J’lem gallery to host high-end art auction

The auction, more than 40 percent of which will be comprised of int'l art, will feature works by Renoir, Chagall and Mintchine, among others.

By ABE SELIG
Rivaling the high-end art galleries of London, New York or Paris, Jerusalem’s Matsart Auctioneers and Appraisers will host an auction at the end of the month, featuring works by Renoir, Chagall and Mintchine, among others, proceeds of which are expected to exceed $8.5 million.
The auction, more than 40 percent of which will be comprised of international art, will also feature the 1893 masterpiece by Camille Pissarro, titled “The Meadow with the Grey Horse, Eragny.”
Comparable works by Pissarro have sold for upwards of $3m., although for security reasons, the exact pre-auction estimate for this piece will only issued upon request to potential buyers. 
Renoir’s 1906 “Portrait de Claude Renoir, dit Coco,” for which bidding will begin at $250,000, along with Chagall’s 1962 “Bouquet au coq aile,” listed at $180,000 and a 1930s-era Mintchine, “Pierrot,” which will start at $280,000 are among the pieces on offer.
Other artists whose works will be for sale include Victor Vaserely, Mordechai Ardon, Ludwig Blum, and David Alfaro Siqueiros.
“In spite of the world economic downturn – and perhaps because of it – the fine art market has flourished over the last several years,” a press release from Matsart read.
“Investors have realized returns on investments the likes of which are unknown in any other market,” the release continued. “For example, ‘Walking Man I’ by Alberto Giacometti, brought a return of 1,738% over 22 years (1988-2010) and was sold in London for $104,000,000.
“This represents not only investors’ confidence in the artist, but in the art market as a whole (the work was purchased by an important banking family).”
Matsart is the only international auction house that holds auctions in Israel.
“There exists an ever-increasing demand by Israelis desiring to investin markets other than the traditional financial and real estatemarkets,” said Matsart founder and owner Lucien Krief. “Artworkachieves incomprehensible results in New York and London; this is proofof the security and promise of the art market.”
An auction preview will be held at the Tel Aviv Hilton on June 17-20and at the Matsart Gallery, 21 King David Street in Jerusalem, fromJune 23-30.  The auction itself will be held on June 30.
Matsart has predicted total sales of more than $8.5m. One hundredthirteen works arrived from overseas, while 186 works were consigned bylocal sellers.
At its fall auction, Matsart sold 116 works with a total worth of$5.2m., including the auction premium. Matsart closed 2009 with salesof approximately $12m.
Since its founding in 2006, Matsart has grown by approximately 400%.