Art Sales

Art auction houses thrive on big names and big numbers. Sales of major works by first-rate artists--preferably consigned by revered collectors--not only provide the allure of substantial profits, they create a sense of excitement that stokes the fires of the art market. The phenomenon is particularly apparent in May and November, when marathons of Impressionist, Modern and contemporary art sales take place in New York. And this season's version of the semiannual extravaganza is coming right up.

The art world was in recession-induced shock Wednesday as a result of the season's first big auction, which failed to sell half the contemporary works offered. Only 34 of 77 paintings and sculptures that went on the block Monday night at Sotheby's found buyers, although there were bidders on all lots. Bidding on the 43 unsold pieces failed to reach the reserve price--the lowest price that a seller will accept--and the artworks were returned to the consignors.

Artists from throughout the Los Angeles area will sell their work at the second Gathering of Arts in the Park on May 1 and 2 in Topanga State Park. The event, sponsored by the Topanga Park Docents and the Topanga Canyon Art Gallery, will offer paintings, ceramics, jewelry, tiles, photographs and handcrafted furniture for sale, said Nancy Williams, a spokeswoman for the gallery.

"Portrait of Dr. Gachet," a melancholy character study by Vincent van Gogh, was purchased Tuesday night by Kobayashi Gallery of Tokyo for $82.5 million, the highest auction price ever paid for a work of art. Christie's auction house had valued the work at $40 million to $50 million, but lackluster sales of contemporary art last week had led to speculation that the estimate was overly optimistic.

A painting by Mexican artist Alfredo Ramos Martinez, expected to bring $350,000 to $450,000 in an auction of Latin American art, was sold for $1.8 million Tuesday night at Christie's New York. Fetching more than twice the top auction price previously paid for the artist's work, the colorful scene of two women surrounded by flowers was the star attraction in a $17-million sale that also brought record prices for 10 other artists.

Following Sunday's opening night performance of “Red” at the Mark Taper Forum, theatergoers merely had to stroll down Grand Avenue to see eight Mark Rothko paintings at the Museum of Contemporary Art, where the after-party took place.   The play is about the artist; the paintings are part of MOCA's permanent collection. The L.A. opening of the Tony Award-winning play, starring Alfred Molina and Jonathan Groff, was packed with celebrities, among them Leonard Nimoy, the artist, art collector and original Mr. Spock of TV's “Star Trek,” and Zachary Quinto, Mr. Spock of the 2009 and 2013 film versions.

A series of contemporary art sales got off to a roaring start Tuesday night at Christie's as a closely watched opening night auction totaled $62.4 million in sales and broke 28 artists' records. British artist Francis Bacon's anguished painting "Study for a Pope" brought the top bid in the auction of 101 lots with a sale price of $5.7 million--far above the auction house's most optimistic estimate of $1.5 million but less than the record $6.3 million paid last May for Bacon's "Triptych May June."

An $11-million art collection from the estate of composer Richard Rodgers and his wife, Dorothy, will be offered for sale this fall in three Christie's New York auctions. Twenty-six of the most valuable pieces, including paintings by Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri Matisse valued at a total of $10 million, will go on the block Nov. 11. The most expensive item is Picasso's 1914 Cubist painting "Guitar and Newspaper," valued at $3 million to $4 million.

"Maternity," a painting by Paul Gauguin depicting a Tahitian woman breastfeeding her baby with two other women nearby, was sold for $39.2 million to an unidentified bidder Thursday night at Sotheby's New York. The sale, an auction record for the artist's work, was the highlight of a three-day series of Impressionist and Modern art sales that ended with mixed results. Sotheby's sale racked up $194.3 million and brought big prices for some paintings: $31.