theWRIGHTartblog

Maddison Wright
Intro to Art History
12/3/2013

The Price of Art

In the recent month of November 2013 at Christie’s auction house in New York, an oil painting called “Three Studies of Lucian Freud,” by Francis Bacon was purchased for $142.4 million; making this the highest price ever paid at an auction. This piece out-shined the estimated value Christie’s auction house believed it would sell for, which was $85 million. The man in this piece was painted after a friend of Bacon’s, his name was Lucian Freud. It is rumored that William Acquavella, the New York dealer who bought the tryptic was actually bidding for someone else sitting up in the skyboxes. This mystery bidder left an art dealer and an art director feeling disappointed and defeated. The art dealer Larry Gagosian stated, “I went to $101 million but it hardly mattered.” The art directer of the Shin Gallery on Grand Street in Manhattan, Hong Gye Shin, found the “Three Studies of Lucian Freud” irresistible. He says, “Maybe someday I’ll have another chance” to buy the piece. Francis Bacon is one of the top sought out artists so it is no surprise in 2011 another one of his pieces titled, “Tryptich, 1976” sold for $82.5 million. This piece was purchased at Sotheby’s auction house and was estimated to sell for $70 million. There is no second thought as to why Francis Bacon was such a successful art maker. Most of his painting’s use abstract techniques by morphing much of the faces and bodies - plus you can spot one of his paintings if it is a tryptich. I can look at Bacon’s art work’s for hours because of all the unique aspects presented in his painting’s.
One painting that was sold in 2013 for $155 million was originally supposed to be sold in 2006 for $139 million. This painting is called “La Reve,” by Pablo Picasso meaning “The Dream.” The result for this painting sold in 2013 opposed to 2006 was because of the seller Steve Wynn accidentally put his elbow through the painting right before he was about to sell it to a man named Steven Cohen. However those 7 years later the painting was still sold to Steven Cohen. Pablo Picasso painted “La Reve” after his love Marie-Therese Walter sitting in a red arm chair. The composition, primary colors, and relaxed feeling allows me to feel an energy exerting through this painting.
A Claude Monet 1919 painting called “Le bassin aux nympheas” sold for $80.6 million in June 2008 at Christie’s London auction house. This sale duplicated the estimated price and sold for more money than a previous Monet put up at the auction.
Sold at the heirs of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer in 2006 was a spectacular painting by Gustav Klimt titled, “Adele Bloch-bauer I.” This art was bought by Ronald Lauder for a soaring price of $135 million. This painting was taken by the Nazis during World War II and transported to the National Gallery of Austria in 1948. There is actual silver in this painting; only reinforcing how royal and exquisite Gustav Klimt makes this piece feel.

A last piece worth talking about is called “Garcon a la pipe” by Pablo Picasso. This piece was sold in May 2004 for $104.1 million; breaking the record of the highest painting sold since Vincent van Gogh in 1990. “Garcon a la pipe” was as well was the first art piece to surpass the sale price of $100 million. The buyer is rumored to be an Italian pasta magnate named Guido Barilla.