November 2009
£30k board game among Japanese cloisonné gems for sale

It'll appear alongside a £30k cloisonné ox-drawn carriage, the only one of its kind to be sold at auction

Posted: 2 November 2009
£150k Auerbach painting for sale

The renowned artist's 1976 depiction of a seated woman will go under the hammer in London

Posted: 1 November 2009
Art seller enjoys £20k early Christmas

Yuletide has come early at Bonhams, with a baby Jesus painting selling for 10-times its estimate

Posted: 30 October 2009
The £70k Japanese Kakiemon Ladies

Museum-quality porcelain figures from Japan's feudal past to star at London art auction

Posted: 30 October 2009
'Most influential' composer and dancer's art to sell for $5m

Post-war masters from the collection of John Cage and Merce Cunningham will sell at Christie's

Posted: 29 October 2009
Old masters' and 19th century works to be auctioned

Collection for sale includes a £250k Trinxet

Posted: 27 October 2009
Warhol's $150k 'black Monroe' leads Christie's sale

Jasper Johns, Henri Matisse, M.C. Escher, and Marc Chagall also feature in this week's auction

Posted: 26 October 2009
Discovered: the most important vase of its kind in the world

'Academically and artistically it's priceless. Scholars will be evaluating it for decades,' says expert

Posted: 25 October 2009
Peter Pan mini statue to auction at £50k

An early-19th century scaled model of the most popular statue in London will be sold at Bonhams

Posted: 22 October 2009
Winston Churchill £5k bust and £1.5k chair go to auction

Your chance to own a sculpture of Britain's greatest Prime Minister and his beachwood open armchair

Posted: 21 October 2009
Christie's art sale nets $18.3m

Kippenberger and Doig works sell for £2m and £1m, and Hirst enjoys a steady return to form

Posted: 19 October 2009
South African Art breaks records at £2.5m auction

Six world records were smashed at Bonhams last weekend

Posted: 17 October 2009
Hirst paintings given the thumbs-down

Critics have called them 'shockingly bad', but will this stop collectors from spending money?

Posted: 15 October 2009
$7-10m Picasso leads Impressionist art sale

Christie's once-in-a-lifetime auction could bring $68m with works by Monet, Degas and Matisse

Posted: 14 October 2009
Leading 20th century design to auction in Texas

This week is your last chance to consign works to Heritage's Important 20th Century Design sale

Posted: 14 October 2009
Mystery German painting 'could be a £100m da Vinci'

Price estimates for an anonymous artwork soar after a da Vinci fingerprint is discovered

Posted: 13 October 2009
Lehman Brothers to auction art for under $2k

Warhol, Hockney and Lichtenstein feature in the first of three art sales by the bankrupt financiers

Posted: 12 October 2009
Police are 'corrupt' say owners of uninsured $60m stolen art

Pebble Beach pair hit back at Sheriff after being made suspects in their own art robbery

Posted: 9 October 2009
Afghanistan rebuilds its cultural history

Once destroyed by bombs and lootings, the country is now restoring its National Museum

Posted: 7 October 2009
Stolen $60m art collection 'wasn't insured'

Bizarre facts surround the 'second biggest art theft of all time,' including Van Gogh, Rembrandt and Pollock

Posted: 6 October 2009
Hirst could sell for £1m 'art boom' prices

'We're now rebuilding confidence, the value of most artists have been reassessed,' says Sotheby's

Posted: 5 October 2009
Van Dyck painting could bring over $3m

'By far and away the most important portrait by Van Dyck in 35 years,' will sell at Sotheby's

Posted: 4 October 2009
Venice landscape sells for 100-times its estimate

'Grand Canal' artwork from the famous school of Canaletto brings an incredible $550k

Posted: 4 October 2009
Autographed space art for sale

Collectible eight-foot works signed by astronauts show artists' incredible renderings of space exploration

Posted: 1 October 2009
Canadian Wild West photograph to sell for $70k

'Very few of them had the magic this one has,' says Sotheby's of an image which holds the key to Canada's cultural past

Posted: 1 October 2009
$100k Joan Mitchell artwork at Sotheby's

Kolbe, Lichtenstein and Warhol will also feature at the Abstract Expressionist and Pop Art auction in Dallas

Posted: 30 September 2009
Hirst piece to auction alongside artist's 'parody'

A Polish artist's low budget retort to Hirst's famously expensive diamond skull, is steadily gaining value

Posted: 30 September 2009
€3m Magritte painting stolen

Surrealist's painting taken whilst museum staff held at gunpoint

Posted: 29 September 2009
Chinese art sales are a 'bull market'

Items are selling for over 100 times their estimate thanks to passionate Asian buyers...

