Sotheby's, New York
A Sacre Conversazione: The Madonna & Child
with St. Luke and Catherine of Alexandria, 1560
Oil on canvas
Pricing: 15, 000, 000- 20, 000, 000 USD
Sold: 16, 882, 500 USD
On the 27th Carol Vogel of the New York Times reported that, "The painting, which dates from around 1560, sold to a lone telephone bider for its low estimate, $15 million, or $16. 8 million, including Sotheby's fees. The auction house would identify the buyer only as a 'European collector'. The price was a record for the artists at auction, surpassing the $13.5 million paid at Christie's in London in 1991." (Vogel, 1) http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/arts/design/28vogel.html?_r=1&ref=sothebys
February 25, 2010
Sotheby's, London
Salome with the Head of John the Baptist, 1570
Oil on canvas
Pricing: $4-6 million
On February 25, 2010, Matthew Moore from The Telegraph wrote in his article "Christie's sued for 'misidentifying Titian painting worth millions'" that "a brother and sister who lost millions after Christie's failed to recognize a lost painting have reach an undisclosed settlement with the auction house. The siblings sold the picture for £8000 after it was assessed by Christie's staff as being from the "school of Titian" but probably not by the master himself. The picture- Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist- was subsequently put up for sale by rival auctioneers Sotheby's for a guide price of $ 4 to 6 million after being identified as a Titian original. David Dickson and his sister Susan Priestly, who unearthed the painting in their family home 20 years ago, accused Christie's of breach of duty or negligence in papers presented to the High Court...They claimed that fine art experts at the auction house had failed in their commitment to competently "research and advise" on the painting's value when it was put up for auction with a guide price of £8000- £12, 000 in 1993. A specialist in the Old Master Pictures Department originally said that the picture may be a "wrecked original" Titian and warranted further investigation, but cleaning which should have revealed its true provenance was never carried out."
December 8, 2005
Portrait of a Lady and her Daughter, 1550
Oil on canvas
On Thursday December 8th, 2005 BBC News reported: "'Garage Titian' Fails at Auction"
"A Titian masterpiece found in a garage and expected to fetch £5m has failed to sell at auction in London. Portrait of a Lady and her Daughter was not seen for more than 400 years before it was rediscovered. The picture needed 20 years of painstaking and elaborate restoration work before it was finally displayed in public in 2001. Titian never completed the painting but it was reworked by one of his pupils after his death in 1576. It is thought to depict Titian's daughter Emilia with one of his granddaughters. The restored Titian was in a sale with 54 other Old Masters that raised £16.5m. The world record auction price for a Titian is £7.48m for Venus and Adonis, which was sold in 1991".
