-
Skip These Ads
-
Skip These Ads|
|
 |
Click here and add this page to your favorites!
|
Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: ARN-AUD |
|
|
ART SALES . The practice of selling objects of art by auction in England dates from the latter part of the 17th century, when in most cases the names of the auctioneers were suppressed. Evelyn (under date June 21, 1693) mentions a "great auction of pictures (Lord Melford's) in the Banquetting House, Whitehall," and the practice is frequently referred to by other contemporary and later writers. Before the introduction of regular auctions the practice was, as in the case of the famous collection formed by Charles I., to price each object and invite purchasers, just as in other departments of commerce. But this was a slow process, especially in the case of pictures, and lacked the incentive of excitement. The first really important art collection to come under the hammer
earl
Leonardo da Vinci; and when at the Lafontaine sales (1807 and 1811) two Rembrandts each realized 5000 guineas, " The Woman taken in Adultery
Towards the latter part of the first half of the 19th century an entirely new race of collectors gradually came into existence; they were for the most part men who had made, or were making, large fortunes in the various industries of the midlands and north of England and other centres. They were untrammelled by " collecting " traditions, and their patronage was almost exclusively extended to the artists of the day. The dispersals of these collections began in 1863 with the Bicknell Gallery, and continued at irregular intervals for many years, e.g. Gillott (1872), Mendel (1875), Wynn Ellis and Albert Levy (1876), Albert Grant (1877) and Munro of Novar (1878). These patrons purchased at munificent prices either direct from the easel or from the exhibitions not only pictures in oils but also water-colour drawings. As a matter of investment their purchases frequently realized far more than the original outlay; sometimes, however, the reverse happened, as, for instance, in the case of Landseer's " Otter Hunt," for which Baron Grant is said to have paid 10,000 and which realized shortly afterwards only 5650 guineas. One of the features of the sales of the 'seventies was the high appreciation of water-colour drawings. At the Gillott sale (1872) 16o examples realized 27,423, Turner's " Bamborough Castle " fetching 3150 gns.; at the Quilter sale (1875) David Cox's " Hayfield," for which a dealer paid him 50 gns. in 185o, brought 2810 gns. The following are the most remark-able prices of later years. In 1895 Cox's " Welsh Funeral " (which cost about 20) sold for 2400 gns., and Burne-Jones's " Hesperides " for 2460 gns. In 1908, 13 Turner drawings fetched 12,415 (Acland-Hood sale) and 7 brought 11,077 (Holland sale), the " Heidelberg " reaching 4200 gns. For Fred Walker's " Harbour of Refuge " 2580 gns. were paid (Tatham sale) and 2700 gns. for his " Marlow Ferry " (Holland). The demand for pictures by modern artists, whose works sold at almost fabulous prices in the 'seventies, has somewhat declined; but during all its furore there was still a small band of col-lectors to whom the works of the Old Masters more especially appealed. The dispersal of such collections as the Bredel (1875), Watts Russell (1875), Foster of Clewer Manor (1876), the Hamilton Palace (17 days, 397,562)the greatest art sale in the annals of Great BritainBale (1882), Leigh Court (1884), and Dudley (1892) resulted, as did the sale of many minor collections each season, in many very fine works of the Old Masters finding eager purchasers at high prices. A striking example of the high prices given was the 24,250 realized by the pair of Vandyck portraits of a Genoese senator and his wife in the Peel sale, 1900. Since the last quarter of the 19th century the chief feature in art sales has been the demand for works, particularly female portraits, by Reynolds, his contemporaries and successors. This may be traced to the South Kensington Exhibitions of 1867 and 1868 and the annual winter exhibitions at Burlington House, which revealed an unsuspected wealth and charm in the works of many English artists who had almost fallen into oblivion. A few of the most remarkable prices for such pictures may be quoted: Reynolds's " Lady Betty Delme " (1894), 11,000 gns.; Romney
Spencer
700 Gainsborough's "Duchess of Devonshire" (1876), ro,Ioo gns. (for the history of its disappearance see GAINSBOROUGH, THOMAS), " Maria Walpole," 12,100 gns. (Duke of Cambridge 's sale, 1904) ; Constable's " Stratford Mill " (1895), 8500 gns.; Hoppner's "Lady Waldegrave " (1906), 6000 gns.; Lawrence's "Childhood's Innocence " (29o7j, 8000 gns.; Raeburn's " Lady Raeburn " (1905), 8500 gns. Here may also be mentioned the 12,600 gns. paid for Turner's " Mortlake Terrace " in 1908 (Holland sale).The " appreciation " of the modern continental schools, particularly the French, has been marked since 1880; of high prices paid may be mentioned Corot's " Danse des Amours " (1898), 7200; Rosa Bonheur's " Denizens of the Highlands " (1888), 5550 gns.; Jules Breton
