David Hockney, Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott (1969), via Christie’s

Following a marathon week of openings and shows between New York and London, the first major Contemporary Evening Sales of 2019 are in the bag, with a trio of sales closing out the week in London with a market picture that seemed relatively strong.  No doubt clouded in some part by the uncertainty of the impending Brexit, the week’s sales still managed to achieve some impressive figures and strong sell-through rates, keeping the uncertainty of the following months alive in the British capital.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Apex (1986), via Sotheby’s (more…)

Claude Monet, Le Palais Ducal (1908), via Sotheby’s

With the month of February drawing to a close, the major auction houses are gearing up for their first real test of the year, with a string of auctions set to take place over the course of the following weeks in London.  Marking major sales for both the Impressionist/Modern and Post-War/Contemporary categories, the next two weeks should offer some perspective on how the secondary market is faring in relation to what seems to be an energetic but slightly smaller fair circuit. (more…)

David Hockney, Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) (1972), Final Price: $90,312,500, via Christie’s

After a marathon of sales this evening, running through a heavy first snowfall of the year in New York, the Contemporary and Post-War Evening Sales are a wrap, closing out the year on a high note.  Over the course of two consecutive evenings, the auction houses orchestrated a smooth-running series of sales that saw a number of major records fall, and a number of strong results.

Jean Michel-Basquiat, Untitled (Pollo Frito) (1982) Final Price: $25,701,500, via Sotheby’s (more…)

Jenny Saville, Propped (1992), via Sotheby’s

With the conclusion of the week in London, a trio of auctions have painted an unclear picture of the Post-War and Contemporary Market in Britain, as a series of sales at the major houses saw particularly mixed results over the past two evenings.  With a number of high-profile works going unsold, and a somewhat unsteady level of interest among paintings as a running theme, the sales at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips saw several strong outings as well as a few notable disappointments, summarized below.

Jeff Koons, Cracked Egg (Blue) (1994-2006), via Christie’s (more…)

Lucian Freud, Portrait on a White Cover (2002-2003), via Sotheby’s

Following up on a set of sales that can best be described as unsteady last week, the London auction houses return again today for a trio of sales that will once again test the market strength for the upper echelons of the Post-War and Contemporary segment.  Taking over the British capital for the last bout of auctions before a long summer recess, this set of sales should see an attempt to overcome sluggish interest and achieve a strong closing note for the first half of the year. (more…)

Kerry Marshall, Past Times (1997), Price:$21,114,500 via Sotheby’s

With two nights of auctions now concluded, a choppy look at the contemporary art market has emerged, as Sotheby’s, Phillips and Christie’s strung together a series of occasionally surprising, mixed sales over the course of last night and this evening.  The auctions, which mark the last major sales for the U.S. outposts of the international houses before summer recess, saw a number of impressive auction records, as well as a series of high profile works that failed to find a buyer, a note that left many puzzling over the immediate future of the Contemporary field.

Mark Rothko, Untitled (1969), Price:$18,856,500, via Sotheby’s  (more…)

Amedeo Modigliani, Nu Couché (Sur le CoÌ‚té Gauche) (1917), via Sotheby’s

With the weather gradually warming, and thoughts turning to the summer months in New York, the art world will once again look to the Big Apple for a last major auction of the spring season.  With a packed week boasting a string of sales spread over 10 days, the week’s offerings will make for a pointed cap to the preceding week at Roosevelt Island, where Frieze New York will has drawn to a close.  With a number of impressive highlights, chief among them the collection of David and Peggy Rockefeller at Christie’s, the spring sales in New York should offer a few impressive exclamation points to add to an already packed month of market offerings. (more…)

Pablo Picasso, La Dormeuse (1932), via Phillips

With Thursday drawing to a close in London, the final night of Contemporary auctions was in the bag, as Philips capped an impressive outing, bringing a final tally of £97 million that made it the most successful and high-grossing sale in auction house history.  The sale saw some particularly strong results over the course of 50 lots, ultimately hitting several impressive auction tallies on the way to the week’s conclusion.  Marking another major statement for an auction that has increasingly staked out a space for itself in the higher ends of the secondary market, Phillips planted a flag this evening, selling several works at prices that could compete with either Sotheby’s or Christie’s premier pieces.

