The Story Behind the Royal Collection One is Remarkably Eclectic Ivan Lindsay on the story behind the Royal Collection — not only the finest private accumulation of artworks, objets and curios in the world, but also a mirror of the diverse tastes and predilections of every British monarch since Charles I THE ROYAL COLLECTION has
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Rumours had been circulating for a while that the late George Embiricos’s Cezanne of the ‘Card Players’ had been sold for US$250m.  Earlier this week Vanity Fair broke the story that the painting had been acquired by the ruling family of Qatar who have been buying large amounts of contemporary art of late.  The Qataris
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Should the Public Spend £50m on a Titian Painting? Is it really worth £50 million of public money for a masterpiece by one of the greatest artists ever, just so it can stay in Britain and be a source of joy and inspiration to heaven knows how many, asks Ivan Lindsay IN EARLY OCTOBER, the
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  Even if reports of the death of the blockbuster exhibition are somewhat exaggerated, it’s true that galleries are having to change the way they stage big shows, says Ivan Lindsay OVER THE SUMMER, the National Gallery and Royal Academy in London announced their autumn exhibitions, Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan
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When Spear’s hosted a debate on what makes a masterpiece, none of the participants could agree. Ivan Lindsay was there — but now he has the floor to himself AT THE MASTERPIECE Fair in London, Spear’s organised a breakfast panel to discuss ‘What is a Masterpiece?’ The discussion, at Le Caprice in the Masterpiece tent
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Trouble ahead in the Art market and general stock market   The Canary in the Mineshaft Where the art market leads, the stock market often follows. If what’s been going on at Sotheby’s lately is any kind of indicator, there are hard times to come, says Ivan Lindsay FOLLOWING THE RECENT two-week marathon of art
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  The recent round of London art auctions confirmed the strengthening art market and were notable for the reappearance of the Russians who have been absent for the last two years. Sotheby’s and Christie’s brought in a combined US$495m for their evening and day sales of Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary art with Sotheby’s adding an
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Picasso – Nude, Green leaves and Bust Although the world economy is stubbornly deflating, with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics having just calculated September’s inflation figure at 1.14% and 2009’s average at -0.34%, many believe that the vast creation of dollars through quantitative easing has to bring inflation in the not-so-distant future. So investors
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82 • Autumn 2010 WHEN THE GOING GETS TOFF Ivan Lindsay on the current crop of aristocrats who are having to sell the family treasures in order to hang on to their stately piles A series of sales of artworks over the last twelve months has drawn attention to the dire straits in which many
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The art market has emerged from the recession faster than anyone expected with a dizzying series of record prices. The market barely had time to digest the US$104m paid for Giacometti’s L’homme qui marche in February before a buyer paid US$106.5m for Picasso’s Nude, Green Leaves and Bust in early May. These prices have pulled
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