Speaking after the sale, David Bennett, Chairman of Sotheby’s Jewellery Department in Europe and the Middle East and Co-Chairman of Sotheby’s Switzerland commented: “The legendary Beau Sancy is a truly magical stone that has entranced generations of royal owners and continues to exert a powerful influence over all who see it. Its supreme historical importance was reflected tonight in the strength of the bidding and the remarkable result realised”.

Passed down through the Royal Families of France, England, Prussia and the House of Orange, the 34.98 carat modified pear double rose cut diamond has been the privileged witness of 400 years of European history.

Acquired by Nicolas de Harlay, Lord of Sancy (1546-1629), in Constantinople in the mid to late 1500’s, the Beau Sancy is most likely to have originated from the mines in south-central India near the city of Golconda, the source of history’s best known diamonds, including the Hope, the Koh-i-Noor and the Regent. In 1604, the Beau Sancy was bought for 75,000 livres (25,000 écus) by Henri IV and gifted to his wife, Marie de Medici. The Queen of France had long desired the stone, particularly after learning that de Sancy had sold a larger stone, today known as the “Sancy”, to King James I of England1. Testament to the importance her Majesty placed on the diamond, the Beau Sancy was mounted atop the crown she wore at her coronation in 1610, as shown in a magnificent portrait by Frans II Pourbus, the Younger, (pictured left) now in the Louvre.

WATERMELON, Acrylic on canvas, 2008

Sotheby’s Hong Kong has announced that YAYOI KUSAMA – Hong Kong Blooms in My Mind, a selling exhibition of works by contemporary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama will be held from 19 to 31 May 2012 at the newly-constructed Sotheby’s Hong Kong Gallery on the 5^th Floor of One Pacific Place, Admiralty.  One of a series of exciting events celebrating the opening of Sotheby’s Hong Kong Gallery, this exhibition marks a significant expansion of Sotheby’s business in Asia beyond its traditional twice-annual series of auctions in April and October.  Personally titled by Kusama, the exhibition is the result of direct and exclusive collaboration with the artist, her studio and the artist’s long-standing Tokyo gallery, Ota Fine Arts, presenting an assemblage of nearly 40 works of the highest quality, all of which are available for private sale. The works included in the exhibition cover a wide range of media including works on canvas, sculptures of various sizes and unique works on paper, and encompassing many periods of the artist’s development from the 1950s to the present.

PUMPKIN, Fiberglass reinforced plastic, urethane paint, 2010, 125 (H) x 120 x 120 cm

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)

With large-scale retrospectives held in major museums and galleries worldwide, Yayoi Kusama is one of the most influential figures in the Eurocentric modern and contemporary art history. Born in Nagano, Japan, in 1929, Kusama moved to New York in 1957, launching a successful and prolific artistic career with works encompassing a variety of media from painting and sculpture to anti-war demonstration and film production, garnering much international acclaim before returning to Japan in 1973 where she has continue to produce artworks and novels. Her creative journey spans the inception and flowering of many sweeping art movements and dominant schools of thought yet defies all classification. Affected by hallucinatory visions since childhood, she channels the uncontrollable psychic energies into her artistic creations, giving rise to motifs including the mesmerising polka dots and infinity nets that now stand as instantly recognisable symbols of contemporary art.

Simon Shaw, Senior Vice President and Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art department in New York, said: “If ever there was a work of art of true shock and awe it is Edvard Munch’s The Scream, which is not only one of the seminal images from art history, but also one of the visual keys to the modern consciousness. We are delighted to say that this magnificent picture achieved a new world record at Sotheby’s for any work of art when it sold for $119.9 million (£73.6 million / €91 million) after an enthusiastic bidding battle involving at least eight bidders which lasted for more than 12 minutes. Tonight’s sale total of $330,568,550 million marked Sotheby’s highest ever total for an Evening Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art, breaking Sotheby’s previous record of $286.2 million set in 1990 here at Sotheby’s in New York.”

Tobias Meyer, Sotheby’s Worldwide Head of Contemporary Art and this evening’s auctioneer, commented:

“This evening’s sale was a dream for an auctioneer, and to be able to sell The Scream for over $100 million dollars hammer was a moment that I cherish as an auctioneer, and also a very proud moment for Sotheby’s. The Scream is worth every penny that the collector paid for it. It is one of the great icons of art in the world, and whoever bought it should be congratulated. Tonight was a historic night for Sotheby’s, and I am very happy to have been part of it.”

David Norman, Co-Chairman of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Department, added: “I have been at Sotheby’s for three decades, and the sale of The Scream in tonight’s auction is the most exciting moment I have experienced here. In 2004, Sotheby’s sold the first $100 million picture, and to shatter the world auction record again for such an iconic and rare work of art this evening was nothing less than historic.” Mr. Norman continued: “We were also entrusted with so many other wonderful collections, including – and very happily – the Forstmann collection, which comfortably made a total within its estimated range, and we’re thrilled to have achieved the $29.2 million price for the Picasso and the $14.9 million sum for the marvellous Joan Miró surrealist work Tête Humaine. Throughout the sale we established great prices in so many different categories: the Munch with Expressionism; Picasso with classic Modernism; Dalí with Surrealism; and Brancusi, a great work of sculpture.”

Statement from Petter Olsen

“I was walking along the road with two Friends / the Sun was setting – The Sky turned a bloody red / And I felt a whiff of Melancholy – I stood / Still, deathly tired – over the blue-black / Fjord and City hung Blood and Tongues of Fire / My Friends walked on – I remained behind / – shivering with Anxiety – I felt the great Scream in Nature – EM”

The artist’s hand-painted inscription on the frame of the present work.

