Katz, Lin, Kossoff, Fangor & Hill

More strong Richard Lin sales in London & Hong Kong; Leon Kossoff breaks £1m Barrier; Wojciech Fangor goes for $1m in Poland; Alex Katz has lunch; and Tom Hill gets a tax break

This commentary by Marion Maneker is available to AMMpro subscribers. (The first month of AMMpro is free and subscribers are welcome to sign up for the first month and cancel before they are billed.)

Richard Lin Valued on Both Sides of the World

Richard Lin, Painting Relief (HKD 2.8-4.8m) HKD 4.5m ($580k)

Yesterday’s comments on the Richard Lin market were slightly premature. Alongside the sales in Hong Kong at Bonhams and Christie’s was this work at Phillips Evening sale that made HKD 4.5m putting it just behind the work at Christie’s in value.

Back in London, Colin Gleadell points out, buyers and sellers have not given up on Lin either. Christie’s day sale of British art had a clutch of six works by Lin owned by Jasia Reichardt. The art critic’s trove had never been shown before. The works carried a combined estimate of £96,000 but sold for £352,500.

British Art Brings Out the Competition Among Advisors

Speaking of Colin Gleadell, the art market reporter was paying close attention to the bidding in last week’s sales of British art:

“A painting by John Lavery of the first day of Royal Ascot in 1922 saw London dealers Richard Green and Guy Morrison slug it out until Morrison, acting, it is believed, for Irish racehorse breeder John Magnier, secured it for a triple-estimate £187,500.”

“Morrison was in action again over a painting of a bustling race meeting by Lowry, which he bought for his client for a double-estimate £5.3 million – the third highest price ever paid for a Lowry.”

“After decades in the shadows of his fellow School of London associates, Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach, 91-year-old Leon Kossoff passed the £1 million mark when an expressionistic view of Willesden Junction in 1971, from the collection of businessman Frank Cohen, doubled his auction record to sell for £1.4 million.”

Wojciech Fangor Breaks a Million

Wojciech Fangor, M 39 (1969) $1.244m

Poland’s Desa Unicum had a huge score for Wojciech Fangor yesterday when M 39 from 1969 was sold for 4.72m zloty which works out to $1.244m.

Alex Katz Has No Angst

The Financial Times does “Lunch with the FT” with Alex Katz. Lila Raptopoulos acquits herself well but Katz is an easy interview. He’s got plenty to say about himself:

“I would’ve liked to have had a show in a major museum in New York,” he says. “But I don’t think it’s going to happen.” Katz’s last major New York show was at the Whitney in 1986.”

… and other painters.

“Well I think David Hockney and his paintings are completely gracious,” he says. “They’re not one bit pretentious. There’s no angst. There’s no forced masculinity. There’s no forced seriousness. The images are all arresting.”

Tom Hill Likes His Tax Benefits

The FT also talks to Tom Hill about his art foundation which the collector happily describes as a vehicle for housing his art collection but not having the ambitions to become a museum.

Unlike many founders of art foundations, who cloak their undertakings in a patois of altruism, the 70-year-old Hill is blunt about the tax benefits. He also makes no pretence of acting for posterity; the foundation itself owns only about 10 works, he says, leaving “hundreds” in the Hills’ possession. “This space is designed for us while we’re alive,” Hill says, referring to his wife of 38 years, Janine, and himself. “When we’re no longer around, [the foundation has] the ability to turn it back into condos.”

On the whole, Hill comes across as a conventional collector steered by his architect and ambitious to only buy “game changers.” But he’s also something more than that.