An ‘exceptional’ 17th-century royal portrait by celebrated Spanish artist Diego Velázquez has gone on display at Sotheby’s London ahead of being auctioned in New York in February.

The 2-metre tall portrait of Isabel de Borbón, wife of King Philip IV of Spain, has been described by industry experts as ‘the most important Velázquez to be sold in 50 years’ and ‘one of the most valuable Old Masters to ever come to market’. 

[See also: Picasso ‘golden muse’ masterpiece sells for $139.4 million in record-breaking New York sale]

Such portraits of royalty typically remain in royal collections and museums, meaning this sale presents a rare opportunity to own a piece of art – and royal – history. Sotheby’s anticipates the portrait will realise in the region of $35 million, more than double the current $16.9 million record for the sale of a Velázquez.

Diego Velázquez at the height of his portrait powers

‘This exceptional painting is remarkable not just for its beauty and quality, but also for its scale and subject matter,’ explains George Wachter, Sotheby’s chairman and co-worldwide head of Old Master paintings. 

‘Royal portraiture allowed Velázquez to push forward art in new and revolutionary ways and this grand portrayal of Isabel de Borbón is an exceptional example of the artist at the height of his powers, shaping the direction of portraiture for generations to follow. No other Velázquez paintings of this scale and importance have come to the market in more than half a century.’

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This tour de force of portraiture depicts Isabel de Borbón, who as the first wife of King Philip IV of Spain (King Philip III of Portugal), was Queen of Spain from 1621 until her death in 1644, and Queen of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. She was the daughter of Henri IV of France and his second wife, Marie de Médicis, and known as Élisabeth de France prior to marriage. The union between Isabel and Philip strengthened the diplomatic ties between France and Spain.

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A towering portrait of an admired queen

The queen was painted by Diego Velázquez in the 1620s, alongside a portrait of her husband, both of which hung at Madrid’s Buen Retiro Palace. (Velázquez’s Philip IV in Black, is now at the Museo del Prado). Isabel is depicted at the height of powers – a beloved and respected Queen, widely admired for her quick wit, intelligence and generous spirit. This is reflected in her stance, attire, and demure yet confident expression.

[See also: The top art finance advisers for high-net-worth individuals]

Velázquez revisited the portrait in the 1630s, reworking various aspects, including visible changes to the skirt. It is understood this revision was prompted by the artist’s recent encounter with Sir Peter Paul Rubens, then regarded as the greatest artist of the time, and still today a giant among painters.

Christopher Apostle, Sotheby’s international head of Old Master paintings, explains: ‘Though Velázquez was already widely celebrated when he painted this work, here we see him at a moment of transformation. He had already been crowned official painter to the Spanish King, but in 1628, he met, for the first time, Sir Peter Paul Rubens, whose confidence with the brush, and whose fluid style Velázquez quickly adapted, making of them something entirely his own, and – in the process – taking the art of royal portraiture to the next level.’

[See also: Sale of Rothschild treasures soars above estimates at first of-its-kind auction]

The painting has an illustrious provenance. After Napoleon’s invasion of Spain in 1808, it was taken to France, where it was later displayed in King Louis Philippe’s Galerie Espagnole at the Louvre until the king’s fall from power in 1838. It was then sold to merchant banker and noted book collector Henry Huth, who hung it at Wykehurst Park in Sussex, and in whose family it remained until it was sold in 1950 – the last time it was on the public auction market. It has been in the collection of its current owners since 1978.

Isabel de Borbón, Queen of Spain by Diego Velázquez will be displayed at Sotheby’s New Bond Street Galleries until 6 December. It will be auctioned in New York as part of the annual Masters Paintings auction on 1 February 2024. 

The auction follows the sale of Picasso’s Femme à la montre for $139.4 million at Sotheby’s New York in November.

Discover more with Spear’s: Why is wealth management becoming more progressive and ‘values-driven’?

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Alexandria, VA – Looking for great gifts that are unique, hand-crafted, and special? Then you must be at the Del Ray Artisans’ 28th Annual Holiday Market the first three weekends in December. “You might want to attend all three because different artists are featured each weekend!” says Amy Kitchin, DRA Curating Director.

