International Bidding Drives California Works to New Highs

The May 19, 2013 auction broke world records for a work by Vija Celmins, the highest price achieved at auction for a work on canvas by the artist, and a work by Joe Goode, which set a new world auction record for any work by the artist.

LAMA achieved a new company record for total sales, realizing $3.46 million and selling 120% of the 469 lots by value. Sunday’s auction firmly establishes LAMA’s position as an international marketplace for Modern Art & Design.

Continue Reading >> Posted on May 21, 2013
Posted in LAMA Current Events, LAMA Exclusive | Tagged auction, auction record, Joe Goode, modern art, Modern Auction, Modern Design, Vija Celmins | Leave a comment

Pedro Friedeberg and the Absurd

Going against the grain of serious political artwork in Mexico during the 1960s, Pedro Friedeberg’s objective was to point out the absurdity in everyday living. The artist’s light-hearted view of life naturally led him to join the Neo-Dadaist group, Los Hartos (The Fed Up).  Hating functionalism, Friedeberg once said “the house and its objects is supposed to be some crazy place that make you laugh” …

Continue Reading >> Posted on August 23, 2010
Posted in Buzzworthy Items | Tagged Modern Auction, Pedro Friedeberg | 1 Comment

Recap: May 23, 2010 Modern Art & Design Auction

Bringing together a selection of top quality material is a journey in itself, but actually seeing those items go up on the auction block for twenty seconds and find new homes is a whole other story.

The May 23, 2010 Modern Art & Design auction brought together a large assortment of 20th century material, each with a distinction, but all sharing one common theme: MODERN. …

Continue Reading >> Posted on May 24, 2010
Posted in Auction Highlights, Buzzworthy Items, LAMA Current Events | Tagged Francois-Xavier Lalanne, LAMA Auction, Mid-Century Modern, Modern Auction | Leave a comment

Thoughts on the May 23, 2010 Auction

It’s finally March and soon we are getting ready to close out the sale in preparation for photography in two weeks. Amidst the chaos at the warehouse with all the furniture and art flying in, I got a chance to take a moment to reflect on how the auction is shaping up and ask Peter a couple of questions.

What is the proportion of fine …

Continue Reading >> Posted on March 5, 2010
Posted in Auction Advice, Buzzworthy Items, Words from Peter Loughrey | Tagged Image of Warhol, John McLaughlin, Los Angeles Modern Auctions, Modern Auction, Paul Cadmus, Thomas Hart Benton | Leave a comment