The London Russian Auctions will be upon us in a couple of weeks, the catalogues are out including the Interiors sale at Christies South Kensington…..The lack of good paintings on the market for so many months and the insatiable appetite from Russian collectors for their treasures should make these well fought over sales. The Russian buyers have been out buying strongly in the Impressionist and the Contemporary sales and the results make Russian art look incredibly inexpensive…..The new magnifying application on the Macdougall on-line viewing is a revelation and this time they have the best paintings on offer.
Westminster Council must be one the the daftest in the country even though it is the richest. First the moronic decisions on parking in the West End which are still be resolved after a violent backlash from ratepayers, and now in Olympic Year for London the Council have decided to rip up the running track in Paddington Recreation ground to replace it by the end of July. Did they not have all winter to do this , is there a problem with the elected Conservative councillors in Westminster that makes them want to deprive the local people of Maida Vale, Kilburn and its surroundings of one of its important sports facilities. I expect that those who use it are unable to afford to pay for private health clubs so would not be Tory voters and therefore irrelevant to the Westminster Council.
The country is sinking into a mire of bureaucracy with the daft excuse that everything is decided by computer. When I got into work the other day there was an urgent message from my bank to contact the Manager immediately. After a few minutes of polite conversation I was told that there was a problem with one of my accounts, oh dear I thought I must be incredibly overdrawn and the bank was pulling the plug on my business, my heart stopped, then I was told to be very careful as I was 3 euros overdrawn and my credit rating would be affected. The newspapers are full of stories of the collapse of the Eurozone, but what about Britain with a Banking system that will not lend to small businesses, the impossibility of getting a mortgage for most people, the small towns and villages dying with shops closing because of the cut in public transport and the building of large supermarkets out of town draining any resources from local business. No wonder we flock on holiday abroad, where the towns and villages are still thriving, the food is good, the service is happy and the weather is great.
The newspapers in London are full of the upcoming election for the Mayor. At the moment the Mayor is Boris Johnson whose claim to fame is the “Boris” bike a great idea for transport in London and his interest in making London the finest capital city in the world. He is constantly criticised for his “upper-class” connections having been to Eton. Against him is the previous Mayor Ken Livingstone known in the past as “Red Ken” for his generosity in throwing tax payers money at small groups of fanatics who hated the country that housed ,fed and educated their children. For those of us who pay tax and work for a living it a simple to see where the X should be put.
A company called Global Arts from New York is emailing details of items in the Sothebys and Christies Russian sales coming up in a few days.Is this blatant advertising of the pieces they have consigned to the auctions. Maybe the auctions are not publicising themselves enough and need help from the owners of items in the sale.
Finally a book has been published wondering when the collecting public will realise that works created by the team behind Damien Hirst have very little commercial value….”Con Art….why you ought to sell your Damien Hirsts while you can” by Julian Spalding, on sale April 1st.
Will this book make the “fashion” art buyers realise that most Contemporary Art is worthless junk !!
Christies are having their next Russian auction in New York on the 16th April featuring as lot 50 a Princess Tenisheva casket first sold in Sothebys Geneva in 1981 for 4200 Swiss francs selling again over ten years later in London suddenly popping up in a Christies Art Nouveau and Deco sale estimated at about £150,000, not selling and then appearing again in a London Russian sale with a much lowered estimate and still not selling. What will it do this time with an estimate of $25-35,000 ? The work of Princess Tenisheva is extremely rare and very much underpriced in comparison to the mass production pieces of Faberge, let’s hope that it sells to a worthy collector.It has eventually sold for $30,000.
Central London looks as though a mad giant chicken has run amok, with large multi-decorated eggs on show in boxes, hanging from above, hidden in shops and hotels with 200 to be found to win a valuable diamond set egg. Maps can be downloaded from the internet showing the different zone locations with clues and a “cheat” Google map available. A day bus pass and good walking boots are recommended. The new “Faberge” shop in Grafton Street has a window display of their miniature eggs with some genuine Karl Faberge ones at Wartskis next door and some at Iconastas in the Piccadilly Arcade.
A very fine carved wood cabinet by Polenova, one the the many items of woodwork from Abramtsevo and Talshkino on show in London.
See the latest offering from Temple Gallery….an unattributed scrubbed bronze lion mask door handle at £18000, see Timeline Auctions on March 15/16 lot 657 for a Roman 2nd Century AD example in patinated bronze with an estimate of £4000-£6000.
