Auction Record Broken

As forecast in my last post the record for the price paid for a picture by a British artist has been well and truly broken. The previous record was set in 1990 when the final bid was $21.2m. The picture by JWM Turner was bought by an anonymous bidder at Christie's, New York, for nearly $36m which nearly doubles the previous record price.

If you are a fan of royalty a forthcoming auction will give you the chance acquire jewels owned by the late Princess Margaret. The sale will include the tiara worn by the princess at her wedding to Lord Snowdon. The sale is estimated to raise $3.5m.

On a slightly bitter note, I see that wine prices have dropped by 25% in auctions in South Africa. On the other hand interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction to the highest-lowest levels in more than five years.

Keep tuned for auction news.

Auctions Large and Small

A painting by the British artist JWM Turner could set a new record auction price. A figure of $20 million plus has been mentioned. The current record is held by Constable's The Lock, which was sold for $21.2m in 1990. Turner's picture is a view of Venice based on a series of watercolours he painted in 1840.

At the other extreme is the auction of South Hutchinson's Central Livestock Barn which has been postponed for three weeks for an undisclosed reason. This is a creditors sale of the assets of the now defunct business which closed its doors on Feb 14. No records are expected here.