History, pricing and marketing indicators of the artist's orbit of Russian art, representative of the Paris school, the sculptor Jacques Lipchitz

Important thing — to conquer the volumes in the light...
a story – getting the story.
But Yes, it will be a dispute between volume and light.
Jacques Lipchitz

• Amedeo MODIGLIANI Portrait of Jacques Lipchitz and his wife Bertha. 1916
  art Institute of Chicago
  Photo: The Yorck Project (2002)/the Public Domain
  Source: ru.wikipedia.org

Jacques (Chaim-Яков Abramovich) Lipchitz (1891-1973) — one of the most outstanding sculptors of the XX century, together with Alexander Archipenko, Constantin Brancusi, and Osip Zadkine largely shaped the notion of the sculpture of the new time, have become a point of reference for many writers of the postwar and contemporary periods. In the galaxy of great "monparnasse" first wave he was one of the youngest, but in the creativity, strength, talent and drive, he does not succumb to the many authors of the school of Paris — Picasso, Modigliani, Rivera, D., H. Gries, H. cutino and others with whom he talked and was friendly.

the attitude of the sculptor by other artists "Beehive", says, for example, the famous double (wedding) portrait of Lipchitz, Modigliani, written in 1916 for "ten francs a session and some drinks." Unlike many other authors of that time who refused from figurativism in favor of different types of abstraction, Lipschitz unfolded his practice at the boundaries of art, combining the works of the cubist elements and tending to abstract forms with a certain narrative structure and tectonically composition. His creative method of the author himself described as the pursuit of abstraction, "but so that the meaning of the story and his humanity ('humanité) would not be lost."

Like many came from the Western Borderlands of the Russian Empire, wishing to devote himself to art, Jacques Lipschitz, the eldest of seven children born into a wealthy family building contractor Abraham (Abram) Lipschitz and the daughter of the hotel owner Rachel Krinsky in the city of Druskininkai (the territory of today's Lithuania), and burdened with the problem of "pale of settlement" in the Russian Empire, it was much easier to go to the West — in Paris or Berlin, not East — in Saint-Петербург or Moscow. So did Haim-Яков Lipchitz: a secret from my father, who wanted his son to become an architect, in 1909, on the money of his mother, he went to Paris. The departure was preceded by years of study in cheder in Grenoble (1895-1899), commercial school in Bialystok (1902-1906), the gymnasium in Vilna (1905-1909).

Known Lipschitz brought his modernist works, although his career as a sculptor, he started with a completely realistic things. 1909-1913/14 years in the works of Lipchitz referred to the early period: at this time he was trained in the School of fine arts Ж.-А. Engelber, were engaged in the private academies of R. Julien and F. colarossi. In 1911, the father of the sculptor went bankrupt and the son had what-то time to leave Paris, but we know that during his stay in the Russian Empire, he managed to get acquainted with the Hermitage's collection. Back in Paris and without financial support of the family, Lipschitz worked as an apprentice in other sculptors, and in his spare time moonlighting as a peddler of fruit and other similar occupations.

• Jacques LIPCHITZ bather. 1917
  Bronze, brown patina
  Christie's new-Йорк. 01.11.2005. Lot 28
  Price: $1 304 000
  Source: artinvestment.ru

Years difficult, but an independent life surrounded by artists of the Paris school, the brightest representatives of the new art, allowed to form their own style of the author. From 1913-1914 years in his art there are elements of cubism, and from 1916 he completely abandoned the academic approach to sculpture. Elements of cubism and a kind of constructivism were present in the sculptor's oeuvre up to 30-х years of the twentieth century, when, with tensions rising in the prewar society of France, changing plots and growing expressiveness and dynamism in the works of Lipchitz. From the stone, he comes to cast bronze.

In 1930-е years and up to 1950-х years Lipschitz prefers to work in large forms, in his work there are of the Bible, old Testament and mythological subjects, in the interpretation which reflect the artist's attitude to the surrounding reality. For a small number of the most striking examples of such change in the interpretation of the story must include one of the key motifs in the artist's work of this period — story, which sees Lipschitz eternal symbol of suffering and heroism, claiming the hope for the ultimate triumph of good over evil. This hope is still alive in the first "Prometheus strangling the eagle" (1936) where the hero triumphantly compresses the bird's throat (especially symbolic this song in light of the fact that the eagle was the symbol of the Nazis who came to power in Germany), weakening the second (1937-1938), where Prometheus has no wins and barely protected from the sharp claws, and "Abduction of Europe" (1938) the idea of the struggle gives way to horror premonitions, prophecies of doom and impending war.

