LONDON and NEW
YORK and PARIS, March 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Between February 28 and March 8, 2018, Sotheby's
(NYSE: BID) held eight auctions of Contemporary, Modern and
Impressionist Art that brought a total of more than $430 million, with an average sell-through rate
of 80%. Highlights ranged from $70
million paid for a stunning portrait by Pablo Picasso, to the highest total for an
online-only sale at Sotheby's to date. "It has been a great
two weeks for Sotheby's with strong prices achieved at every level
of the market," commented Tad Smith,
Sotheby's CEO, adding, "these results bode very well for the season
ahead, including our important Hong
Kong and New York
auctions."
RECENT RESULTS AT SOTHEBY'S
7 & 8 MARCH 2018: One
of the highest totals for a Contemporary Art Evening Sale at
Sotheby's in London &
the highest total for a Contemporary Art Day sale at Sotheby's
London in a decade.
Contemporary Art Evening Sale: London, $151.7
million total, 95% sold by lot
Three monumental canvases by some of the greatest living artists
led Sotheby's first Contemporary Evening sale of the year. Works by
PETER DOIG, GERHARD RICHTER and CHRISTOPHER WOOL all sold for over
$10 million, while further paintings
from YAYOI KUSAMA, ALBERT
OEHLEN and LUCIO FONTANA
soared over high estimate after attracting multiple bidders. New
auction records were set for two American artists, PETER HALLEY and JASON RHOADES. Browse the sale here.
Alex Branczik, Head of Contemporary Art for Sotheby's
Europe said: "Going into
these sales we felt real enthusiasm from collectors, ready for the
new season and to make acquisitions. This translated into
competitive bidding at all price points - for prices above
$10 million, but also notably for
prices below $5 million – an
especially transactional and fruitful area of the market. These
signs are all very encouraging for the year ahead. For me this was
a sale defined by great painting, both abstract and figurative, by
the leading artists of today. Peter
Doig, Christopher Wool,
Gerhard Richter and Rudolf Stingel all set new benchmarks in our
saleroom this week."
Contemporary Art Day Sale:
London, $31.7 million total, 85% sold by lot
The Contemporary Art Day Sale was led by exceptional post-war
works, including WOL's Les Tâches Rouges from 1947
which sold for more than four times the high estimate to achieve
$1.7 million. JEAN DUBUFFET
also spearheaded the sale with two canvases, Paysage aux
Griffures, 1953 and Paysage aux 3 arbres, 1956, both
achieving strong results. There were a number of standout
contemporary works in the sale including River, 2013 by
PETER DOIG, Monkey
Detonator, 2002 by BANKSY, and Untitled (Full Colour
Butterfly 866) by MARK
GROTJAHN, all of which flew over high estimate. Browse
the sale here.
6 MARCH 2018: The highest
total ever achieved for an online-only sale at Sotheby's
Contemporary Art Online (21
February-6 March): $2.2 million
total, at the high estimate. Over 550 registrants and an average of
more than 10 bids per lot. Four artists records set.
The sale was led by JOHN
CHAMBERLAIN's String of Perils from 1991, a
domestically scaled example of the artist's dynamic crushed metal
sculptures, which sold for $170,000,
more than double the high estimate. Other highlights included
RICHARD HAMBLETON's
Fountain of Youth, circa 1984, which set a new record for
the artist at auction selling for $150,000, five times the high estimate, as well
as AL HANSEN's
Untitled, circa 1964, which also set a new benchmark for the
artist when it sold for $85,000, many
times the high estimate. A new auction record was also set
for YVONNE THOMAS, with her
abstract expressionist canvas, Still Life, circa 1958,
achieving $26,000, well above the
pre-sale estimate of $9,000. Browse
the sale here.
Harrison Tenzer, Head of
Sotheby's Contemporary Online sales in New York, said: "The success of this
online-only sale was driven by the ideal combination of appealing
property at the right estimate, which attracted both our
established clients looking for more accessibly priced quality
works, as well as new clients who have never purchased from us and
are looking for an entry point into Sotheby's. There are a growing
number of people who desire quality art at a variety of price
points and I am excited that this sale, which included prices that
ranged from $640 to $170,000, can accommodate this expanding
audience."
5 MARCH 2018: TO LIVE WITH
ART: The Jerome & Ellen Stern
Collection.
New York, $2.4 million total. The culmination of offerings
from the collection that began in the autumn of 2017 and achieved
nearly $25 million.
Leading the sale was Marlene
Dumas – an artist the Sterns collected in depth - whose
Small Dark Portrait sold for $275,00 against a high estimate of $120,000. Also significantly exceeding
expectations were Liu Wei's:
Landscape - Celestial Mountain, which more than doubled its
high estimate to sell for $168,750,
and Thomas Struth's Paradise 7,
Daintree, Australia, which
sold for $102,600, well above the
high estimate of $60,000. Browse the
sale here.
Elizabeth Webb, Vice
President and Specialist in Sotheby's Contemporary Art Department
in New York, said,
"Following the outstanding prices achieved last November for works
from the Stern's collection by David
Smith, Marlene Dumas and
Wangechi Mutu, we were delighted to
present such a personal assemblage that encapsulated the family's
passion for young artists from around the world. Collectors
responded with enthusiasm, leading to 80% of the sold lots achieved
prices at or above estimate."
2 MARCH 2018: The highest
total for a Contemporary Curated Sale since 2014
New York, $26.4 million total, at the high estimate (sell
through 78.9%)
The sale was led by JASPER
JOHNS'S Untitled work on paper from 1983, which
established a new record for a monotype by the artist when it
bested its high estimate to sell for $2.5
million (estimate $1.5/2
million). Emerging from his Drawings Paintings series,
GEORGE CONDO's Rainy Day
Butler from 2012 sold to applause when it achieved an
outstanding $2.4 million - double its
high estimate, and the second-highest auction price for the
artist. A new artist record was established for
SAM GILLIAM. Browse the sale
here.
