This Season

SOTHEBY’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY IN ASIA

To celebrate the historic occasion, a gala dinner was held at the Island Shangri-La Hotel in Hong Kong on April 2. Following welcome remarks from Nathan Drahi, managing director, Asia, guests enjoyed a series of dance and musical performances.

An evening of record-breaking anniversary auctions followed on April 5, which started with the single-lot sale of Zhang Daqian’s Pink Lotuses on Gold Screen, 1973. The painting sold for the equivalent of $32 million—the third-highest price for the artist’s work at auction.

TEST DRIVING ON ICE

This February, RM Sotheby’s partnered with The ICE St Moritz (The International Concours of Elegance) for its annual gathering on a frozen lake in Switzerland. Sotheby’s Chief Executive Officer Charles F Stewart, and Peter Wallman, RM Sotheby’s chairman, UK and EMEA, inspected a vintage Bentley 3-liter raced
at 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1925.

On June 9, Sotheby’s RM will partner with Le Mans and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest on an auction in celebration of 100 years of the iconic race.

Peter Wallman, RM Sotheby’s chairman, UK & EMEA and Charles F Stewart, Sotheby’s Chief Executive Officer

RESTORATION IN ACTION

On April 20, Sotheby’s and World Monuments Fund (WMF) were hosted by the Howard family for a day at Castle Howard, North Yorkshire. (See p38 for more on the restoration of the stately home.) Guests toured vital restoration projects, including works to the Mausoleum, with John Darlington, executive director of WMF Britain. Designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and regarded as one of the finest free-standing mausoleums in northern Europe, it remains the private burial place of the Howard family. Later, the Honorable Nicholas Howard and Dr Chris Ridgeway—curator at Castle Howard for nearly 40 years—shared stories about collection highlights and the historic estate’s remarkable history.

The Castle Howard Mausoleum, North Yorkshire

CELEBRATING MARY MCCARTNEY

More than 30 works by photographer Mary McCartney, including portraits, still-lifes and landscapes, were displayed in a selling exhibition at Sotheby’s St George Street Gallery from March 9–April 2. The show, which was part of Sotheby’s (Women) Artists’ campaign, focused on McCartney’s depictions of vulnerable moments of the people close to her. A cocktail reception was held to kick off the show, with celebrity guests including her father, music legend Paul McCartney.

Mary McCartney with Rita Wilson

A SPOTLIGHT ON WOMEN IN ART

In honor of this year’s International Women’s Day, Sotheby’s London held a series of free, public talks. They included Breathe and Feel, Suffer and Love, which saw British artist Tracey Emin—whose sculpture The Mother, 2022, is installed outside the Munch museum in Oslo—and Sotheby’s vice chairman Simon Shaw explore Edvard Munch’s relationship with the women in his life. Elsewhere, fashion and jewelry designer Paloma Picasso, curator and art critic Iwona Blazwick OBE, and Sotheby’s head of Evening Sale Emma Baker discussed the influence of female collectors. The event was chaired by the Barbican Centre’s artistic director and former BBC arts editor Will Gompertz.

The series was part of Sotheby’s (Women) Artists auction campaign, which celebrates female artists’ work throughout history. Both talks are available to stream at sothebys.com

Sotheby’s vice chairman Simon Shaw with Tracey Emin

BASQUIAT SELLS IN LA

On February 16, Sotheby’s Los Angeles hosted a cocktail reception for the selling exhibition Basquiat: Young King, which featured the artist’s works on canvas, paper, found objects and surfaces. Although he was a prominent figure in the New York art scene, Basquiat often spent long stretches of time in LA, staying at art dealer Larry Gagosian’s Venice Beach home in the 1980s and making around 100 paintings during his time there. Many of the works from the show include references to African history and African American pop culture icons and fame—themes and iconography that became synonymous with his work. Among the highlights was Zingest—part of a series he made in LA for a March 1983 solo exhibition—which saw him developing his key motif of the crown.

Guests at Basquiat: Young King

Photos: John Heseltine/Alamy Stock Photo; Deven; Chris Smith Photography; James Kelly; Bizzy Arnott