The market offers unique handmade fine arts and fine crafts from local artists presenting a variety of media, including fiber/textiles, glass, jewelry, mixed media, polymer clay, ornaments, mosaics, painting, prints, paper crafting, photography, pottery/ceramics, sculpture, watercolor, wood, candles, soaps and more. In addition, 2024 wall calendars featuring art by Del Ray Artisans members will be available for purchase with proceeds supporting the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

This year’s Holiday Market artists are:

• Sandra Alami, There’s Something About Purl;
• John T. Allen, Permian Designs;
• Bridget Anthony-Hlioui, B A Hlioui;
• Bhavani Arabandi, Samhara Ceramics;
• Caron Arnston, Caron & Co. Creations;
• Pinar Artuk-Boegel, Renkli;
• Victoria Barnes, Victoria Barnes Photography;
• Carolyn Barone;
• Ken Beerbohm, Ken Beerbohm Sculptures;
• Lynn Chadwick, Lynn Chadwick Design;
• Maxine Cholmondeley, Max’s Mixtures Handcrafted Candles & Soaps;
• Edward Colahan, Ed Colahan Pottery;
• Evelyn Rose Cook;
• Gretchen D’Amore, Gdamore Original Art;
• Marcel Artes Deolazo;
• Timothy Duncan;
• Patty Moloney Figlioloa, Aisling PhotoArt;
• Laine, Lainemindinventions;
• Alanna Graboyes, ASGraboyesArt;
• Tom Johnson, Infinite Variations Pottery;
• Maria Kinnane;
• Amy Kitchin Hower, AKH Studio Designs;
• Nancy Kline, Nancy Kline Art;
• Audrey Kremer, AudreyK-Designs;
• Stephen Lally, Stephen Lally Pottery;
• Steve Lapin;
• Susan Lefler, Susan Lefler Studios;
• Megan Levanduski, Megan Elaine Designs;
• Nan Lopata, Nan Lopata Metalsmith;
• Diana Manchak, DesignsInClay;
• Liz Martinez;
• Patti North, All Fired Up!;
• Miyoung Obenschain, Purple Cardinal Arts LLC;
• Diana Papazian, Papazian Design, LLC;
• Mary Pike, Recycled Bag Lady;
• Madeline Ramsey, Unique Stained Glass;
• Stacy Rausch;
• Ken and Sue Reed, Green and Burning Tree;
• Donna Reinsel, Irons in the Fire;
• Cynthia Schoeppel;
• Kevin Sherlock;
• Ann Cameron Siegal;
• Kathy Stoner;
• Jackie Vavra; Birdybeads Handmade Jewelry;
• Christine Vinh, Stitches n’ Quilts;
• Joyce Wagner, Reinvented Elegance;
• Tracy Wilkerson, Recycled Works;
• Tamara Wilkerson, WiRealm by Tamara;
• Nancy Yonehiro, Angst and Attitude

Held at the Del Ray Artisans Gallery in the Colasanto Center, 2704 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia 22301, the eye-popping market will also have bonus market days on December 22 and 23. Regular market hours are Fridays 6-9 pm and Saturdays & Sundays 11 am-6 pm. Hours for Friday, December 22 are 3-9 pm. The market is free to browse and is open to the public.

To see which weekend each artist is present and for more information, please visit delrayartisans.org/holiday-market.

ICYMI: New Events Planned for First Night Alexandria This Year

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John Bailey had a successful career in marketing packaged goods, but now that he’s retired, he’s found another calling.

“When people say ‘it’s beautiful,’ they’re making comments [like], ‘I love your art,’ I’m going really?” he said.

He began taking art classes at night while he worked, but since retiring in 2018, he has more time to pursue his hobby. It wasn’t until the third wave of the pandemic in 2021, when many were feeling isolated that Bailey decided to share his watercolours on Facebook.

“My intent wasn’t to sell my art, it was to post it,” he said. “To my surprise, I was getting hundreds of likes and lots of good comments, and that sort of spurred me on to do it.”

His work focuses on scenes from around the city.

