Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Looking for the Big Bernini in the Old Master Market

October 19, 2016 by Marion Maneker

Bernini' s "Bust Of the Savior" on display at the Andrew Butterfield Fina Art Gallery in New York with art dealer and Renaissance scholar Andrew Butterfield
Bernini’ s “Bust Of the Savior” will be on Dickinson Roundell’s stand at TEFAF 

The FT covers the unveiling of Andrew Butterfield’s latest Old Master re-discovery. Butterfield bought the bust six years ago at an auction paying £100k before doing his research and re-attributing the work to Bernini and his father. The work will be featured at Dickinson Roundell asking $10m, which is pretty close to £10m these days.

Butterfield is on a re-attribution roll these days. This will be his fourth Bernini after reclaiming 50 other works by artists like Donatello. Because of his ability to deliver the big names, Butterfield is a favorite among museum curators and big-ticket buyers.

Mr Butterfield paid $3.2m in 2002 for a work at Sotheby’s that was just “attributed to” Bernini, rather than “by” Bernini. After reauthenticating the sculpture — thought to have spent some of its time as a garden ornament — he was able to sell it to the Kimbell Art Museum for about twice that figure. […] Other works revealed to be by Bernini which were not found by Mr Butterfield have also soared in price. One went from about $25,000 in 2014 to $33m last year, in a sale to the Getty Museum.

These reports are the flip side of the news breaking recently of Old Master works being proved to be forgeries. Each time a new discovery comes to market, it validates the belief and possibility that a work without secure provenance may, indeed, be a re-discovered masterpiece.

This isn’t to blame Butterfield and the other sleuths who have added to the body of known works by these masters. Though it might begin to put more pressure on sales of Old Masters to include some scientific testing to validate the scholarly finds or, at the very least, insure that the find is not a forgery.

New old masters reshape the contemporary art market (Financial Times)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Marcato Capital Reduced Sotheby’s Stake by a Third Missing Out on Recent Run-UpMarcato Capital Reduced Sotheby’s Stake by a Third Missing Out on Recent Run-Up
  • Against the Art PrizeAgainst the Art Prize
  • Hard Times/Hard ArtistsHard Times/Hard Artists
  • LS Lowry Cricket Painting Leads Sotheby’s June British Modern SaleLS Lowry Cricket Painting Leads Sotheby’s June British Modern Sale
  • Frieze 2018 Sales ReportFrieze 2018 Sales Report
  • The Party MuseumThe Party Museum

Filed Under: General, Premium

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor
 

Loading Comments...