70 Ceramics and Sculptures by Picasso to Sell in February

‘Woman with an Open Robe’ by Pablo Picasso. Ceramic jug. 1955. Estimated worth between $52,500 and $67,500.

You’ll be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t heard of the epic artist Pablo Picasso and his infamous paintings. But lesser known are his large collection of ceramics and sculptures.

Most people don’t know that throughout Picasso’s career, he hand-molded and painted roughly 4,000 pieces of pottery. These pieces vary from vases and plates to animal figurines. Some he created as stand-alone pieces and others were produced in various editions.

‘Owl’ by Pablo Picasso. Painted ceramic. Estimated worth of $44,700.

70 of these pieces are now going up for auction come Feb. 5 at Sotheby’s in London, being sold directly by Marina Picasso, his granddaughter. A portion of the collection will be exhibited in Sotheby’s New York during January to bring awareness to the London sale.

Along with the sculptures, Marina will also be auctioning off roughly 110 drawings.

Interest in and prices for these ceramic works have been soaring as of late. In February 2015, one sale of a terra-cotta figure set the record for Picasso’s ceramics when a collector paid Sotheby’s $1.9 million. The work was expected to sell for a third as much. In June 2015, a group of 126 ceramics from the collection of Ms. Picasso was sold at Sotheby’s for $19.4 million, again selling for roughly three times as much as  estimated.

Notable works in the upcoming sale include “Woman with an Open Robe” and “Bird,” both pictured here.

‘Bird’ by Pablo Picasso. 1957. Estimated worth between $9,000 to $12,000.

The pottery for sale was mostly created between the late 1940s and the mid-1960s, before Picasso moved away from pottery to begin working in bronze. The drawings being sold, though, span Picasso’s entire career.

Some of the pieces up for sale carry astounding starting estimates as high as $269,000, such as a 1962 paper cutout of a woman’s face (seen below) that was used to develop Picasso’s sheet-metal sculptures of “Sylvette,” a subject seen repeatedly in his work.

‘Head Face’ by Pablo Picasso. 1962. Starting estimate worth of $269,000.

What’s even more interesting about these Picasso ceramics auctions is the fact that their prices have been increasing even as prices across the market have been plateauing. According to the auction-tracking firm Artnet, the average price for Picasso’s ceramics have increased from a respectable $16,100 in 2012 to a whopping $35,300 in 2015. Who know’s what these auctions will reach now that we’ve entered 2016.

Part of the reason for the high demand is the fact that, relative to Picasso’s other works, his ceramics are actually at a decent price point. This means long time fans of Picasso can add an original piece to their collections without spending top dollar. (For comparison, Christie’s sold his “Women of Algiers (Version O),” painting for $179 million last May.)

The price point is also particularly attractive to novice collectors looking to get a few big name pieces into their collection without draining their budget before they are able to add other important pieces to their portfolio. As evidence, at a similar auction back in March 2015, it was reported that 62% of the auction winners were first-time buyers of Picasso’s ceramics.

It’s great to see novice and seasoned collectors alike getting excited about these special pieces from one of the greatest (and certainly most famous) artists of all time.

Rare Swatch Collection Sells for CHF 1.3 Million

Swatch by Keith HaringA rare collection of 1,000 original watches by Swatch were recently sold by Sotheby’s at a Geneva auction for CHF1.3 million ($1.3 million). The collection was comprised of the timepieces created in the brands most popular period in the 1980’s. The brand was so popular that it’s credited with saving the Swiss watchmaking industry.

The collected had been stored in an attic in canton Neuchâtel for years. It included 380 prototypes, as well as technical drawings, dials, sketches, and artwork spanning the 1981-1986 period. It belonged to the Swiss designers Bernard Müller and Marlyse Schmid, who were responsible for creating much of Swatch’s iconic visual identity in the early 1980s alongside Müller’s engineer brother Jacques.

The Schmid & Müller collection is a delight for collectors and appreciators. As Sotheby’s watches department manager Pedro Reiser explained,

It’s very rare to have such an extensive collection. This completely unique and historic selection of timepieces, components, and designs maps out the creative process during the fascinating early years of Swatch.”

Swatch was founded because it’s creators saw the need for a Swiss-made plastic watch that didn’t sacrifice quality while hitting an affordable price point. It’s development required technical innovation, with each watch only having 51 parts, as opposed to nearly 100 needed to make a traditional wristwatch. This reduction in parts allows it to be produced for 80% cheaper and assembled using a fully automated system.

For us the challenge was to establish plastic as a noble product,” said Müller. “Among the various components, the watch dial was the most expensive piece. This initially meant we were only able to use one or two colours at most. Swatch’s almost instant success allowed us free reign with our creativity, enabling us to change the look in an infinite number of ways following new fashions and trends.”

The Schmid & Müller collection contained a number of iconic pieces, including the original Jellyfish Swatch — the first transparent watch that started the trend of see-through watch movements. It was designed by Marlyse Schmid, and it was part of a 200 piece limited edition.

It also included original prototypes from the “Swatch Art Special” series, including the first model featuring artwork by “Kiki Picasso.” At the height Swatch’s popularity at the end of the 1990s, a single model sold for CHF60,000.

