Romanian painting could set new record for local art market

Local auction house Goldart will organize an art auction next week, on May 24. The Sleeping Nymph by Romanian painter Nicolae Grigorescu will also be up for sale at the auction, and it has the potential to set a new record for the local art market. The auction will comprise 93 artworks with a starting value of over EUR 350,000. The Sleeping Nymph is the most important piece of art at the event, with a starting price of EUR 220,000. However, the executive manager of Goldart expects the painting to be sold for EUR 330,000 – 370,000, which would set a new record for the local art market. “From an investment point of view, Sleeping Nymph is the best Nicolae Grigorescu artwork available for trade since 2010 to date. With the addition of this work, any art collection can increase its value by 30%. This artwork has great odds of being acquired within the margin of EUR 330,000 – 370,000, representing 5% of the record value set by Adrian Ghenie’s Nickelodeon, which was sold in London in October 2016, for GBP 7.1 million,” said Cristian Anghel, executive director Goldart. The auction will also include other remarkable artworks, such as Rest by Ion Theodorescu Sion, Biblical Scene by Eustatiu Stoenescu, Forest Edge by Ion Andreescu, and Memento Mori by Sabin Balasa. Founded in 1997 as an art gallery, Goldart is one of the main players on the local art market. It became an auction house in 2008, its name being associated with one of the largest art transactions completed to date in Romania - the sale of the painting Two Women by Stefan Luchian for EUR 300,000 at an auction organized in April 2013. Early Ghenie painting sells for four times the estimated price at Bucharest auction Brâncuși sculpture sells for record USD 57 million at New York auction Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com