The first stirrings are afoot in the art world as galleries and auction houses tentatively look to reopen their doors as the pandemic subsides, says Melanie Gerlis in the Financial Times.
Gagosian, the world’s biggest commercial art gallery, will start the process with a show of German artist Georg Baselitz’s work in Hong Kong on 21 May. Sotheby’s chief executive, Charles Stewart, said the auction house’s staff in Europe and Asia would begin to return to work, noting also that it had made a total of $70m from holding 37 online sales since March. However, Perth-based WhiskyAuctioneer.com experienced the perils of doing so last month. Its online sale of 1,958 bottles of rare whisky had to be delayed due to a malicious cyberattack. The first phase of the auction, held earlier this year, had raised £3.2m.
Bonhams in London has used the quiet time to hold an online auction, raising £405,300 for the NHS. The “Blue Auction” ran for three weeks to 29 April. All 61 lots sold, many of which included items and pledges made by actors, musicians, artists and sports people. A tour of Grayson Perry’s studio fetched £22,000, while Antony Gormley’s artwork Fold I (2018) sold for £17,000. The Connor Brothers’ hand-finished giclée print of Extraordinary People (2020) was used to illustrate the sale. Featuring a glamorous-looking nurse (see picture above), it went for £18,000.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Auctions
Going…
Paul McCartney’s handwritten lyrics to the song Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, which appeared on The Beatles’ 1969 album Abbey Road, are to be sold next month with California-based Julien’s Auctions. The 20 lines, written on Apple Corps stationery, are expected to fetch $200,000 to $300,000.
The custom-made blue electric Cloud guitar owned by Prince (pictured, above), from 1984, minus the strings, is also appearing as part of the “Music Icons 2020” sale on 19 and 20 June. The guitar was featured in the 1984 film Purple Rain. It features the late singer’s love symbols on the neck and gold hardware, and comes with a Calzone purple guitar road case. It is expected to sell for up to $200,000.
Gone…
Online bidding for Bob Dylan’s handwritten lyrics for a song on his album Blonde on Blonde ended on Tuesday. The album is “regarded by many as his greatest”, says The Guardian. The typed page was auctioned by Sotheby’s in London and features alternate lyrics for the “breakup song” Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine. It had been given an estimated price of up to £15,000.
Dylan wrote the notes over a page that already had typed lyrics on it. He never recorded those typed lyrics, but they were later adapted for the song Temporary Like Achilles, which also features on the album. In 2014, Sotheby’s sold another page of Dylan’s lyrics, to his song Like A Rolling Stone, for $2m.
-
Water companies blocked from using customer money to pay “undeserved” bonusesThe regulator has blocked three water companies from using billpayer money to pay £1.5 million in exec bonuses
-
Will the Bitcoin price hit $100,000?With Bitcoin prices trading just below $100,000, we explore whether the cryptocurrency can hit the milestone.
-
Halifax: House price slump continues as prices slide for the sixth consecutive monthUK house prices fell again in September as buyers returned, but the slowdown was not as fast as anticipated, latest Halifax data shows. Where are house prices falling the most?
-
Rents hit a record high - but is the opportunity for buy-to-let investors still strong?UK rent prices have hit a record high with the average hitting over £1,200 a month says Rightmove. Are there still opportunities in buy-to-let?
-
Pension savers turn to gold investmentsInvestors are racing to buy gold to protect their pensions from a stock market correction and high inflation, experts say
-
Where to find the best returns from student accommodationStudent accommodation can be a lucrative investment if you know where to look.
-
Best investing appsLooking for an easy-to-use app to help you start investing, keep track of your portfolio or make trades on the go? We round up the best investing apps
-
The world’s best bargain stocksSearching for bargain stocks with Alec Cutler of the Orbis Global Balanced Fund, who tells Andrew Van Sickle which sectors are being overlooked.
-
Revealed: the cheapest cities to own a home in BritainNew research reveals the cheapest cities to own a home, taking account of mortgage payments, utility bills and council tax
-
UK recession: How to protect your portfolioAs the UK recession is confirmed, we look at ways to protect your wealth.