• Jacques LIPCHITZ Sailor
  Bronze
  Sotheby's new-Йорк. 07.11.2007. Lot 25
  Price: $2 057 000
  Source: artinvestment.ru

it is Not surprising that the artist just couldn't live in occupied France, and in 1941 he moved to new-Йорк. In new-Йорке, watching the actions of the Germans that was happening in Europe, he continues to create full of drama, expressive large-scale sculpture, from the first sight impact on the viewer.

Years of life in the United States (1941-1947) were years of universal recognition of his talent and artistic blossoming of the author. Returning in 1947 to France, Lipchitz added to their regular topics another source of inspiration — image of the virgin Mary. According to the sculptor, after the horrors of the war religion was to unite people.

In the last period of the artist (1950-70-е) Lipschitz away from large-scale compositions and refers to a small plastic, up to the small sculptures, made in the technique of "paloaltomedical", almost without control of the author over form, the resulting during casting of bronze. Such works seem more abstract, reminiscent of fantastic characters, compared to the more "story" songs of previous years. However, up until the early 1970-х he continued to work on a large scale, a space forming projects, like the songs "Tree of life" (1963) or the "Bellerophon, taming Pegasus" (1972).

Jacques Lipchitz was elected honorary doctor of the University "Brandis", Columbia and tel-Авивского universities, was awarded the gold medal of the American Academy of Arts and Literature.

Jacques Lipchitz died 23 may 1973 in Italy. Buriedaccording to the will, in Israel.

• Jacques LIPCHITZ Sailor with guitar. 1917
  Bronze. 86,5×0
  Sotheby's new-Йорк. 04.11.2014. Lot 41
  Price: $2 165 00
  Source: artinvestment.ru

According to Artprice, the artist has had 279 group and more than 50 personal exhibitions. In particular, Jacques Lipchitz participated in the Biennale, Documenta in Kassel (1959 and 1953), the Biennale in San-Паулу (1951), the sculpture was also exhibited at the world exhibition of 1937 in Paris. In 2019 in the Amsterdam Museum stedeleyk hosted a major exhibition "Chagall, Picasso, Mondrian and others," informed not less than an extensive exhibition "From A to Z. Alphabet of the Museum's collection" showed the Museum of fine arts in Bilbao. In 2008-2009, in the Moscow Museum of modern art (MMOMA) was the first solo exhibition of the sculptor in Russia.

Works by Jacques Lipchitz are in many museums of the world, particularly in the Brooklyn Museum of art and the Museum of modern art in new-Йорке, the Museum of fine arts in San-Франциско, the Art Institute of Chicago, the National gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh, the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice, the Art Museum of Basel, the Tate gallery in London and many others. The main dealers who offer the works of Jacques Lipchitz abroad — Marlborough Gallery (new-Йорк), Modernism (San-Франциско), Galerie Koch (Hanover) and Galerie Gmurzynska (Zurich).

Financial indicators

the three most expensive works of Jacques Lipchitz includes a bronze sculpture created in the late 1910-х years — as a reaction to the events of the October revolution in Russia. Note that all the top results were achieved in new-Йорке — however, different auction houses. The third value of the result was shown at Christie's in 2005-м: the sculpture "bather" (1917) was sold for $1 304 000. Two other record-breaking sale realized Sotheby's: the second value of the result was installed in 2007-м: bronze "Sailor" went under the hammer for $2 057 000. The most expensive sculpture Lipchitz — "Sailor with guitar", also 1917 creatures and very good provenance, a rich exhibition history, — was sold for $2 165 000.

According to the database ARTinvestment.RU, at the time of publication of the artist's work 815 times were withdrawn at auction, including sculpture — 479 works, graphics @235 mdas works, replicable products — 75 works, relief @14 mdas of the work, the painting @6 mdas works, mixed media — 4. The average price of sold works — $of 128.8 thousand Total capitalization to the public market — $67,88 million Has a balance of sold and unsold works to 527 288 (65 % of all trading completed the sale).

table 1. Sale during the auction

the company's sales, Messrs.	the lots, pieces	Results for lots
		Sold,		Not sold, PCs.
		PCs	%
1986-2000	221	149	67	72
2001-2014	349	235	67	114
2015-2020	245	143	58	102

table 2. Sales by country the auction

Country auctions	the lots, pieces	Results for lots
		Sold,		Not sold, PCs.
		PCs.	%
USA	445	327	73	118
France	193	100	52	93
UK	83	55	66	28
Germany	33	12	36	21
Israel	19	6	32	13
Netherlands	16	15	94	1
Belgium	9	5	56	4
Austria	5	4	80	1
Italy	5	1	20	4
Switzerland	2	0	0	2
Australia	1	1	100	0
Hungary	1	1	100	0
Canada	1	0	0	1
Lithuania	1	0	0	1
Monaco	1	0	0	1