“I started innocently with a statue nearby where I live, and to my surprise I got a request for a print almost immediately from someone who used to gather around that statue with her girlfriends.”

With each piece he’d share, JBailey began hearing countless stories.

“I walked by Ms. Kim’s depanneur regularly because I live near where she is. I took a picture of her watering the plants one morning, and again I did my ink and watercolour,” he said. “I posted the scene of Ms. Kim, and to my surprise, not only was there an outpouring of, ‘I love Ms. Kim, everyone knows Ms. Kim,’ but then, ‘Can I get a copy?”

With many neighbourhoods changing, Bailey is immortalizing memories for Montrealers through his art.

“The old abandoned factory down on St. Ambroise that has the little pink house on top, everyone talks about ‘la maison rose.’ I’ve sold quite a few copies but when I first posted it, again I thought, ‘I don’t think anyone is going to like this,’ but there was a lot of likes, and a lot of attachment from the neighbourhood, they better not tear it down, they better not build condos,” he said.

The reaction is what keeps him going.

“It made me think, ‘Oh there’s something here. What I’m doing here is more than just a nice drawing,'” he said.

He’s even gotten a like from a former Habs GM.

“Marc Bergevin, he liked it,” he said.

He sells his art to former Montrealers living elsewhere, but for those still in the city, he prefers to deliver the pieces himself.

“I’ve gotten a lot of joy in watching these people smile when they take it out of the envelope,” he said. 

NEW YORK, Dec 4 (Reuters) – A gauge of global stocks fell for the first time in five sessions on Monday while Treasury yields rose as investors looked to upcoming U.S. labor market data for insight on the path of the Federal Reserve’s rate policy.

Softening economic data and recent comments from Fed officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, have heightened expectations the bank has ended its rate hike cycle will begin to cut rates as soon as March of next year.

Expectations for a U.S. rate cut of at least 25 basis points (bps) in March are about 58%, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool, up from about 22% a week ago.

Such expectations for Fed policy have helped fuel a strong rally in U.S. stocks, with each of the three major indexes on Wall Street capping their fifth straight week of gains on Friday.

“In the absence of a new catalyst with a market that’s basically retraced its downdraft from August, September, and October, you really need something new and that really kind of comes back-end loaded this week with the jobs print,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth in Boston.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 152.91 points, or 0.42%, to 36,092.59, the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 42.54 points, or 0.93%, to 4,552.09 and the (.IXIC) lost 223.66 points, or 1.56%, to 14,081.37.

U.S. labor market data will kick off on Wednesday with the ADP National Employment Report and culminate on Friday with the governments payrolls report.

Stocks in Europe also edged lower, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) down 0.12% after earlier touching a four-month high, while MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) lost 0.69% after hitting its highest level since August 2.

Attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea on Sunday risked increasing investor worries about the potential for a widening of the war between Israel and Hamas, potentially complicating the outlook for a rally that saw U.S. stocks crest a fresh closing high for the year last week.

Crude prices were slightly lower, however, as investor skepticism over the latest OPEC+ decision on supply cuts and uncertainty surrounding global fuel demand outweighed the risk of supply disruptions from the Middle east conflict.

U.S. crude dipped 0.39% to $73.78 a barrel. Brent crude fell to $78.7 per barrel.

The dollar rebounded, bouncing after three straight weeks of declines, with the dollar index (.DXY), which tracks the greenback against a basket of six currencies, up 0.47 points, or 0.46%, to 103.74. The euro was down 0.6% on the day at $1.0818.

The bounce in the dollar weighed on gold, which pulled back after hitting a record high of $2,135.40 per ounce and was last down 2.19% to $2,025.54 an ounce.

U.S. Treasury yields moved higher, with the benchmark 10-year yield moving off three-month lows to stand 7 basis points higher at 4.29%. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, rose 8 basis points to 4.648%.

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The School of Art in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to invite all to the first annual school-wide Winter Art Market, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10, at the Studio and Design Center located at Hill Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard in south Fayetteville.

The Winter Art Market will feature artwork available for purchase from art and design students and registered student organizations.

