Prices

Art, antiques, and collectibles prices, with auction results and the factors behind changing values.

The Modigliani Affaire

Detail of Amedeo Modigliani's self-portrait, showing his face, rust-red jacket and painter's palette.

The death of Amedeo Modigliani and of his devoted partner Jeanne Hebuterne starts one of the most emblematic stories of the Art Market, which will lead the works of the unfortunate Tuscan artist to be subject of an “exceptional enterprise of economic revaluation”.

The acme of the speculative operation has been reached with the auction award for 170,405,000 US dollars of the “Red Nude”, which previously belonged to Gualino Collection and to Feroldi Collection and then in 1950 was acquired by the art collector Gianni Mattioli thanks to the interest of his cousin, Fernanda Wittgens, the then Director of the Pinacoteca di Brera.

The valorization of Modigliani’s Work thus began in the ‘50s on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean: in Europe activities revolved around “Il Milione Gallery” in Milan and in America around Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Top 5 Best-Performing American Artists of 2022

Shot Sage Blue Marilyn by Andy Warhol: a pink-faced Marilyn Monroe with yellow hair on a blue-green background.

This article shows a selection made by MutualArt of the Top 5 US Artists of 2022 due to their performance in sales and exhibitions of their work. The top performers are:

1. Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987)

Andy Warhol was an American Postwar & Contemporary artist who was born in 1928. In 2022 he achieved sales for 570,207,409 USD

Numerous key galleries and museums such as Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum of Contemporary Art have featured Andy Warhol’s work in the past.

Since 1998 the record price for this artist at auction is 195,040,000 USD for “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” which sold at Christie’s New York in 2022. 

Learn more about the other best-performing American artists of 2022.

Meet the 5 Most Valued NFT Artists in the World

Beeple - Everydays: the First 5000 Days by Beeple, 2021

MutualArt brings you a selection of the most profitable NFT artists that have proven that digital art has come to stay and slay. Get to know the performances of each artist, when and what they present in auctions, the realized prices, their exhibitions and much more. 

We are your eyes and ears on everything that happens in the art market. An international team of art lovers, web professionals and data analysts driven by passion and excellence who work relentlessly to make the art market accessible to everyone.

Our data is sourced 24 hours a day from over 22,000 venues and organizations and is manually moderated to guarantee its accuracy.

Sotheby’s Successful NFT Auction of ‘MetaSkull’ Collection Brought Over $665K for Famed Contemporary Artist Jacky Tsai

MetaSkull promotional graphic with a colourful, intricately patterned skull and the words SKULL ART NFT.

Jacky Tsai and Froyo Games, a Web3 GameFi platform, announced the successful auction sale of “MetaSkull 元宇宙骷髅”(1/1001), the first digital art NFT in the MetaSkull collection, which is a series consisting of 1001 unique NFTs created with generative art programming. The auction was hosted by Sotheby’s – a Xperience Digital Art Auction, with the unique skull motif’s final bid concluding at USD $7,700 (HKD $60,480). 

The combined auction proceeds from Mr. Tsai’s digital artworks amounted to USD $665,832 (HKD $5,226,480), with a total of 5 lots sold – including Jacky’s impressive “Golden Years”, which sold for USD $321,036 (HKD $2,520,000).

Life Is A Beautiful Colour – Exhibition of Contemporary African Artists

Qhamanande Maswana Blue Beanie, 2022

Janet Rady Fine Art is pleased to present ‘Life Is A Beautiful Colour,’ a group show of  emerging contemporary African artists co-curated by Hyacinthe Kouassi and Elorm Gosu.

Including works by Frank Asso, Alex Gbizié, Muramuzi JohnBosco, Joseph Kojo Hoggar,  Qhamanande Maswana, Osman Salifu and Affen Segun the exhibition brings together works that  exude and celebrate the vibrancy and warmth of the contemporary lived experience across the  continent of Africa.

From representations of the fast pace of city life, the communal relationships shared in villages, to quieter more focused and confronting portraits of African youth, though the works in this show were created by artists from nations as diverse as their form and subject matter.

The Most Expensive Gold Antique in the World – $35 Million Persian Necklace

White-gloved hands holding the gold Star Crescent Necklace, set with red stones.

This stunning necklace is considered to be one of the rarest privately owned gold artifacts in the World!

Known as ‘The Star Crescent Necklace’ it is actually an ancient jewellery set that archeologists call ‘Parthian-Sarmatian Royal Gold Necklace and Amulet’.

This necklace is believed to have been first created in Parthia, an ancient Persian empire that existed from 247 BC to 224 AD, but eventually came into possession of the Sarmatians, the legendary nomadic Indo-Iranian warriors that spread throughout the Eurasian Steppe.

Now, in our exclusive art investigation, we’re going to unveil all the fascinating secrets about this Royal artifact!

Exclusive Interview with Nationally Acclaimed Public Sculptor Aaron T Stephan | Part 1

Red block-shaped sculpture with horizontal ridges, from Aaron T Stephan’s Untitled (2016).

Nationally acclaimed American public sculptor Aaron T Stephan lives and works in Portland, Maine.

His work presents a wry look at the world around him – focusing on the complex web of information carried by everyday materials and objects.

Stephan has completed over 25 major public works in municipal spaces throughout the United States.

His work is noted for his diverse approach to form spanning from a life-sized orchestra of plastic snap-to parts, gestural streetlights, and gracefully curved ladders reminiscent of DNA.

Stephan’s public works can be found in the collections of cities across the nation.

Exclusive Interview with Cindy Shaoul – Abstract Impressionist Artist from New York | Part 2

Cindy Shaoul

“Don’t let any outside noise mix-up your one-of-a-kind artistic formula. Do your thing!”

Inspired by whimsy and purity of the feminine form, Cindy Shaoul is known for her impressionistic and abstract style. She is best recognized for her series ‘Brides’, ‘Dripping Dots’ and ‘Hearts’, as well as her ‘Plein-Air’ street scenes of quintessential New York locations.

Shaoul’s works can be found in hundreds of permanent private and corporate collections worldwide.

This is Part 2 of Cindy’s exclusive interview to The World Art News.

Prices on Old Rotary Phones are Up 500%

White DECO TEL rotary phone with ornate gold-colored trim, displayed on blue fabric.

MARKET ALERT | Vintage rotary phones have been steadily rising in value and liquidity, becoming almost as good as gold.

Rare models sell between $200-2000 regularly. Even most basic rotary phones are in high demand.

Well-known home decorators are getting in the game and scooping up vintage phones from the market in bulk!

Further fuel into the fire is thrown by the limited (and constantly decreasing) supply.

NFTs Exhibited at WOW Festival in Dubai Sold to Major Digital Art Collectors 

The Sun King by Nils Hansen, a segmented bust with glowing eyes amid purple and pink lights.

Digital Gallery at WOW Summit Dubai Witnesses Major NFT Sale on the First Day of the Exhibition.

WOW summit commenced on the 13th of March with three full days of blockchain, metaverse industry news. The ‘Alternative Reality’ exhibition was curated by Daria Lomova, an art advisor and historian.

One of the main aims of the WOW summit was to raise public knowledge and awareness of the sweeping world of blockchain, crypto, AI, NFTs and beyond. That is why it was important for Lomova to curate an exhibition that people could relate to, while learning about the different digital art forms.