Dmitry Rybolovlev, seller of Leonardo’s ‘Salvator Mundi’, detained in Monaco
On the morning of Tuesday, 6 November, Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev was detained for questioning at the request of a Monaco investigative judge. On November 7, Monaco’s chief prosecutor declared Rybolovlev a “formal suspect” in the graft probe. According to early reports, the detention and questioning of Rybolovlev was based on allegations of corruption, trafficking […]
Dead Sea Scrolls fragments belonging to the Museum of the Bible found to be forgeries
It was announced by Washington D.C.’s Museum of the Bible on 22 October 2018 that five of their Dead Sea Scrolls fragments are, in fact, modern forgeries. Following the suspicions of Trinity Western University’s Kipp Davis, the Museum of the Bible requested that five of their 16 fragments be tested by Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und […]
AI in the art market: how the sale of an AI painting has made history
An austere man in what could be clerical garb gazes out at the viewer. His coat, shoulders, and hair blend into the dark, yet incomplete background. Exhibited in a beautiful gilded wood frame, the painting feels familiar. Perhaps by a lesser known artist or an incomplete study by a 19th century master. Oh, there’s a […]
The new Benin Royal Museum to see the temporary restitution of art and artifacts
European museums have consistently been tied up in issues of repatriation of artworks looted and taken from their home countries throughout history. The British Museum is one such museum housing artifacts and artworks from various places that were taken during many years of British conquest and empire. In an effort to bring artifacts home, Nigeria has […]
Jenny Saville’s “Propped”: Female Worth in the Art Market
Throughout art history, women have struggled to break the shackles of the muse and gain the same footing as male artists. The battle for equality in the art world goes beyond recognition or exhibitions and asserts itself in auction houses. Yet, on October 5, Jenny Saville’s Propped (1992) sold for an astounding £9.5 million at […]
Works from the Klapper Collection expected to bring in more than $50 million at auction
Christie’s is set to offer 20 artworks from the collection of Herbert and Adele Klapper in November and December. Medical student turned entrepreneur, Herbert Klapper was born in Brooklyn to a sewing machine salesman in 1926. When World War II hit, he was forced to end his studies in medicine to enlist in the United […]
Painting stolen in 1989 recently sold for £62,500 but remains in limbo
On 11 July 2018, the auctioneer’s gavel fell selling the ‘recently rediscovered’ Emma Sandys 1874 painting for £62,500 (estimated at £20,000 to £30,000) in Christie’s Victorian Pre-Raphaelite and British Impressionist Art sale. This sale, however, would not prove to be an easy or quick process for neither the anonymous buyer, seller, or auction house. The […]
