USA: CASINO MAGNATE STEVE WYNN BUYS MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTING UP FOR AUCTION AT CHRISTIE'S - CEZANNE'S SELF PORTRAIT AT 17.3 MILLION DOLLARS
Record ID:
837927
USA: CASINO MAGNATE STEVE WYNN BUYS MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTING UP FOR AUCTION AT CHRISTIE'S - CEZANNE'S SELF PORTRAIT AT 17.3 MILLION DOLLARS
- Title: USA: CASINO MAGNATE STEVE WYNN BUYS MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTING UP FOR AUCTION AT CHRISTIE'S - CEZANNE'S SELF PORTRAIT AT 17.3 MILLION DOLLARS
- Date: 7th May 2003
- Summary: (U1) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (MAY 7, 2003) (AGENCY POOL) CHRISTIE'S AUCTION HOUSE AUCTION ROOM PEOPLE IN AUCTION ROOM VARIOUS OF BIDDING ON SELF-PORTRAIT BY PAUL CEZANNE CEZANNE SELF PORTRAIT ON STAND BIDDING ON CEZANNE SELF PORTRAIT GAVEL COMING DOWN AT END OF BIDDING SCREEN SHOWING WINNING BID WITHOUT CHRISTIE'S PREMIUM VARIOUS OF CEZANNE SELF PORTRAIT PRESS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHRISTOPHER BURGE, CHRISTIE'S HONORARY CHAIRMAN AND AUCTIONEER SAYING "And I can tell you that this painting was bought by Steve Wynn who has asked us to tell you that he bought the painting personally to be publicly displayed in the Wynn Collection in Las Vegas. It will be displayed next to the Cezanne still life which he owns which was painted the same year." (U1) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (MAY 1, 2003) (AGENCY POOL) VARIOUS OF 'PETITE DANSEUSE DE QUATORZE ANS' BY EDGAR DEGAS (U1) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (MAY 7, 2003) (AGENCY POOL) VARIOUS OF BIDDING ON 'PETITE DANSEUSE DE QUATORZE ANS' BY EDGAR DEGAS VARIOUS OF 'COMPOSITION IN WHITE, BLUE, AND YELLOW' BY PIET MONDRIAN (U1)NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (AGENCY POOL) VARIOUS OF 'LA CLARIERE' BY ALBERTO GIACOMETTI (U1) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (MAY 7, 2003) (AGENCY POOL) VARIOUS OF BIDDIN ON 'LA CLARIERE' 'LA CLARIERE' FAILS TO SELL AND 'PASSES' PRESS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) BURGE SAYING "I think it tells us that obviously we've been, the world has been going through a difficult economic time, a difficult political time, you know there have been a few little puffs of smoke here and there you've probably seen around the world, and obviously a lot of that was threatening the situation when the sale was going to press, and so I think understandably people were not throwing their works of art at the market at the moment." CHRISTIE'S AUCTION ROOM
- Embargoed: 22nd May 2003 13:00
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- Location: NEW YORK, USA
- City:
- Country: USA
- Topics: Arts,Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVAC74SQSL99MW6MO073NT36G8RZ
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- Story Text: It was a Wynn-win situation at Christie's auction house on Wednesday (May 7), as casino magnate Steve Wynn bought the most expensive painting up for auction for the second night in a row, paying 17.3 million United States dollars for a Cezanne self-portrait at Christie's impressionist and modern art sale.
Christie's auction house held its annual spring sale of impressionist and modern art in New York on Wednesday (May 7, 2003), with the most expensive lot of the evening selling to a man who knows a thing or two about gambling, casino owner Steve Wynn.
Wynn, who is shaping up as the art market's personal saviour having shelled out over 40 million United States dollars over two nights for a pair of paintings that he will display publicly in Las Vegas, was the winning bidder for "Portrait de Paul Cezanne," a circa 1895 work that carried a pre-sale estimate of 15 million to 20 million USD.
"I can tell you that this painting was bought by Steve Wynn who has asked us to tell you that he bought the painting personally to be publicly displayed in the Wynn Collection in Las Vegas. It will be displayed next to the Cezanne still life which he owns which was painted the same year," said Christie's honorary chairman and the evening's auctioneer Christopher Burge.
The casino owner and art collector said through Christie's after the sale that the painting would join the work he bought for 23.5 million USD at Sotheby's, Renoir's "Dans les roses (Madame Leon Clapisson)," in the Wynn collection in Las Vegas.
Wynn is slated to open a new casino, "Le Reve," and the works will hang there, he said.
The auction, rather smaller at 31 lots than the 45 to 60 pieces offered for sale in recent seasons, took in a total of 59,737,900 USD including Christie's commission, coming in under the pre-sale estimate of 63.7 million USD to 90 million USD. Eighty-one percent of the lots were sold, a slightly stronger result than rival Sotheby's Tuesday sale.
After the sale Burge was asked about the small size of the evening's sale.
"I think it tells us that obviously we've been, the world has been going through a difficult economic time, a difficult political time, you know there have been a few little puffs of smoke here and there you've probably seen around the world, and obviously a lot of that was threatening the situation when the sale was going to press, and so I think understandably people were not throwing their works of art at the market at the moment," said Burge.
Auction officials at both houses had an especially difficult time securing consignments this winter due to the uneasiness of impending war in Iraq and the unsteady economy.
Burge did say the bidding was solid throughout the evening although he conceded "there were some ups and downs."
One of those was undoubtedly Giacometti's multi-figure sculpture "La clairiere," which carried the evening's second-highest estimate at 8 million to 12 million USD but brought no bids beyond 7.2 million USD and failed to sell. A similar piece offered at Sotheby's on Tuesday also went unsold.
But a Degas sculpture, "Petite danseuse de quatorze ans,"
fetched 10,311,500 USD, right at the centre of its 8 to 12 million USD estimate. It was bought by the Richard Gray Gallery and was the evening's second most expensive work.
Other highlights included Mondrian's "Composition in White, Blue, and Yellow," which sold for 8,071,500 USD (estimate 6 to 9 million USD), and another Giacometti sculpture, "Homme qui marche III," which went for 4,039,500 USD, just beating its high estimate.
The auctions continue next week with works by post-war and contemporary artists such as Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko hitting the block. - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
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