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Pablo Picasso, Femme au béret et aÌ€ la robe quadrillée (Marie-ThéreÌ€se Walter) (1937), via Sotheby’s

Marking the first major test of the secondary market for this 2018, the major auction houses are preparing to open their doors for a series of marquee evening sales in London this coming month.  Trying both the Impressionist/Modern and Post-War categories with top selections of works, the sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips will offer a look at just how strong the market is rebounding since a long stretch of inactivity and stagnancy. (more…)

Peter Doig, Red House (1995-1996), final price $21,127,500, via Phillips

Throwing its hat into the ring on a bustling week of sales in New York, Phillips concluded its offering in the 20th Century and Contemporary Auctions , bringing a final tally of $113.9 million for its 44-lot sale.  The Phillips event was a quick affair, running mechanically through its offerings to achieve its result, with only a small handful of works going unsold. (more…)

Leonardo da Vinci, Salvator Mundi (circa 1500), via Christie’s

As the weather grows increasingly chilly, the art world turns its blue-chip market attention towards New York City once again, where a final series of major Impressionist/Modern and Post-War/Contemporary Evening Sales will open at the major auction houses, once again offering a test of the market’s current strength.  With a last flourish on a year that has packed ample surprises into its market proceedings, this final sale will feature a series of landmark works, chief among them the offering of an extremely rare Leonardo Da Vinci canvas, a work that has already created a storm of chatter among art world insiders. (more…)

Francis Bacon, Head with Raised Arm (1955), via Christie’s

The week of auction sales in London concluded Friday evening, as both Phillips and Christie’s held their Contemporary and 20th Century Evening Sales, achieving modest results that did little to bolster a distinctly quiet sale the night prior at Sotheby’s.  For those looking for a strong confirmation of the market’s strength in a turbulent political climate worldwide, the sale offered little in the way of stability, with some top lots failing to find a buyer, while others just managed to sell at estimate.

Adrian Ghenie, The Collector 4 (2009), via Phillips

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Francis Bacon, Study of Red Pope 1962. 2nd Version 1971 (1971), via Christie’s

Making its stamp on Frieze auction week in London, the big auction houses are planning a string of major Contemporary and Post-War Evening Sales in the coming weeks, marking the first time the secondary market will be tested in the second half of 2017.  With sales at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips packed into a pair of evenings in the British capital, the first days of October should offer an interesting look at how the market has continued to respond to turbulent world events, unstable buying patterns, and the demanding pace of the current market schedule.

Andreas Gursky, Los Angeles (1999), via Phillips

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Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (1982), via Sotheby’s

A pair of auctions capped off the May Evening Sales this evening, as Phillips and Sotheby’s concluded their respective Post-War and Contemporary marquee sales.  Notching a number of impressive records at both auction houses, the evening was an impressively strong final night for a week that made good on promises for the market’s slow but steady recovery. (more…)

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (1982), via Sothebys

Following a bustling two weeks of sales and shows, focus returns to New York City this week for a marathon run of auction sales that will set the stage for the summer season, offering one a chance for collectors to get their hands on marquee works before Art Basel in June marks a break in market action before the fall auction season.  Five sales in a stretch of only four days should offer buyers a range of options, with both Impressionist/Modern and Post-War/Contemporary categories seeing ample opportunities to buy.