table 3. Re-sale

№ p/p	Name	Purchase		Selling		tenure, years	auction house	Profit, $	CAGR, %
		Year	Price, $	Year	Price, $
1	Reclining figure with guitar	2006	25 588	2009	10 671	3	Aguttes, Paris	-14 917	-19,4
2	the Woman and Gazelle	1994	96 000	1995	78 000	1	Christie's new-Йорк	-18 000	-18,8
3	the Woman with the snake	2006	2 629 000	2013	500 000	7	Sotheby's new-Йорк	-2 129 000	-11,6
4	Seated bather	2001	776 000	2004	600 000	3	Christie's new-Йорк	-176 000	-7,6
5	Meditation — Seated man	2006	290 500	2009	238 497	3	Sotheby's new-Йорк	-52 003	-6,0
6	Figure with guitar	1993	13 280	1999	9 639	6	Briest, Paris	-3 641	-4,6
7	Motherhood	2008	1 431	2014	1 045	6	ArtCurial, Paris	-386	-4,5
8	Two	1992	11 163	2001	7 200	9	Christie's new-Йорк	-3 963	-3,9
9	the Cradle	1986	38 010	1998	25 200	12	Sotheby's new-Йорк	-12 810	-2,8
10	Cubist still life	1986	14 254	2006	12 191	20	Sotheby's, London	-2 063	-0,7
11	Hagar in the wilderness	2006	483 750	2013	480 000	7	Christie's,New-Йорк	-3 750	-0,1
12	Woman with a mandolin	2000	13 000	2006	13 886	6	Sotheby's, London	886	1,1
13	fruit bowl	2004	22 599	2013	25 171	9	Christie's, London	2 572	1,3
14	Woman with a mandolin	2006	13 886	2016	16 143	10	Sotheby's, Paris	2 257	1,6
15	the rape of Europa I	1992	26 000	2014	37 500	22	Sotheby's new-Йорк	11 500	2,0
16	(1) Two figures with a flute. (2) Two figures with guitar	1992	4 800	1997	5 400	5	Sotheby's new-Йорк	600	2,5
17	Woman with a guitar. Sketch	2007	20 806	2014	25 000	7	Sotheby's new-Йорк	4 194	2,9
18	harlequin with accordion	2002	450 000	2009	602 500	7	Christie's new-Йорк	152 500	4,8
19	harlequin with clarinet	1986	200 000	2001	400 000	15	Sotheby's new-Йорк	200 000	6,7
20	Bas II	2010	25 488	2011	28 452	1	ArtCurial, Marseille	2 964	11,6
21	Seated bather	2002	450 000	2015	1 325 000	13	Christie's new-Йорк	875 000	15,0
22	still life with musical instruments	1997	32 130	2016	134 525	19	Sotheby's, Paris	102 395	16,8
23	Mardi Gras	2006	16 000	2011	68 500	5	Christie's new-Йорк	52 500	65,6
24	Death Of The Minotaur	2001	2 054	2002	3 430	1	Sotheby's, London	1 376	67,0
25	Acrobat on horse	1997	232 050	1997	420 000	1	Sotheby's new-Йорк	187 950	81,0
26	Composition	1986	1 071	1987	2 035	1	Briest, Paris	964	90,0
27	a man Fight a bull	1995	648	1996	1 821	1	De Quay, Paris	1 173	181,0

the work of Jacques Lipchitz have a relatively high number of repeat sales — 27, as well as a positive average annual growth cost (CAGR) — of 17.4%. The average estimate of all sold works by the artist have been exceeded by 130 % — in other words, the sellers received an average amount of one-third more than the initial estimation of the auction house. The upper limit of the estimate is recorded at 43 % of sales.

Surprisingly, Jacques Lipchitz to date there has been no recorded auction sales in Russia. For the artist "Russian orbit" ofworld history of art is not uncommon, however, when the average value of lots more than $100 thousand, the sculptor has created a significant number of replicable products and painting with a high artistic value. Given the support of foreign top-дилеров of modernist art (Marlboro, Gmurzynska) and the growing number of group exhibitions with the first names of the artists (Picasso, Mondrian), the future market Jacques Lipchitz inspires serious optimism. Don't forget about the cyclical growth of market interest in specific areas of art: thus, the sculpture world of authors, occupying a leading position in growth rate of the average value in 2011-2013, and then gave way to painting and expects a new round of interest of collectors in the next few seasons after the recovery of the art market from the effects of the pandemic.

On the current 340-м AI Auction "Sketch sculpture" (1939).

Maria Kuznetsova, AI
Denis Belkevich, AI