Expectations were tempered before Sotheby’s sale at the Modern Modern Gala in London on Tuesday. No one expects fireworks for a variety of reasons.
Last June, the house sold three times as much as Jean-Michel Basquiat The portrait of the artist is a young abandoned For just $20.2 million, it exceeded its undervalue, but far below the valuation Christie’s put in the work two years ago before the batch was withdrawn. Then there is a broader context: Christie canceled his own June night sale last year, severely undercutting the long-standing post-Basel finale. Marquee New York sales last month hardly restored confidence in the art market turning again.
But while the auction market is still frozen, news on the street is that collections cost a lot of money on private expenses. last week, Ice hockey Marion Maneker reports that the main work is being made through private sales, including “$100 million in Basquet.” “Some people are spending money,” Mannek wrote. Art Advisors also confirmed to me that this week’s underground transaction is underway for Class A projects.
“The fact is that when the auction market is quiet, especially at the top, many of the major artworks are privately traded,” said Jussi Pylkkänen, former global president of Christie and current founder of consulting arts pylkkänen. Tell Artnews.
Sotheby’s 48 sales on Tuesday brought nearly £62.5 million ($84 million) to its £55 million to £74 million estimate. The selling rate was 83%, and four works were withdrawn. That figure is about 19% from the £77 million total of 51 batches of equivalent sales last year. (All numbers quoted include the buyer’s premium.)
Five works led by Tamara de Lempicka cleared £5m La Belle Rafaëla (1927), priced at £7.4 million, Pablo Picasso nu assis dan un fauteuil (1964-65). Basquiat’s 1981 work on paper Untitled (Indian head) After an avant-garde bid that attracted applause, it was sold for £5.4 million (overestimated: £6 million). “It covers all the talents of Basquett – it’s bold, original, and no doubt.”
Sotheby’s Europe chairman and head of global impressionism and modern art Helena Newman patted her mallet and just started things in the empty seat at 6 o’clock in the back of the room, suggesting some collectors choose the beach or never boarded the flight. Last week at Art Basel, several gallerists pointed out that fewer American and Asian collectors than usual, and that sales rooms in London also appear to be European events.
Still, Andre Zlattinger, Sotheby’s director of modern art in Europe, doesn’t seem to be too worried about the shortage of potential collectors before the sale. “Our London sales are always real international sales, and the works we offer tonight are currently involved in conversations that are flooded in the art world,” he told him. Artnews. After the auction, evening sales head Thomas Boyd-Bowman added, “phone bids from the United States and Asia.”
In the early lot of the night, Yu Nishimura’s By the snow (2023) tripled the sale, its overestimation at £230,000, and six bidders canceled it. Nishimura recently held a solo exhibition at David Zwirner in New York, and all of his works are for sale in Basel Pre-Sold. Joseph Yeager’s 2022 paintings Loyalty to the nightmare of choicedepicting a hand pulling a snake from a jar, followed by £80,000, over £20,000 over the overestimation. The next two batches, Egon Schiele’s work on paper, Portrait Research (Girl Leader) – Hilde Zeigler (1918) and Barbara Hepworth Vertical form (1965) Sculptures, none of which are for sale.
The most famous sales before De Lempicka La Belle Rafaëla Elizabeth Peyton’s 1996 painting Liam + Noel (Galragel) For £2 million (overestimated), Picasso’s nu assis dan un fauteuil For £7.1 million (overestimated £9 million) and Mirror (2011-12) Jenny Saville is priced at £2.1 million. good.
A special highlight of the sale: Although only 13.5% of the evening’s works (7 out of 48 batches), the work of female artists accounts for 30% of the total sales. Marlow Moss’s White, black, blue and red (1944) received a record £609,600. Savile’s Opportunity (1994) sold for £5.4 million, Agnes Martin Untitled me (1982) made £1 million.
Roy Lichtenstein’s six works come from his collection of Dorothy, which together achieved nearly £6 million. The group conducted 43 Lichtensteins “white gloves” for sale in New York last month, totaling $62.8 million.
“The work of the precious collectors that Dorothy and Roy Lichtenstein did in New York last month is amazing. It’s an incredible special group with lasting resonance,” said Antonia Gardener, head of evening sales at Sotheby’s.
After the auction, Newman told me that she was “very satisfied with the results”. “Providing things in all kinds of flavors, we obviously see female artists performing well.”
Sotheby was happy with the decision to keep the summer auction after Christie abandoned her decision last summer?
“Tonight, it was reasonable for us to decide to keep it, and that’s everything that happened in the world in June, and it was a very considerable result,” Newman added. “There is a possible sales volume in New York in May and then people go to Basel and then they come here – we really believe it.”
As for private sales issues and auction sales issues, I asked Boyd-Bowman to give his post-sale treatment. “There is always activity in the art market, and private sales under the surface tend to fill the gaps, and we see them at every price level, so not only are the highest, but these sales have been filtering throughout the market and in every category,” he said.
So, there were no fireworks on Tuesday, but there were some positive results. The continued charge of $84 million total is not a mean feat, and it seems to have provided Sotheby’s appeal to maintain its summer evening sales. Where else are collectors going to overcome their post-blue blues?
