NEW YORK.- Dana Gilerman of Haarets.com reported that, the auction of Israeli art, which was held last week at Sotheby’s New York, was a great success. About 70 percent of the works - 86 out of 120 - were sold, for a total sum of about $2.6 million. Just for comparison, at the previous Sotheby’s auction in Tel Aviv in November, 2002, only half the works were sold. Several major collectors from Israel were also present at the auction, among them Hanina and Gil Brandes, Dov Gottesman and Ze’ev Holtzman, as well as a number of dealers and gallery owners, among them Nira Yitzhaki of the Chelouche Gallery, Alon Segev, Nelly Aman, Meir Loushi, Nehama Gottlieb of the Noga Gallery and Amon Yariv of the Gordon Gallery.   

The professional auctioneer maintained the suspense and the pace during the auction from beginning to end, knew when to declare a bid final and when to wait for another moment in order to give a hesitant bidder time to think. The hands went up rapidly and the responses by phone were also swift. There was suspense, there was drama, and there was everything that is usually missing at the tired, often slow auctions that are held in Israel.  

For nearly all the works there was a short battle. There was a young, unidentified fellow there in a tie, who stood at the back of the hall and nodded his head at the auctioneer every time it was necessary to raise a bid against a competitor on the phone. After he won the painting “Ramparts of Zion” by Reuven Rubin from 1924 (from the Brooklyn Museum collection) for $299,000, he hastened to leave the hall. 

The photograph "Untitled" by Adi Nes from 2000, from his series on soldiers, was sold at a price far higher than the estimate, after a short battle between a collector on the phone and Yoram Rosenheimer who was present in the hall. Rosenheimer acquired the photograph for $21,600 (the estimate was between $6,000 and $8,000). 

Paintings, sculptures and photographs by young artists who have not yet established their standing in the local and international auction market also sold well. The sculpture "Bleed Rose" by Sigalit Landau from 2003, which was shown at the last ArtFocus in Jerusalem, was acquired by collector Dov Gottesmanm who was present in the hall, for $27,6000 (the estimate was $18,000-$24,000). "Dunes" by Sharon Ya’ari sold for $10,200 (the estimate was $5,000-$7,000); "Shooting Targets" by Gilad Ophir was sod for $6,600 (the estimate was $3,000-$5,000). 

"Letter" by Assaf Ben-Zvi, from 1989, was bought by collector Hanina Brandes for $8,400. Brandes also purchased the Gil Weinstein’s 2003 series "Soul Blade," which is comprised of 10 works, for $8,4000 (the estimate was $5,000-$7,000) and "The Fan" by Yehudit Sasportas for $12,000.

 

Works by more veteran artists also sold well. "Trees" by Yedid Rubin from 2001 was purchased by collector Charles Bronfman for $16,800, a price far higher than the estimated $7,000-$9,000. "Landscape number 3" by Nurit David from 2000 was sold for $13,200.

 

It seems that there was a buyer for every work, style and period. Ori Reisman’s "Boulevard with Cypress Trees" sold for $72,000; "Interior" by Daniel Enkaoua sold for $30,000 (the estimate was $35,000-45,000); a series of four works by Pinhas Cohen-Gan from 1976 sold for $6,600 (the estimate was $2,000-$3,000).

 

The works of Mordecai Ardon, which have been more and more in demand ever since his two retrospectives that were held at the Tel Aviv Museum and the Israel Museum about a year and a half ago, also sold well. "The Fish and the Moon," from 1950, sold for $78,000 (the estimate was $50,000-$70,000), and "From the Sleeping City" from 1968 sold fro $120,0000, which was the high estimate.

 

However, the works of Arie Aroch, who also had a comprehensive retrospective about a year ago at the Tel Aviv Museum, did not sell successfully. Of the four good works that were offered, only one was sold, "Girl Coming Home from School," from 1956, for $39,000 - perhaps because two of the other works were not signed. Yosef Zaritsky, one of the most esteemed painters in the history of Israeli art, also did not get much response. Of his three works at the auction, only one was sold: "Untitled," for $15,600.

 

Works that brought in high prices: A poster by Yohanan Simon from 1947, to mark the 30th anniversary of the October Revolution, was sold for $15,600; "Untitled" by Lea Nikel from 1982 sold for $15,600 (the estimate was $8,000-$10,000); "Untitled" by Aviva Uri from 1968 was bought by Mordechai Omer, the director of the Tel Aviv Museum, for $6,600; "Untitled" by Rafi Lavie from 1967 was sold for $6,000. "French Flusher" by Israel Hershberg from 1998 was sold for $30,000 (the estimate was $22,000-$28,000); "Interior" by Liliane Klapisch from 1987 sold for $15,600.  

Two works by Moshe Gershuni also brought in high prices: "Where Are You Now" from 1980 was sold for $10,800 and "Untitled" from 1996 sold for $9,6000 (the estimate was $6,000-$8,000). 

The success of the auction can be explained by the high quality of the offerings and the considerable work that was invested in it in advance by the Sotheby’s people, which included a number of Israeli art events that perhaps succeeded in giving greater resonance to the event.