News

The Property from the Estate of Brooke Astor sold by Sotheby's in New York on September 24 and 25, 2012 achieved an outstanding total of $18,828,109. Buyers competed for paintings, drawings, Chinese works of art, furniture and decorative art from Mrs. Astor's New York City and Westchester residences, as well as jewelry from her personal collection.

A highlight of the sale was John Frederick Lewis's A Memlook Bey, Egypt, estimated at $300,000 - 500,000, which sold for $1,594,500. The auction's proceeds will benefit a number of charitable organizations selected by Mrs. Astor during her lifetime, including the New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Pierpont Morgan Library, and the Animal Medical Center of New York.

Meanwhile, Sotheby's Collection Marcel Brient - The French Chapter on 24 September achieved world records for artists including Simon Hantaï, Michel Parmentier, Bertrand Lavier, Bernard Frize and Daniel Dezeuze. The top lot sold was Simon Hantaï's Etude, 1969, a monumental canvas, that brought €720,750.

On September 22 in New York, Sotheby's Art in Focus sale of Contemporary art from a private collector on 22 September achieved notable prices for artists including Phillippe Pasqua, Richard Prince, Tom Wesselmann and George Condo.

The top lot sold was Cindy Sherman's Untitled #212 from her renowned History Portraits series that brought $182,500.

In New York on September 21^st, Leading Sotheby's Contemporary Art sale was Gerhard Richter's Untitled from 1986 which sold for more than double its high estimate, bringing $842,500. Other exciting works that brought notable prices were the sale's cover lot Mark Grotjahn's Untitled (Blue Butterfly) and Frank Stella's Window Sketch.

In London, on September 19, Sotheby's Old Master, Modern and Contemporary Prints sale achieved a world record price for Albrecht Dürer's Engraving, 1514 Saint Jerome in his Study (B. 60; M., Holl. 59) Estimate: £100,000 - 150,000 Sold for £181,250.