Around the Auction World: July 2022

What is the latest news from around the auction world this July?

The highly-anticipated Coeur d’Alene Art Auction of 2022 netted a respectable USD 16.4 million this month after setting numerous world records for American Western artists. Phillips reported a record mid-year high in sales, as well as the opening of a Los Angeles office. Elsewhere, a jacket worn to the Moon by Buzz Aldrin set a new high price for a flown-in-space artifact ($2.8 million), and controversy brewed over a possibly fake Marc Chagall painting that plummeted in value after a French authenticity panel’s ruling. 

Check out the other top stories from around the auction world this July, from rare science manuscripts to Tomokazu Matsuyama’s first NFT drop.

Auction Highlights

TavernTrove presented a major beer advertising auction this July. Ahead of the event, we surveyed some of the key lots, including a Bruck’s Beer outdoor porcelain and neon sign from the 1940s. Bruck’s Beer was brewed by the Bruckmann Brewing Company, an Ohio-based firm that survived the Prohibition era and was a fixture of Cincinnati in the early 20th century. Other notable lots included a backlit advertising clock, a framed oilette advertising image from the Leisen & Henes Brewing Company, and vintage beer calendar pages. 

Extremely strong results arrived from Germany after Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion’s sale of vintage Steiff items wrapped up in late June. The event hammered at EUR 268,000 (USD 279,367) with particularly exciting prices for a circa 1904 to 1905 white mohair rod jointed bear and a circa 1928 to 1930 brown tipped mohair Petsy the Baby Bear. Both items sold for over USD 42,000 each. 

Elsewhere in the auction world, Bonhams New York presented a tightly curated sale of books and manuscripts tracing the history of major scientific breakthroughs. Notable lots included a scientific book from the library of Rheticus detailing “the science of geometry and trigonometry and how it relates to our conception of the universe,” which Darren Sutherland, Bonhams’ Specialist of Books and Manuscripts in New York, says is “a super interesting topic for Rheticus to be looking at.” The volume sold for $63,375, including premium. 

Key Artists 

A New York-based Japanese artist, Tomokazu Matsuyama recently held his latest solo exhibition with Sotheby’s Hong Kong. His dream-like art draws from many different sources, including Japan’s Edo period, Renaissance paintings, and contemporary Western art. Matsuyama’s selling exhibition at Sotheby’s included nine new NFTs, the artist’s first foray into the cryptocurrency world. “[The exhibition] represents my journey of self-discovery as an artist exploring a whole new medium, as well as a means of exploring our existence and optimizing hope for the future,” Matsuyama said.

This July, Auction Daily also reflected on the timeless work of Ernie Barnes. Prices for his exuberant paintings have been on the rise for several years. Most recently, Christie’s auctioned Barnes’ Juba Dis an Juba Dat for nearly $500,000. The price comes a few months after The Sugar Shack unexpectedly sold for a record $15.3 million in May of 2022.

Quote of the Month

“I realized that photography attests to what is doomed to disappear, and that the days of silver prints were numbered. The idea of transmitting is very important to me […]. I consider art a space of dialogue.” 

– Astrid Ullens de Schooten Whettnall, on what draws her to collecting photography 

More Headlines From July

Art Basel Confirms the Market’s Rosy Health

A Silent Still Life by Sébastien Stoskopff

A Strange TEFAF in Maastricht

Opening: South Korean Artist Lee Ufan in Arles

Cameos and Intaglios: The Glyptic Arts

Montmartre in 1890: Louis Anquetin and His Model

Reappearance of a Sketch for the Panthéon by Baron Gros