Cashing in on Turner

The Belgian collector Baron Guy Ullens has consigned 14 Turner watercolours to auction, because he wants to focus on contemporary Chinese art. The works, which will be sold at Sotheby’s London on 5 July, are expected to fetch £10m-£15m ($19.7m-$29.55m).

Baron Ullens has founded the first private museum for both Chinese and international contemporary art in Beijing, which is to open in October. Titled the Ullens Centre for the Arts, it is located in Beijing’s Dashanzi art district and its first chairman is Jan Debbaut, former head of collections at Tate.

Ullens' timing looks to be excellent:

Last year saw new Turner records established for an oil and for a work on paper: a Venetian oil, Giudecca, La Donna della Salute and San Giorgio sold for $35.86m at Christie’s New York while the watercolour The Blue Rigi sold for £5.83m ($11m) at Christie’s London. Christie’s has traditionally dominated the Turner market so the sale of this collection, which is the biggest to come to auction since the Munro sales in 1878 and 1879, is a coup for Sotheby’s, which offered a guarantee on the group.

From the Art Newspaper.

Posted by David on April 2, 2007 10:51 AM