“We are so excited to provide a space for our students to sell their artwork and engage the community in their work,” said Donna Jones, director of recruitment and outreach. “Not only does this provide a revenue source for students, but this is also an incredible professional development opportunity as they navigate entrepreneurship as upcoming artists and designers.”

The market will offer a variety of art in various mediums and media areas, including ceramics, drawings, paintings, photography, printmaking and much more.

In addition to the market, the community will be able to view exhibitions currently on display from first-year foundations students and the United States International Poster Biennial 2023, an exhibition organized and hosted by graphic design assistant professor Ryan Slone.

For more information or questions about the Winter Art Market please visit art.uark.edu or call the School of Art office at 479-575-5202.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced Monday afternoon the 2023 Field Hockey Academic All-MAC Team. A total of 91 student-athletes were named to this year’s squad.
 
Ball State and Kent State led the way with 14 student-athletes on this year’s team. Miami had 13 honorees, while Bellarmine had 12 and App State, Central Michigan, and Ohio had 10 student-athletes represented.

The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport.

App State (10)
Charlotte Bosma, Junior, Applied Physics, 3.78
Sarah Callery, Sophomore, Accounting, 4.00
Addie Clark, 5th Year Senior, Art Management, 3.92
Samantha Connors, Sophomore, Exercise Science, 3.51
Bridget Donovan, Sophomore, Finance and Banking, 3.54
Rachel Fleig, 5th Year Senior, Communication Advertising, 3.26 
Hadley Kuzmicky, Sophomore, Exercise Science, 3.47
Jillian Orcutt, Junior, Exercise Science, 3.38
Sarah Perkins, Junior, Cell/Molecular Biology, 3.94
Henni Stegen, Sophomore, Communication Advertising, 3.36
 
Ball State (14)
Rachel Bohn, Senior, Nursing, 3.584
Nadia Briddell, Junior,Natural Resource Management, 3.603,
Maureen Donegan,Senior,  Kinesiology, 3.453
Michaela Graney, Senior, Exercise Science,
Maya Guinn, Junior, Biology, 3.947
Emma Hilton, Senior, Exercise Science, 3.943
Hannah Johnston, Senior, Computer Science, 3.724,
Fleur Knopert, Sophomore, 3.689
Libby Kraus, Graduate Senior, Business Administration, 3.766,
Kerrianne McClay, Graduate Senior, Psychology, 3.938
Jessica Rochat, Sophomore,General Studies, 3.200
Taylor Sullivan, Junior, Strategic Communications, 3.883
Maddie Summitt, Sophomore, Nursing, 3.570
Emma van Hal, Sophomore, History, 3.483
 
Bellarmine (12)
Hannah Brown, senior, nursing, 3.39
Anna Crump, senior, business administration, 3.45
Isabel Gladys, junior, elementary education and learning, 3.31
Peyton Hobson, senior, nursing, 3.21
Abby Hodges, senior, exercise science, 3.62
Alicia Hudson, sophomore, psychology, 3.84
Lauren Marshall, senior, exercise science, 4.0
Bente Moormann, junior, business administration, 3.65
Alexa Rastigue, graduate student, Master of Arts in Education: Teacher, 3.76
Terea Schmidt, graduate student, Master of Science in Digital Media, 3.97
Sophie Stoll, senior, psychology, 3.35
Kailey Workman, sophomore, biochemistry and molecular biology, 3.77
 
Central Michigan (10)
Caroline Beairsto, Teaching (PK-6), 3.92
Coletta Beeler, Teaching (Grades 3-6) with Special Education Emphasis, 3.41
Kate Biglin, Exercise Science: Kinesiology, 3.6p 
Kaitlyn Bowker, Teaching (PK-6), 3.88
Isabella D’Alessandro, Teaching (PK-6), 3.88
Shannon Dwyer, Undeclared, 4.0
Hannah Havrilla, Teaching (PK-6), 3.97
Ashlyn Norris, Sport Management, 3.77
Simone Potgieter, Integrated Science, 3.76
Rosa Maria Ruiz Hellin, Undeclared, 4.0
 