Posted: 29 September 2009
Earl of Devon auctions £1.5m of family heirlooms to pay debt

Silver, antiques and furniture sale 'will be unmissable for devotees of the English country house,' says Sotheby's

Posted: 29 September 2009
Iranian art to auction at Bonhams

Sale will include 64 works from the biggest names in Arab, Iranian, Indian and Pakistani art

Posted: 28 September 2009
Previously unseen Warhol art on show

The 'most important art show of the season' includes exclusive and personal works from the artist's later years

Posted: 25 September 2009
Maori artefacts to sell for $150k

'Few collections of this quality come on to the market,' says New Zealand museum expert

Posted: 21 September 2009
£25m Rembrandt masterpiece

All eyes will be on this painting - its sale will help determine the current state of the art market

Posted: 18 September 2009
Yves Saint Laurent's villa to auction at Christie's

This home is a collaboration between two of the great French aesthetes of the 20th century

Posted: 18 September 2009
Art auctioned for South African causes

British and South African artists are offering their work up for a charity auction

Posted: 17 September 2009
Artist's sketchbook fetches £380K

Collection capturing European cities sells in London, smashing pre-auction estimate

Posted: 17 September 2009
Bankrupt airline has $1.5m art sale

Collection of 1950s-'60s Italian modern art includes works on paper by Alberto Burri and Lucio Fontana

Posted: 17 September 2009
Museums to sell art collections

Andy Warhols and other high profile artworks are mooted to feature in forthcoming sales

Posted: 16 September 2009
Reclusive ex-schoolteacher's house of wonders

Derbyshire family home was filled with historic pieces

Posted: 16 September 2009
Robbie Coltrane to sell for £70k at Sotheby's

A portrait depicting the BAFTA awarding winning actor is due to go under the hammer later this month

Posted: 16 September 2009
Scottish Art sale expected to bring £4m

London auction to feature some of the most prominent Scottish artists

Posted: 16 September 2009
South African and British artists join forces in London

Artists including Anthony Gormley, Gavin Turk, Derborah Bell and Peter Hugo Charity hope to raise high bids at Sotheby's charity sale

Posted: 16 September 2009
A global interest in a provincial auction...

Unusual art and militaria antiquities attract worldwide bids

Posted: 15 September 2009
'Pioneering' US collector's legacy could bring $1.5m

This late designer's ideas shaped 'nearly every major event hosted by the upper echelon of society' - and now his private collection is for sale

Posted: 15 September 2009
$10.3m 'missing' art hunt continues

And fingers are pointed at 'one of Britain's most successful art dealers'

Posted: 14 September 2009
Chinese art at Sotheby's Hong Kong

Sale will feature exclusive and rare works by by some of the most celebrated and important 20th century Chinese artists.

Posted: 14 September 2009
Warhol sports art stolen in LA

Muhammad Ali and OJ Simpson portrait theft is 'a profoundly personal loss to me and my family' says collector

Posted: 14 September 2009
Christie’s makes £133m in private sales within six months

Recession-weary collectors are opting for private sales instead of public auctions, and business is booming...

Posted: 10 September 2009
Saatchi takes his art to China

The renowned collector is embracing the Asian markets as a prosperous future for his art deals

Posted: 10 September 2009
Old Master painting to sell for £10m

'Masterpiece' is the most valuable painting offered by Christie's since Raphael's Portrait of Lorenzo de Medici

Posted: 9 September 2009
'Our art sales rose by 46% in the second quarter of 2009'

With a £3.9m Henry Moore bronze up for grabs, Sotheby's experts explain the benefits of private selling

Posted: 9 September 2009
The penniless artist... with assets of £6.5m

He only had £12 at the time of his death but his estate has now been valued at £6.5m

Posted: 9 September 2009
Banksy vs Bristol Museum

The exhibition by the provocative, anonymous artist has been a record breaking success with over 350,000 visitors

Posted: 8 September 2009
Gandhi memorabilia sold at auction

A pair of items presented to his friend Emma Harker have gone under the hammer in London

Posted: 8 September 2009
Grand collection of Russian art for sale

A famed connoisseur's collection of porcelain, art and embroidery has come up for auction

Posted: 8 September 2009
18th and 19th century Indian art to appear at Christie's

A meditteranean navigation chart, oriental rugs and carpets and treasured artworks and textiles will feature in the sale

Posted: 7 September 2009
He was once a struggling artist...

