On July 2nd 2008, Bonhams of London held an auction of British artwork and the Beryl Cook Originals for sale broke the previous world record amount for her work!

‘Granny with her Pet Mouse’ by Beryl Cook:

‘Granny with her Pet Mouse’ has set the new record and sold for a whooping £69,600 Sterling.

And another original: ‘Dolphin’ reached £66,000. Bare in mind the previous record was £28,800 that is quite unbelievable. It means all her Originals, Limited Edition artwork, including lithographs and silkscreens, will now be even more of an excellent investment for her collectors.

Many feel Beryl Cook, before she died, was Britain’s most popular artist and the most instantly recognisable in the UK, I suspect this will remain the same for many years to come.

Some useful links:

http://www.easier.com/view/Home_and_Garden/Interiors/article-188776.html
http://auctionpublicity.com
http://www.bonhams.com
http://www.governmentauctionsuk.co.uk/news.php?newsid=8923

thanks

Russell

Jack Vettriano is possibly Scotland’s most famous living artist. His paintings have a ’film noir’ context to them and often display nude or romantic themes. Vettriano’s work has been published in print (unlimited) format for many years, certainly within the UK and whether a person has knowledge of the artist or not, his work is instantly recognizable to most.

The first of his new Limited Edition prints is ‘The Tourist Trap’:

I find his work to be thought evoking and provocative and he is the master of this style of painting. I am pleased that more limited editions are being produced, as many people have expressed an interest in his ‘collectable’ (limited edition) artwork but obviously not everyone has half a million £ sterling to spend!: On 21 April 2004 the original canvas of ‘The Singing Butler’ sold at auction for £744,500.

The second new Limited Edition print is ‘The Defenders Of Virtue’:

In related news, Sotheby’s auction house are auctioning one of Vettriano’s paintings: ‘Bluebird At Bonneville’ on 29th August 2007 with an estimate of £400,000 to £600,000 GBP Sterling.

Here is a link to the auction on Sotheby’s website
(You need to create a free account to browse website)
The auctioning of Jack Vettriano’s ‘Bluebird At Bonneville’

Image of ‘Bluebird At Bonneville’:

Full Title & Address of the auction:
Sotheby’s ‘Scottish & Sporting Pictures,’ lot 231, 29th August 2007, Gleneagles Hotel, London

thank you

Russell

Some interesting stats as well; buyers by country (by lot) were:
Europe (excluding UK) 56%, United Kingdom (UK) 22%, Americas 21%, Asia 1%.

‘Waterloo Bridge, temps couvert, 1904′ by Claude Monet:

‘Waterloo Bridge, temps couvert, 1904′ by Claude Monet (1840-1926) was the top lot of the evening was which sold for £17,940,000/ $35,539,140 / €26,497,380, the second highest price reached for a Monet in £ Sterling at an auction & the highest ever Dollar $ price.

The evening’s auctioneer Jussi Pylkkänen, who is also President of Christie’s Europe, stated:

“This evening’s sale at Christie’s was a landmark event in the history of the art market, realising the highest total for any auction ever held in Europe. The international art market congregated at Christie’s saleroom in London this evening as an ever increasing international group of collectors fought for the exceptional selection of works. The top work of the sale was bought by a private American collector, with 6 of the other top 10 works were won by private European collectors.

‘Les arceaux de roses, Giverny (Les arceaux fleuris), 1913′ by Claude Monet:

The above painting: ‘Les arceaux de roses, Giverny (Les arceaux fleuris)’ by Claude Monet was lot 11. Painted in 1913, this oil on canvas is 32 ¼’’ x 37’’ inches in size and was estimated at £9,000,000 – 12,000,000. In the end it sold for a staggering: £8,980,000/ $17,789,380/ €13,263,460.

Olivier Camu, International Director and Head of Impressionist and Modern Art at Christie’s, London stated:

“Today’s results reflect the continuing confidence and depth of the art market, with thirty works selling for over £1 million and forty-six works over $1 million. The results underlines Christie’s position as the world’s leading art business as we continue to present the best works of art and to invest in the new markets of Russia, Asia and the Middle East, as well as the traditional markets of Europe and North America. We look forward to tomorrow’s Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sales as well as to Wednesday’s Evening Sale of Post War & Contemporary Art.”

Further reading/images:

http://www.christies.com/features/jun07/7404/overview.asp
http://www.christies.com/features/jun07/7404/gallery/overview.asp

thank you

Russell