Kent State (14)
Elise Bearance, Junior, Nursing, 3.5
Iris Bekker, Sophomore, Biological Sciences, 3.384
Bella Carpenter, Junior, Exercise Science, 3.39
Lauren Conroy, Sophomore, Nursing, 3.455
Agustina Florio, Junior, Sports Administration, 3.489
Madison Leety, Nursing, Junior, 3.745
Emma Rolston, General Business, Sophomore, 3.37
Alex Sacker, Exercise Science, Senior, 3.284
Maia Sarrabayrouse, Sophomore, Business Management, 3.581 
Emma Seger, Sophomore, Biological Sciences, 3.369
Patricia Strunk, Sophomore, Architectural Studies, 3.661
Victoria Tinghitella, Senior, Sports Medicine, 3.226
Cecile van Eijck, Junior, International Studi, 3.768
Katie Wuerstle, Senior, Marketing, 3.901 
 
Longwood (8)
Kate Frey, Senior, Communication Studies, 3.850
Hunter-Paige Johnson, Senior, Business Administration, 3.883
Meghan Hyatt, Sophomore, Elementary Education & Teaching, 3.934
Kylie Levine, Senior, Kinesiology, 3.931
Santia McLaughlin, Graduate Student, Master’s Business Administration, 3.900
Cara O’Beirne, Junior, Biology, 3.685
Lara van Nunen, Junior, Physics, 3.860
Isis Vrolijks, Graduate Student, Master’s Business Administration, 4.00
 
Miami (13)
Madison Workman, Senior, Child Life Specialist, 4.0
Isabelle Perese, Senior, Inclusive Special Education, 3.78
Mary Kate Barbee, Senior, Political Science, Business Economics, 3.45
Jenna Kirby, Senior, Kinesiology, 3.84
Kailie Connor, Senior, Speech Path and Audiology, 3.28
Berta Mata, Junior, Microbiology, Medical Laboratory Science, 3.43
Becca Kline, Junior, Kinesiology Premedical Studies, Kinesiology, Nutrition & Health, 3.85
Carlie Servis, Junior, Kinesiology Premedical Studies, 3.63
Katherine Groff, Junior, Finance, 3.83
Imke Breedijk, Sophomore, Real Estate, 3.82
Becca Lawn, Sophomore, Accountancy, 3.32
Riley Mazzalupi, Sophomore, Business Undeclared, 3.95
Paula Navarro, Sophomore, Psychology Business Economics, 3.68
 
Ohio (10)
Noa Desmaretz, junior, International Business, 3.427 
Sasha Dikotla, sophomore, Chemical Engineering, 3.803 
Merle Kai, junior, Bios Human Biology, 3.634 
Meela Kopp, senior, Fin ance, Managemen t Info Systems, Business Analytics, 3.897 
Weslee Littlefield, Graduate student, Coaching Education, 4.0
Bodhi Littlefield, Junior, Integrated Language Arts, 3.782
Macy Lotze, Senior, Strategic Leadership and Mgt. and Marketing, 3.471 
Anouk Plaehn, sophomore, International Business, 3.969
Emily Risser, sophomore, Biological Sciences, 3.641
Katelyn Whittle, Graduate Student, MBA/Sports Administration, 3.592 

MIDDLETON, Wis. (WKOW) — WayForward Resources organized its annual charity-driven Holiday Art Market this weekend.

Located on Parmenter Street, the market featured over 50 artists with a variety of crafted goods. 

Over 20 percent of profits were directed towards the growing need for food assistance. 

According to Dana Monogue, school superintendent and WayForward Resources board of directors member, there has been a “200 percent increase in families seeking food assistance.”

Monogue revealed that this has been the largest jump in demand that the organization has seen. 

But for Monogue and the other organizers, the event is about more than just raising funds.

“It’s a wonderful way for us to promote what WayForward Resources does as an organization … at a time where we’ve seen unprecedented need,” she said.

For the vendors, the market is a great opportunity to feature their crafts in a meaningful way. 

Betsy Nordstrom is a volunteer for ReMitts, an upcycling mitten brand. She discussed how shopping at the market not only supports the WayForward food pantry, but local artists as well.

“The smile you see on the vendor’s face … and the gratitude they have is worth it,” she said.

More information on WayForward Resources can be found on their website.

