The Headlines
STAY CALM AND KARAT ON. As auction houses increasingly lean on the luxury market to offset sluggish art sales, Christie’s incoming global head of jewellery, Max Fawcett, is optimistic. The house kicks off its London Jewels sale on Friday, and he predicted it will be “one of the best London sales we’ve had in a long time,” crediting the strength of the pieces offered online, including period jewels worn by Alice, Viscountess Wimborne, in portraits by Sir Cecil Beaton, the Financial Times reports. Fawcett said the sale arrives during a “purple patch” for Christie’s jewellery division: in June, the company achieved its highest total for a various-owner sale in the Americas—$87.7 million in New York—following a sold-out Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva in May. Fawcett, who officially steps into his new role on January 1, noted that while sales soared between 2012 and 2014 amid post-crisis exuberance, the following decade proved more challenging. Now, he believes the cycle has shifted again: “We’re having our moment.” Christie’s isn’t alone in its success. Heritage Auctions reached a record $9.2 million for a fine jewellery sale in September, while Phillips and Sotheby’s hosted major watch auctions in Geneva this week. Sotheby’s also reported record jewellery results this year in New York, Paris, and Milan. According to Quig Bruning, global head of jewellery at Sotheby’s, demand is now “significantly outstripping supply.”
(ART) LENDING LIBRARY. The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) has launched an experimental art-lending program alongside its new exhibition, “Letters for the Future,” created with the artist-led Department of Transformation, Artnet News reports. It opened earlier this month and places works by 35 artists throughout the library’s Grand Lobby, encouraging visitors to encounter moving images, prints, and sculptural objects as part of their everyday library experience. Films by Asad Raza and Ilana Harris-Babou screen continuously, while Be Oakley/GenderFail Press presents a suite of 12 risograph prints accompanied by 10 downloadable, open-source typefaces. Several artists have contributed works that blur boundaries between art, ritual, and public engagement. The artist duo Hilma’s Ghost, comprised of Sharmistha Ray and Danielle Tegeder, contributed Enchantments: Bottled Devotionals of Divine Feminine Spirits (2023), a wooden apothecary box containing 12 glass spell jars. This piece functions simultaneously as an artwork within the exhibition and an object patrons can borrow and take home. In total, 20 artworks, including prints, magnets, banners, and original works on paper, are available for checkout.
The Digest
This summer a team of archaeologists resumed their work on a site in southern Italy dating back to around 600 B.C.E., known for its three well-preserved Doric temples. The dig is revealing the secrets of an ancient Greek sanctuary. [The Art Newspaper]
Paris Photo returns to the Grand Palais this week for its 28th edition (until November 16), bringing together 220 exhibitors, including 178 galleries and 42 publishers from 33 countries. [Paris Photo]
The University of Leicester in the UK has confirmed it has made updates to its guidance on trans-inclusivity for museums and galleries. The move emerges amid threatened litigation by a free speech organisation. [Arts Professional]
Sofia Coppola was honored at MoMA’s annual film gala, with Elle Fanning, Bill Murray, and David Letterman among the guests. [New York Times]
The Kicker
APP HEAVEN. Irving Sandler, the celebrated art historian and critic, once said in the 1950s that “you could do the whole art world in an afternoon.” Back then, New York’s galleries were concentrated around 57th Street, making it easy to see everything in a single sweep. That era is long gone. Today, more than 700 galleries stretch across Chelsea, Tribeca, Chinatown, the Upper East Side, and parts of Brooklyn and Queens. The handwritten checklists people once used for weekend gallery crawls have largely been replaced by smartphone apps, the New York Times writes. So, to help art-lovers navigate the plethora of galleries, the paper has highlighted five useful apps, from See Saw to ArtRabbit.
