The 2010 European Fine Art Fair, more popularly known as TEFAF, closed its doors on Sunday with dealers reporting stronger sales than last year, when concern about worldwide financial turmoil kept many collectors’ pocketbooks shut.
According to TEFAF organizers, exhibitors offered more than $2.7 billion worth of art and antiques over the course of fair, which attracted 72,500 visitors — a modest seven percent increase over last year’s attendance. In another all-important metric, the tally of private aircraft at the Maastricht/Aachen airport was reported at a healthy 171.
As Art+Auction's Judd Tully wrote in a series of articles for ARTINFO, booths appeared to be busy during the fair. In order from most to least expensive, here is a list of major sales reported by ARTINFO and Bloomberg:
Lucas Cranachthe Elders David and Bathsheba, 1534, for $7.1 million. As Judd Tully reported, London–based dealer Bernheimer-Colnaghi secured a near–record price for the Old Master. It was likely the most expensive work sold at the fair.
Mark Rothkos Untitled (Red, White, Orange), 1967, oil on paper, for around $3 million. London's Lefevre Fine Art sold the piece.
Jean-Michel Basquiats BustedAtlas 2, 1982, for$2.4 million. New York’s Van de Weghe Fine Art sold the work. Paintings by the late artist remain popular with collectors, and have sold well at major auctions last year.
A Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot view of Florence, 1834, for $2 million. London’s Dickinson gallery sold the painting to fellow exhibitor Daniel Katz.
Francois Girardon's bust of Louis XIV, 17th century, for $1.5 million. Katz, in turn, sold the bronze sculpture — which, as Tully noted, carries a striking resemblance to an identically–themed work by Jeff Koons — to a U.S. museum.
A book of 22 rare drawings, 15th century, for $1.21 million. Manuscript dealer Joern Guenther sold the compendium to a U.S. collector who reportedly recently gave up acquiring contemporary art.
A Guenther Uecker nail painting, 1967, for $400,000. New York dealers Luxembourg & Dayan sold the Zero Group artist's work to a U.S. collector. As interest in Zero Group artists continues to grow in the wake of their recent London auctions successes, dealers like Sperone Westwater — longtime champions of the movement's work — say they are raising their prices.
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