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NEWSLETTER NO. 5 2026
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Roy Lichtenstein, Sinking Sun (1964) in the Manhattan home of collectors Joseph and Ursula Helman. Durston Saylor, Architectural Digest, November 1997. |
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The momentum from last fall continued into Q1. Notably, there were major sales in categories outside of postwar and contemporary art, including the Koch auction of Western Art, Michelangelo’s foot of the Libyan Sibyl, and Jim Irsay’s guitars. Modern & Contemporary held up too, with solid results at the March London sales and reports of strong activity at Frieze LA. Whether the uptick continues is another question. The quarter also brought harder news: art history programs disappearing from university curricula, and a wave of institutional closures—among them the California College of the Arts, after 116 years. At the same time, AI declared itself ready to appraise your paintings, NFTs finally received their eulogy, and Yves Bouvier remained litigious. Below is what we found interesting and notable this past quarter. Firm news at the bottom. |
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OF INTEREST
Always better to see it in person: Sale of Chinese vase canceled after post-sale examination. LINK No copyright protection for AI authorship: Thaler v. Perlmutter ruling. LINK Art not included: Napa’s di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art’s property is for sale. Hard to overstate how beautiful this location is. LINK Banksy: Nothing to add. Check out Renee Vara’s LinkedIn link roundup. LINK Chinese copyist painters: Article on the decline of China’s replica market. LINK Future work for public art appraisers (and conservators): 501(c)3 dedicated to building More Monuments. LINK Gelman collection’s Kahlos: Open letter stating that the Gelman Collection should stay in Mexico. LINK Heartbreaking: Universities cutting art history programs. As the world increasingly communicates through images, we need people who know how to read them more than ever. LINK More heartbreak: California College of the Arts closes its doors after 116 years. This after the closures of Mills College and the San Francisco Art Institute. LINK If AI says so: Need to appraise your painting? Just scan it! LINK Illusion of reality: Reddit r/appraisal thread on the challenges of reconciling to a single value. LINK Keeping it simple: Heritage Auctions on Buyer’s Premiums. LINK Litigation funding: The funding package is 2.6% of the claimed FMV. LINK Litigating Yves Bouvier: Evergreen. LINK New algorithm just dropped: Bloomsbury Tech is going to move us beyond correlation (hedonic) to causality (sociological inquiry). LINK Secondary fields of meaning: Gorgeous read about looking at the backs of paintings. LINK That’s enough of that: NFT market wrap up LINK and a good eulogy from Josh Baer. LINK Premature takes? LINK More that’s enough of that: What happened to the hype brand market? LINK There are many different marketplaces: Is Picasso good or bad? LINK Uccello, Correggio, Tiepolo: Using art history as the foundation for a new aesthetic. LINK |
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FROM OUR BLOG
Willem de Kooning, Untitled XV (1983); Alexander Calder, Red Comber (1962) in the home of Emily Fisher Landau.
The Collector: Emily Fisher Landau |
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OUR NEWS
Demystifying Appraisal Review: On Monday, April 13, 2026 at 11:00a PST / 2:00p EST, partner Susan McDonough will be presenting for ArtTable’s Professional Development Series. REGISTER HERE USPAP Update: Susan is teaching the 7-hour USPAP update online for the Appraisers Association on April 30 and May 1. SIGN UP HERE |
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BOOKS
Amedeo Modigliani, Catalogue Raisonné of the oil paintings by Marc Restellini. Yale University Press, May 19, 2026. LINK Gerhard Richter: Catalogue Raisonné, Volume 7. Hatje Cantz, June 9, 2026. LINK Raphael: Sublime Poetry. Yale University Press, April 14, 2026. LINK Matthew Wong: Interiors. The Matthew Wong Foundation, May 19, 2026. LINK Duchamp. MoMA Publications, May 12, 2026. LINK Eva Gonzalès catalogue raisonné. Wildenstein Plattner Institute. LINK Georgia O’Keeffe catalogue raisonné. Georgia O’Keeffe Museum to launch online catalogue raisonné in early 2026. LINK |
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