And now three of Adolf Hitler's paintings sell for $60K in Germany

Posted: 7 September 2009
Polaroid collection could be worth $11m

Ansel Adams and Andy Warhol will feature in '60 year history of Polaroid instant film' auction

Posted: 6 September 2009
There's no accounting for taste

A Minneapolis gallery has a new slogan after a young aesthete tries to eat a painting

Posted: 6 September 2009
Teenage artist steals Hirst pencils worth £500,000

Latest development in ongoing feud between Hirst and ‘Cartrain’ could be ‘among the highest value modern art thefts in Britain.’

Posted: 5 September 2009
€100k painting taken by the Nazis shows up on TV

A painting taken from a Jewish family for a gallery in Hitler's hometown appears on a television show

Posted: 4 September 2009
$1m Asian and South Asian art to appear at Christie's

Works from the collection of the ninth Dalai Lama will feature in the sale...

Posted: 3 September 2009
Art by a man on the moon

A member of the Apollo 12 team tries to capture the experience on canvas

Posted: 31 August 2009
'Floating sculpture' to sell for up to $400k

Hand-carved goose decoy is going up for auction

Posted: 30 August 2009
Louvre disowns stolen Iraq 'Picasso'

Museum says painting believed stolen from Kuwait in 1990 isn't authentic

Posted: 27 August 2009
Australian art markets are on rebound, and better than Europe’s

It could be ‘back to the good times’ says Sotheby’s expert

Posted: 26 August 2009
Aborigines force Sotheby’s to cancel $700k sale

Protestors ‘concerned about representations of their ancestors being sold’ halt sculpture auction

Posted: 25 August 2009
‘Cardboard box’ sells for $30k

Deceptive Gavin Turk artwork to be auctioned in NY with Basquiat, Richter and Warhol

Posted: 24 August 2009
Fairfax chairman to sell $1.6m art collection

Sale will include 'two of the earliest formal sculptures made in Australia,' in Melbourne

Posted: 20 August 2009
‘Borders Painter’ watercolour achieves record price

A work by one of Scotland’s most treasured artists sold for £16k – a record for a work by the 19th century painter

Posted: 19 August 2009
'20th century's greatest artist' makes first ever Florida appearance

This artists work will form the inaugural show at Tampa's new Museum of Art building

Posted: 19 August 2009
Christie's continues its Chinese collectibles success

Over 400 works of Chinese art will appear in a dedicated auction next month

Posted: 19 August 2009
Warhol Jackson painting sells for over $1m in NY

And a 'Jeff Koons sculpture of Jackson could be worth $25m,' following the singer's death

Posted: 19 August 2009
Queen Victoria jewellery at auction

A jewellery lot designed by Queen Victoria to commemorate Mr Brown is to appear at a Scottish auction

Posted: 13 August 2009
Famous owners add value...

Collectibles owned by celebrities grab attention at auction

Posted: 10 August 2009
Great impressionist paintings for sale

Paintings from the collection of a legendary dealer are to be exhibited and sold

Posted: 10 August 2009
Fire destroys African-American art

Cause of blaze still unknown after one of largest collections in US is devastated

Posted: 7 August 2009
Jackson portrait goes on sale

A painting of Michael Jackson by a legendary US artist has gone on sale...

Posted: 6 August 2009
Sketchbook worth a small fortune...

A 19th century painter's watercolour sketchbook is expected to fetch £320,000+

Posted: 6 August 2009
Star's private collection under the hammer

Multiple award-winning singer and actress is selling to fund charity

Posted: 6 August 2009
Decoys bring genuine fortune

Famous collector's carvings dominate a New England auction

Posted: 5 August 2009
Future is good for art collectors, says Sotheby's

Financial guru at world's second largest auction house says prices have stabilised

Posted: 5 August 2009
A Dali exhibition 'first'

The artist's best and most rarely seen pieces are going on display for the first time in China

Posted: 4 August 2009
Film director's collection of famous British paintings up for auction

A 60 year old collection which includes pieces by L S Lowry and Henry Moore goes up for sale on November 11, 2009

Posted: 4 August 2009
Hawaiian posters to be sold at New York auction

Six rare vintage airline-themed posters designed to encourage Hawaiian tourism are up for auction

Posted: 4 August 2009
Controversial photographer to be sued

Millionaires' pawnbroker Art Capital Group is set to sue photographer Annie Leibovitz over $24m debt

Posted: 31 July 2009
'Quirky' film director's art to be displayed

A retrospective of director Tim Burton's artworks will be displayed at New York's Museum of Modern Art

Posted: 31 July 2009
This hat is worth over $1m

High-level art and fashion are colliding on Australia's catwalks

Posted: 30 July 2009
Banksy: A prime time to buy

The credit crunch means prices are at historical lows...

Posted: 27 July 2009