Another highlight was a series of models and artwork by US artist Keith Haring, who took two years to come up with his 1986 collection of six designs.

There’s been renewed interest in vintage watches as of late. Back in April, Sotheby’s auction house in Hong Kong sold one of the biggest private collections of Swatch watches in the world. The collected contained 5,800 timepieces that had been collected over a period of 25 years. It sold for $6 million.

Müller hopes that his collection is able to stay in one piece and enrich other Swatch collections.

Collection On The Move

Sunbaker-Max-DupainThe infamous Sunbaker picture by Max Dupain from 1937 will be on the move after Minter Ellison, the owners of a large collection will be transferring fantastic pieces to the highest bidder. The law firm Minter Ellison has had marvelous artwork hanging in their Sydney office for over fifteen years. Unfortunately, the firm is moving to a warehouse styled office, which means they will not need artwork hanging around the office. The company owns 56 pieces of artwork, estimated roughly just under $2 million US dollars.

Even though the collection consists mostly of Australian photographs, the collection is still one of the top collections in all of Australia. It includes work from Tracey Moffatt, Bill Henson, and as mentioned earlier, Dupain. Minter Ellison is not the first company to sell a great collection of artwork. A few years back Foster’s Art Collection sold a collection for over $13 million US dollars. These collections are not uncommon with larger, prominent companies who use artwork to woo and get clients in the door, and show off success.

Although artwork is not a main facet for organizations, Sotheby’s Australia explains, “Large art collections of big companies to assess whether they should remain dormant on their books, as businesses look for new premises.”

Australia and Europe are known for their love of expensive artwork, and companies are joining this group by constantly owning collections which can be then sold for a great profit. The collection by Minter Ellison is expected to be sold July 21st.

For more Etienne, please visit Etienne Kiss-Borlase’s Official Website.

Picasso’s ‘Women of Algiers’ Sold!

BRITAIN-ART-AUCTION-PICASSOThis past weekend in New York, 35 lots of artwork went up for auction including some of the most prized art paintings and sculptures in history. Of the 35 lots sold, 34 of them racked in a total of $706 million.

One painting which was most coveted at the auction was Pablo Picasso’s painting Women of Algiers which sold for a record $179,365,000. The extremely high prices were driven by artworks investment value and by the wealthy collectors looking for the top artwork in the world.

Also sold at the auction was the Giacometti life size sculpture Pointing Man, which sold for an astonishing $141,285,000. These two pieces of art are some of the most expensive ever sold at an auction.

Fox News reported,

Pointing Man, depicting a skinny 5-foot-high bronze figure with extended arms, has been in the same private collection for 45 years. Giacometti, who died in 1966, made six casts of the work; four are in museums, and the others are in private hands and a foundation collection.”

The piece by Picasso, Women of Algiers, once owned by the American collectors Victor and Sally Ganz, was inspired by Picasso’s fascination with the 19th-century French artist Eugene Delacroix. It is part of a 15-work series Picasso created in 1954-55 designated with the letters A through O. It has appeared in several major museum retrospectives of the Spanish artist.

These pieces are just some of many which sold for millions this past weekend in New York.

For more about Etienne, please visit Etienne Kiss-Borlase’s official website.

Former Goldman Chairman – Art Collector Jackpot

portrait-of-beatrice-hastings-1915Former Goldman Sachs’ employee John Whitehead sadly passed away earlier this February, leaving behind a vast fortune including real estate, automobiles, and even art. For art collectors, Whitehead’s collection was a jackpot. John Whitehead possessed a total of 90-pieces in his collection, including rare pieces by Vincent Van Gogh, Pierre Bonnard, Claude Monet, and Amedeo Modigliani. His collection is valued at over $40 million.

It is reported that Whitehead had a few pieces valued from $7-$10 million, including the Portrait de Beatrice Hastings by Modigliani from 1916.

Whitehead began working at Goldman Sachs’ in the late 1940’s and worked his way up the corporate ladder. On the way he picked up a few tips and developed a love for the arts. John’s own art advisor Achim Moeller explained,

Naturally, I have always esteemed the relationship between the collector and his art advisor. For this reason alone, I regard my own with John Whitehead as an achievement, akin to noteworthy collector-advisor associations that have existed through a great part of art history.”

Both Whitehead and Moeller hoped the vast collection would be sold in a lot to keep the art together, but it is evident that the pieces will create a greater profit if they are solid separately.

Besides the Beatrice Hastings piece, he also has a Claude Money from 1888, Paysage de matin, which is expected to bring in anywhere from $6-$8 million alone.

Whitehead used his Wall Street wits to land him most of his collection, but he did get lucky in some scenarios purchasing the Modigliani for only $10,500, now worth over $10 million. Whitehead explained in his biography,

This sort of appraisal was entirely new to me, nothing like anything I’d had to do at Goldman Sachs or any other aspect of my life … but I remained enough of a financier that I took an interest in the prices, and I tried to predict what price an individual piece would go for at auction.”

Rather then going for the main auction at the show, he would go for the ones which he believed would increase in value overtime. This strategy worked leaving him close to $100 million in art work.

For more about Etienne, please visit Etienne Kiss-Borlase‘s main website