Pablo Picasso, Femme assise, robe bleue (1939), via Christie’s (more…)

Mark Rothko, No. 1 (1949), via Christie’s

With the proceedings of the Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale concluded this past week, attention turns to London’s Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sales, as a trio of auctions will look to test the waters in the early months of 2017.  Boasting an impressively strong focus in particular on German art, the auction houses will seek strong results in a market that has seen noticeably turbulent, unpredictable results in the past months.  Yet a recent bump in the London art market, driven by the weak pound, may see some unexpected results for the week’s offerings.  Either way, the week should see each auction house battling it out for market share through aggressive guarantees.  (more…)

Claude Monet, Meule (1891), final price: $81,447,500, via Christie’s

Doubling down on Wednesday night, Phillips and Christie’s went back to back on a marathon pair of auctions, Phillips with its 20th Century Sale and Christie’s with its Impressionist and Modern sale, that pushed the fall auction week to near completion with surprisingly potent results, including a new auction record for both Claude Monet and Wassily Kandinsky.   (more…)

Willem de Kooning, Untitled XXV (1977), via Christie’s

As the fall season moves towards December, the last major auction week of the year is set to kick off in New York, with a series of sales set to take place that will offer the last major barometer for the auction market’s health in a turbulent, and often unpredictable, year.  Beginning Monday, a series of both Impressionist/Modern and Contemporary Evening auctions will bring the last set of major works to the auction block in the U.S. before the market prepares for the holiday months.

Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait (Fright-Wig) (1986), via Sotheby’s

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Jean-Michel Basquiat, Hannibal (1982), via Sotheby’s

With the opening days of Frieze London also come the opening forays into the secondary market for the fall calendar for the British capital, with Phillips, Sotheby’s and Christie’s each trying their hand at a market that has seen distinctly turbulent, albeit occasionally impressive results for what many are calling a sales slump.  Coming off a sluggish summer with an above expectations at Phillips’ New, Now, Next sale of young artists in the past weeks, market spectators and the odd speculator are watching the Contemporary Evening Sales closely this week.

Rudolf Stingel, Untitled (2007), via Phillips

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Anselm Kiefer, Für Velimir Khlebnikov: Die Lehre vom Krieg: Seeschlachten (2004-2010), via Phillips

The first of June’s Contemporary Art sales in London has wrapped up in London this evening, as Phillips concluded its 20th Century and Contemporary sale to mixed results and a final sales total of £11,873,000, within the evening’s sales estimate.  The 31-lot sale saw 10 of its works go unsold, while a handful of other pieces brought impressively strong prices, ultimately casting ominous, albeit foggy indications of the European market in the wake of the Brexit vote.

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Sigmar Polke, Rotter Fisch (Red Fish) (1992), via Sotheby’s

As the sales and events surrounding Art Basel begin to wind down this weekend, many collectors will turn their attention to London, where two weeks of auctions will mark the final major sale of the first half of 2016.  Spread across five auctions, the sales seem notably subdued in comparison with last month’s attempts to shoot the moon in New York, perhaps in part due to concerns about Britain leaving the EU blunting collectors’ willingness to invest in the pound, yet strong works and seemingly hearty interest may manage to keep the them interesting. (more…)

Phillips is claiming to have set a record for the highest price paid for a Latin American artist’s work, after selling a Diego Rivera piece for $15.7 million in a private transaction.  “This is, by my estimation, the best easel painting in private hands outside of Mexico, a celebration of indigenous culture,” said August Uribe, Phillips’s deputy chairman of the Americas. “Rivera made a purposeful break from European modernism to create a national identity through the visual arts.” (more…)

Cheyenne Westphal, one of Sotheby’s top sellers and a “secret weapon” according to Harper’s Bazaar, will leave the auction house to chair Phillips.  “We are delighted that Cheyenne has agreed to join Phillips,” says current chair and CEO Edward Dolman. (more…)

Brice Marden, Star (for Patti Smith) (1972-74), via Phillips Auction

Following in the footsteps of an early evening auction at Christie’s just an hour prior, Phillips has logged a staid but consistent auction into the books for its sole evening sale of the spring auction week.  The auction house’s 20th Century Sale achieved moderate success with a final tally of $46,576,000, with only 3 of the 38 lots going unsold.

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