ARTNET NEWS
By Judd Tully
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| Victoria Beckham with Artemisia Gentileschi's Saint Sebastian Tended By Irene at the exhibition for "The Female Triumphant" at Sotheby's New York. Photo courtesy of Tom Newton.
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It’s rare for an Old Master auction to receive coverage in Vogue and InStyle magazines. But this year’s
Masters Week sales in New York, held in the freezing final days of January, generated more buzz than usual thanks to an unlikely celebrity endorsement from fashion diva Victoria Beckham, who promoted a selection of 21 works by 14 female artists. Did the stunt pay off? Might it help lure a younger crowd—particularly those interested in sifting through art history for overlooked talents—to the Old Master category? So far, it’s hard to say. The group of pictures—presented under the banner “the Female Triumphant”—realized $14.6 million, just overshooting pre-sale estimate of $8.9 million to $13.2 million. [
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