Steven Litt of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer does a follow up on the Cleveland Museum of Art’s deaccessioning of 32 Old Master works including two paintings bought as Tiepolos some time ago and now believed to be the work of his followers. The total sale was for $1.47m against estimates of $706k to $1.022m, approximately $450,000 more than the high-end estimate which would have netted the museum around $1.2m earmarked for new acquisitions (which one hopes are not in the Old Master field because the prices seem to be rising):

“We were pleased to be swept along by a generally enthusiastic group of buyers and stronger than expected sales across many lots,” C. Griffith Mann, the museum’s chief curator, said in an email. “Things went within or beyond the estimates.”

Among the big ticket items that sold for higher-than-expected prices were “Dune Landscape with Figures,” by the 17th century Dutch painter Philips Wouwerman. Estimated at $100,000 to $150,000, it sold for $446,500, including the buyer’s premium.

A pair of 18th-century paintings attributed to an unknown follower of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, depicting an ancient Roman battle, were estimated to sell for $200,000 to $300,000. The price with the premium was $482,500.

Cleveland Museum of Art earns more than expected from Sotheby’s sale of selected old master paintings (Cleveland Plain Dealer)