York
" Specialism " is the one important development in art collecting which has manifested itself since the middle of the 19th century. This accounts for and explains the high average quality of the Wellesley (1866), the Buccleuch (1888) and the Holford (1893) collections of drawings by the Old Masters; for the Sibson Wedgwood (1877), the Duc de Forli Dresden (1877), the Shuldham blue and white porcelain (1880), the Benson collection of antique coins (1909), and for the objects of art at the Massey-Mainwaring and Lewis-Hill sales of 1907. Very many other illustrations in nearly every department of art collecting might be quotedthe superb series of Marlborough gems (1875 and 1899) might be included in this category but for the fact that it was formed chiefly in the 18th century. The appreciation commercially at all eventsof mezzotint portraits and of portraits printed in colours, after masters of the early English school, was one of the most remarkable features in art sales during the last years of the I9th century. The shillings of fifty years before were then represented by pounds. The Fraser collection (December 4 to 6, 1900) realized about ten times the original outlay, the mezzotint of the ".Sisters Frank-land," after Hoppner, by W. Ward, selling for 290 guineas as against to guineas paid for it about thirty years previously. The H. A. Blyth sale (March II to 13, 1901, 346 lots, 21,717: I0S.) of mezzotint portraits was even more remarkable, and as a collection it was the choicest sold within recent times, the engravings being mostly in the first state. The record prices were numerous, and, in many cases, far surpassed the prices which Sir Joshua Reynolds received for the original pictures; e.g. the exceptionally fine example of the first state of the " Duchess of Rutland," after Reynolds, by V. Green, realized moo guineas, whereas the artist received only 150 for the painting itself. Even this unprecedented price for a mezzotint portrait was exceeded on the 3oth of April 1901, when an example of the first published state of " Mrs Carnac," after Reynolds, by J. R. Smith, sold for 116o guineas. At the Louis Huth sale (1905) 83 lots brought nearly ro,000, Reynolds's " Lady Bampfylde " by T. Watson, first state before letters, unpublished, fetching 1200 guineas. Such prices as these and many others which might be quoted are exceptional, but they were paid for objects of exceptional rarity or quality. It is not necessary to pursue the chronicle of recent sales, which have become a feature of every season. It is worth mentioning, however, that the Holland sale, in June 1908, realized 138,118 (432 lots), a " record " sum for a collection of pictures mainly by modern artists; and that for the Rodolphe Kann collection (Paris) of pictures and objects of art, including 11 magnificent Rembrandts, Messrs Duveen paid I,000,000 in 1907. In every direction there has been a tendency to increase prices for really great artistic pieces, even to a sensational extent. The competition has become acute, largely owing to American and German acquisitiveness. The demand for the finest works of art of all descriptions is much greater than the supply. As an illustration
End of Article: ART SALES If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/ARN_AUD/ART_SALES.html"> ART SALES </a> |
|
|
(Previous) ART AND PART |
(Next) ART SOCIETIES |
Free & Cheap Cell
Phones |
Cheap Long Distance
Phone Service Carriers |
Talk America Local Phone Service
|
Ztel & MCI - Unlimited Long Distance
Compare
Cell Phone Plans & Companies |
International Calling Cards & Prepaid Phone Cards |
Voice Over IP Broadband Internet Phone
Service | Wireless
Phone Plans & Cheap Cell Phones
|
_____________________________________________________________________________
Online First Aid and CPR Certification . The Online Christ Centered Ministries . The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained . The Inerrancy Discussion Board . Free Email Accounts . Home Equity Loans . JasonGastrich.com . The Missions, Apologetics, and Creation Bible Conference . Young Earth Creation Science . San Diego Music Lessons . 10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings . Gastrich.net . Maximizing the Internet: 12 Keys to Success . Louisiana Baptist University . NKJV Web Hosting and Services . Michael Newdow . San Diego Soccer Training . Christian Guitar Lessons . Jesus Christ Saves Ministries . Eternal Security