Rachel Klaver is a marketing strategist, specialising in lead generation and content marketing.

OPINION: It doesn’t matter how good your marketing is, how much kudos you’ve built with contacts and past clients that leads to them referring you to everyone, or how much advertising you are doing if you’re unable to close a sale.

I’ve been working with a group of small business owners over the last month to help them improve the conversion rate of their sales meetings. Although they’re all experts in the work they do, anyone can run into issues closing a sale.

Here are some of the most common:

Allowing your own mindset issues to impact your meeting

We often focus on the need to sort out our money mindset before we sell in a meeting, but there can be other issues at play too. For example, one of my clients was worried one of the offers she was approached about didn’t have a flash proposal designed for it yet. She was worried the meeting would go well and she would have to design the proposal, even though she could do the actual work it would outline in a flash.

Our solution? We created a very simple and straightforward proposal that could work as an email rather than a complicated document. And it worked.

Another client had some money mindset issues. Things were a little slow for her, so she had been feeling the pinch. When it came to sharing the price for her work, she would speed up when delivering it, with a higher pitched voice. She knew that she wasn’t in a position to spend that money herself, so had to remind herself before each meeting that “my budget is not your budget.”

Leaving things up in the air

One of the worst things to say to someone at the end of a sales meeting is “I look forward to hearing from you”. We want to make sure we can pick up the conversation at any point after that initial time together. When we put all the onus on the potential client to get back in touch, we can get stuck trying to work out how to check in with them.

At the end of a meeting, I like using the “I will, you will, we will” framework. It might look a little like this. “Thank you so much for your time today. I will send you a quote via email within the next twenty-four hours, along with a suggested start time. You will have a look, come back with any questions, and if you are ready, confirm we can get started. Then we will book in a time and start the work.”

If you, like several of my clients, prefer to present your proposal during a meeting, tell them you will send them a digital copy after the meeting and end with the “I will, you will, we will” framework.

Not setting the expectation

The first email after a meeting is incredibly important. Along with supplying a quote or sending the proposal, you also want to reuse the “I will, you will, we will” next steps. In your “I will” steps you might say “I know you are very busy, so if I haven’t heard from you by next Thursday, I’ll send you a follow-up email.”

This gives you an opening to follow up without feeling you are overstepping some sort of hidden boundary. It’s a good idea to pop an action in your CRM.

I personally don’t like to send auto reminders even though I love marketing automation. Sales is person-to-person, and an impersonal auto-reminder often won’t convert nearly as well as one that’s written by you.

Not wanting to annoy people

Of course, we don’t want to annoy potential (or current) clients. We don’t want to start demanding they work with us or harass them. However, it’s really important to make three assumptions, unless told otherwise. The first is that they made time to speak with you because they wanted to work with you. If we assume that someone wants to work with us, we talk in a more confident manner, and find it easier to keep following up.

The second is that they are likely very busy, and they haven’t yet replied with a yes or a no because they are swamped, and need you to remind them to get to the next step. They might have other things that are more pressing, or be waiting for someone else before making a final decision.

The third is that until you get a firm no, the answer could be yes, so assume they are still thinking about it.

Losing confidence after a few “no” replies

If you are getting a “yes” to every single proposal, unless they are coming solely from referrals or a strong content marketing relationship that you’ve built over time, it’s likely your pricing is too low. If your aim is a one-in-three or one-in-four conversion rate, and you’ve had a run of “yes” replies, statistically, you’ll eventually see a run of “no” responses at some stage.

It’s so important to take each meeting as a new opportunity to make the sale, and not come into it already feeling like it’s going to lead to another “no”.

I do like to see sales meetings as a two-way street in working out if you’re going to work together. Sometimes we get so focussed on the drive to get them to want us, and then make the sale that we don’t take the time to check if the person we’re meeting is the right client for us. Sometimes the real reason we don’t want to follow up is that we don’t actually want the sale. That, of course, is a very good reason not to.

For everyone else you meet, however, it’s key to remember sales meetings aren’t where most decisions are made. That is more often done in the follow-up. If you need more sales in 2024, it’s time to get better in the art of the follow-up.