Charlotte van Dercook, Head
of Sotheby's Contemporary Curated auctions in New York, commented: "We are thrilled
with the outstanding results from last Friday's sale in
New York. There were a number of
highlights throughout the two sessions: from establishing a new
artist record for Sam Gilliam, to
multiple top prices for works by George
Condo and enthusiastic participation from online bidders. We
look forward to building upon this success as we continue to grow
our Curated sales."
28 FEBRUARY & 1 MARCH
2018: Pablo Picasso's
Golden Muse makes $70 million in Auction debut
Impressionist, Modern & Surrealist Art Evening Sales:
London, $188.9 million total
PABLO PICASSO was the star
of the night with his powerful portrait of golden muse
Marie-Thérèse Walter (1937) making an auction debut to sell for
$69.2 million – the highest price for
a painting sold at auction in Europe in GBP. 64% of the lots sold exceeded
their pre-sale high-estimates, among them two jewel-like
compositions by SALVADOR
DALÍ, emerging from a private Argentinian collection, and
ANDRÉ DERAIN's 1905 Fauve landscape. New auction records
were set for pioneering Italian Futurist UMBERTO BOCCIONI,
British sculptor LYNN
CHADWICK and British Surrealist EILEEN AGAR. Browse the sales here and here.
Helena Newman, Global Co-Head
of Sotheby's Impressionist & Modern Art Department &
Chairman of Sotheby's Europe,
said: "Having been part of the incredible moment when
Alberto Giacometti's Walking Man achieved its unprecedented price
for any sculpture, it was a particular thrill to see Picasso's
portrait of his golden muse Marie-Therésè Walter achieve a new
benchmark in the same saleroom for any painting auctioned in
Europe. The success tonight of
works including Umberto Boccioni's spectacular Futurist composition
showed that our collectors are hungry for the rarest,
highest-quality examples we are able to unearth. The two works by
Salvador Dalí that led our offering of Surrealist art demonstrates
so well the truly global nature of our present market: sourced from
Argentina, sold in our
London salesroom, and purchased by
an Asian collector."
Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sale: London, $26.7
million total
The Day sale was led by dazzling paintings by PIERRE-AUGUSTE
RENOIR, THÉO VAN RYSSELBERGHE and HENRI MARTIN. Bidders competed for the lots
from 44 countries, with increased participation from the
Middle East and South America, and institutional buying as the
National Gallery of Australia
acquired an elegant work on paper by PAUL CÉZANNE. An
auction record was achieved for Belgian Surrealist painter JANE
GRAVEROL. Browse the sale here.
28 FEBRUARY 2018: The highest total for a Now!
Sale
Paris, $2.2 million total, near high estimate
The fourth edition of Sotheby's Now! sale in Paris – a sale mixing Contemporary Art,
Design, Photographs and African Art – achieved its highest total to
date. Focused on offering art of the highest quality at accessible
prices, the sale was led by ROBERT
COMBAS' painting, La bataille de Don Quichotte contre
les moulins from 1996, which sold $137,400, twice its high estimate. Other
highlights include KEY SATO's Terre figée from 1958
which made 10 times its high estimate at $102.286. In Design, the highest price went to
two armchairs by Hermès after Jean-Michel
Frank sold for $42,747, five
times the high estimate. Browse the sale here.
Mercedes Lambarri,
Contemporary Art Specialist in charge of the sale said:
"Our last Now! sale was a huge success. Now at its fourth
edition, this innovative sale is attracting more and more
collectors, with almost 40% of participants new to Sotheby's."
Sotheby's Presents: Fearless
Now
COMING IN MAY
Throughout our marquee May auctions of Impressionist &
Modern and Contemporary Art in New
York, Sotheby's will celebrate brave artistic voices across
time – from the pioneering Impressionists working outside of the
Paris Salon in the 19th century, to groundbreaking artists,
collectors and patrons who are making their own rules today. Follow
us throughout the spring for video, articles and news from our
original series Fearless Now.
FOR MORE NEWS FROM SOTHEBY'S
Twitter: www.twitter.com/sothebys
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sothebys
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sothebys
Snapchat ID: sothebys
YouTube: www.youtube.com/SothebysTV
Weibo: www.weibo.com/sothebyshongkong
WeChat ID: sothebyshongkong
Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of
art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international auction
house when it expanded from London
to New York (1955), the first to
conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973),
India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international
fine art auction house in China
(2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in 10 different
salesrooms, including New York,
London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows
visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from
anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of
Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art
financing company, as well as the collection advisory services of
its subsidiary, Art Agency, Partners. Sotheby's presents private
sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the
gallery arm of Sotheby's Global Fine Art Division, and two retail
businesses, Sotheby's Diamonds and Sotheby's Wine. Sotheby's has a
global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest
company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).
*Estimates do not include buyer's premium. Prices achieved
include the hammer price plus buyer's premium and are net of any
fees paid to the purchaser where the purchaser provided an
irrevocable bid.
Browse sale catalogues, view original content, stream live
auctions and more at www.sothebys.com, and through Sotheby's apps
for iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple TV and Amazon Fire
Sotheby's New York | +1
212 606 7176 | Darrell Rocha |
Darrell.Rocha@Sothebys.com
Sotheby's London | +44
207 293 6000 | Mitzi Mina |
Mitzi.Mina@Sothebys.com
View original content with
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/two-weeks-of-sales-brings-over-430-million-at-sothebys-300611468.html
SOURCE Sotheby's