I hope that the publicity given by this sale will increase public interest in Munch’s work and awareness of the important message that I feel it conveys.

“The Scream” for me shows the horrifying moment when man realises his impact on nature and the irreversible changes that he has initiated, making the planet increasingly uninhabitable.

The image of “The Scream” could make more of us fathom the magnitude of the consequences of our continuing emissions of greenhouse gases. This will inevitably lead to the triggering of uncontrollable feedback mechanisms that lie latent in the physics of nature.

They will kick in, slowly at first, then accelerate, causing the earth to become overheated. The biosphere will shrink and there will be less oxygen, water and food. More death, less life. And very few lifeboats left as we go down.

Munch’s most important work “The Frieze of Life”, never finalized, but existing in many versions, has as its theme Love, Anxiety and Death. “The Scream” is about Anxiety approaching and anticipating Death.

Munch’s hand painted poem on the frame ends with the words “The Great Scream in Nature.” It is as if Munch has had a premonition of what man was going to inflict on nature.

Krista and Andrew Hunter with the two awards

At the prestigious International Property Awards, Asia Pacific 2012-2013 in Kuala Lumpur last Friday, Hunter Sotheby’s International Realty was thrilled to win two awards: Winner of Best Real Estate Agent Website Thailand and highly commended in the Best Real Estate Agent Thailand category.

Opening speech by Stuart Shield

The Asia Pacific region produced a record number of entries from 17 different countries for this year’s International Property Awards. No other region has come anywhere near matching this feat in the entire 18 year history of the International Property Awards. The winners were revealed during a two-day Property & Hospitality Summit at the J. W. Marriott Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on 26^th and 27^th April.

Covering residential as well as commercial categories, the prime focus of the prestigious International Property Awards is to seek out the best real estate professionals across the globe.

Stuart Shield, president of the International Property Awards, said, “We were amazed and delighted by the enormous number of entries received for the Asia Pacific region this year. The standard was also extremely high. Any company to win one of these awards has shown exceptional levels of professionalism and competence in their respective field.”

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

The writing figure represents both Bacon’s partner George Dyer and the artist himself. By giving the figure Dyer’s distinctive profile and his own distinctive sweep of hair, Bacon conflates the two salient subjects that were features of paintings throughout his career. Rather than a precise inverted reflection, the mirror shows a second figure. The near-nakedness and white underwear of both though is strongly reminiscent of the famous photographs of George Dyer taken by John Deakin in Bacon’s studio in about 1965.

Following on the heels of the hugely successful (and enjoyable!) Starlight Soiree at the British International School in February, Phuket Has Been Good To Us’ next event, The Bliss Beach Ball, will be held on Friday 27th April at Bliss Beach Club on Bangtao Beach.

Tickets are THB 2,500 and on sale now. More info or tickets can be obtained by visiting the charity’s official website.

Successful entrants have been invited to attend a high profile gala presentation dinner at the J. W. Marriott Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on April 27th where the official announcements will be made.

The Asia Pacific Property Awards are part of the long established International Property Awards and its award winners’ logo is recognised as a symbol of excellence throughout the global industry. Attaining one of these coveted awards is indisputable evidence that Hunter Sotheby’s International Realty is capable of beating some exceedingly strong contenders within the highly competitive Asia Pacific property arena.

The judging panel consists of approximately 70 professionals including Fiona Nixon, chairman of the Australian Institute of Architects; Patrick Grove, co-founder of IPGA Ltd; Peter Bolton King, group chief executive of the National Federation of Property professionals; David Dalby of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS); and Mike McNamara of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

Sotheby’s Hong Kong will hold its Contemporary Asian Art Spring Sale 2011 on 2 April at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, presenting a meticulously selected group of contemporary Chinese artworks of great historical importance, among them Bloodline – Big Family: Family No. 2 (pictured right – est. HK$25 – 35 million / US$3.2 – 4.5 million), the earliest work from Zhang Xiaogang’s Bloodline series ever offered at auction. Also highlighted are two important early works of Cynical Realism, namely 1993 No. 4 by Fang Lijun and A Good Dog by Liu Wei, which are expected to stir intense bidding. This season Sotheby’s is delighted to introduce a special section dedicated to Without-ism, presenting to collectors contemporary Chinese art from a fresh perspective. Offering 152 lots, the sale is estimated to achieve a total in excess of HK$158 million / US$20 million.

Evelyn Lin, Sotheby’s Head of Contemporary Asian Art, said, “The past century has seen a true flourishing in art in Southeast Asia, Greater China and beyond. 2011 has been a notable year for Sotheby’s sale of contemporary Asian art. Apart from the active participation of collectors across Asia, we attracted strong bids from all over the world, which is solid proof of the market’s recognition of our direction and effort. The confidence of our collectors has enabled us to gather museum-quality and historically important contemporary works, especially contemporary Chinese paintings. Continuing our fine tradition of scrupulous planning, meticulous categorisation and centralised selling, we proudly present the historically significant and immensely valuable early works, Bloodline – Big Family: Family No. 2 by Zhang Xiaogang (1993) as well as 1993 No. 4 by Fang Lijun, the first-ever piece that the artist exhibited abroad. In addition, we are delighted to introduce a special section devoted to recent works by emerging faces in contemporary Chinese art, bringing new artists and their works to our collectors and continuing to expand the market.”