11.09.2024
In This Issue
📉 NFT Sales Dip
🔮 A Potential New Chapter for NFTs
💸 Sotheby’s Financial Struggles Deepen
🖼️ Unsigned Portrait Sells for $1.5 Million
📜 Rare Piece of American History Is Up for Grabs
🎸 Propstore’s Major Sale Coincides with Oasis Reunion
🦘 Some Positive Art News Are Coming From Down Under
Propstore’s Major Sale Coincides with Oasis Reunion: In a lucky twist of timing, Propstore has unveiled a major auction featuring the largest collection of Noel Gallagher guitars ever offered. The highlight is Gallagher’s Silver Sparkle Gibson Les Paul, estimated at $530,000, which was famously described as ‘the best in the world’ by Gallagher himself. The auction will also showcase handwritten lyrics to ‘Wonderwall,’ estimated at $10,600, and a custom-painted psychedelic golf buggy. Scheduled for November, this auction serendipitously aligns with Oasis’s reunion tour, though Propstore insists the timing is a coincidence.
Meanwhile, Sotheby’s will host a similar auction featuring Gallagher guitars as part of its inaugural Popular Culture sale.
Want to own a piece of Oasis memorabilia as well?
Oasis (Noel Gallagher) Played Guitar
Fender Electric X11 & Handwritten Letter
Unsigned Portrait Sells for $1.5 Million: An unsigned portrait, intriguingly reminiscent of Rembrandt van Rijn’s style, recently fetched nearly $1.5 million at Thomaston Place Auction Galleries – an astonishing leap from its initial $10,000 estimate. The portrait, titled ‘Portrait of a Girl’, was catalogued as created ‘after’ Rembrandt, dating back to the early 1630s. A label on the back, however, hinted at a more dramatic backstory, suggesting it might once have been attributed to Rembrandt himself during its loan to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Discovered in a Maine attic, the portrait sparked heated bidding among 11 contenders, but then ultimately went to an anonymous UK collector.
A Potential New Chapter for NFTs: End of August, OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer announced that the company received a Wells notice from the SEC, signalling a potential lawsuit over whether certain NFTs might be classified as securities. This marks a significant shift in the SEC’s approach to NFT marketplaces. The notice has sparked debate within the crypto community. Some experts argue that NFTs, especially those with fractional ownership or used for fundraising, could be considered securities, while others worry such a move could stifle innovation and complicate the NFT ecosystem.
If NFTs are classified as securities, tighter regulations could follow, affecting how they are created and traded. While this may bring regulatory clarity, it also poses challenges for smaller creators and platforms as NFTs become more integrated into the financial mainstream.
A Rare Piece of American History Is Up for Grabs: A rare 1787 copy of the U.S. Constitution, printed after the Constitutional Convention and believed to be the only one in private hands will be auctioned off. Set to be auctioned by Brunk Auctions on 28th of September in Asheville, North Carolina, this document features the iconic ‘We the People’ preamble and is accompanied by a letter from George Washington urging for ratification.
With a starting bid of $1 million and no reserve price, this document stands out among only eight known surviving copies. Recently discovered in some dusty room in North Carolina, its auction is set to draw significant interest. Alongside this historic treasure, other items include a 1776 draft of the Articles of Confederation.
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Sotheby’s Financial Struggles Deepen: Sotheby’s financial woes have taken a significant turn, with a Financial Times report disclosing an 88% plunge in core earnings for the first half of 2024. This dramatic drop to $18.1 million highlights the broader challenges facing the art market, including reduced sales, job cuts and gallery closures. Even after adjusting for severance and legal costs, earnings still fell by 60%.
In response, Sotheby’s is gearing up to tackle its $1.8 billion net long-term debt with a $1 billion investment from Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, ADQ. This capital injection is set to help reduce the company’s leverage. The auction house also faced a 25% drop in auction sales compared to last year, aligning with a similar trend at Christie’s. While these figures cover Sotheby’s main auction business, they don’t include the performance of its other subsidiaries under BidFair.
👍 Some Positive Art News Are Coming From Down Under: Last week’s major auctions in Sydney and Melbourne showcased the vibrancy of the Australian art scene. At Deutscher + Hackett’s Melbourne auction on the 28th of August, Bronwyn Oliver’s sculptures Flow and Clasp sold for a remarkable $1 million combined, maintaining Oliver’s record of $875,000 for Sun. In Sydney, Bonhams saw Gloria Thancoupie’s stoneware bowls exceed expectations, with Pot setting a new record at $43,855. The Deutscher + Hackett sale, totaling $7.4 million, was their second-largest event of the year. The McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery benefited with $749,000 from seven artworks sold.
Other highlights included Brett Whiteley’s The Dead Rabbit for $400,000 and a record $212,500 for Fred Williams’ work on paper. Bonhams also achieved strong results for Grosvenor School linocuts and Gunybi Ganambarr’s ceremonial poles.
👎 NFT Sales Dip in Early September: In early September, the NFT market experienced a dip, with sales down 7.69% to $82.31 million and transactions plummeting 36.93% to just over 1 million. Ethereum NFTs remained relatively steady, while Solana and Bitcoin-based NFTs faced significant declines. Leading the pack was Ethereum’s Cryptopunks, which earned $4.92 million despite a 9.24% drop. Immutable X’s Guild of Guardians and BNB’s Luxemarathoner followed, with Luxemarathoner making headlines with a staggering 4,441.73% increase.
The week’s priciest NFT was Cryptopunk #6,915, changing hands for $1.46 million. These shifts reflect ongoing market adjustments but could also suggest that NFT enthusiasm is still very much alive and kicking.
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