Notes From Maastricht

I just received word that The Magic Flame by Jackson Pollock (pictured left) sold for $8 million while an untitled painting by Willem de Kooning went for $5 million. Both to private collectors. Last notes, news, and observations from TEFAF after the jump.

• Dealers noticed fewer Americans and more affluent Russian buyers.

• Pre-fair buzz was that the Old Masters market was “dry.” Now comes word that the traditional paintings at TEFAF attracted serious private and institutional collectors. A Hendrick Avercamp landscape sold to a US collector for nearly $2.5 million.

• Oriental art is hot. One collector bought 12 objects (sale $ not released) including an unusually large fat lady from the Tang Dynasy (618-907) while a Japanese 19^th century lacquered wood armor box was bought for $100,000 by a Russian collector living in New York.

• A watch designed by Andy Warhol showing five views of New York and five different time dials was sold to an English collector for about $40,00, which is something of a bargain for Warhol collectors. If I remember correctly, it was the only watch ever designed by Warhol who was an avid watch collector.

• Charles Ede, a London antiquities specialist, sold a Cycladic idol (2200 BC) for “a substantial six-figure sum” within the first minute of the fair. He made 17 other sales on the same day including a bust of Faustina the Younger (125-174 AD) for $500,000. Nice.