The Chairman of Christie’s, David Linley, is interviewed by the Financial Times to discuss the auction house’s recent success and his upbringing as part of the Royal Family. The auction house recently had a record season in the Postwar & Contemporary category, totaling $412 million. He discusses his view on various markets, from Old Masters to Chinese contemporary. (more…)

Wassily Kandinsky, Studie für Improvisation 8 (1909)  which sold for a record breaking $23,042,500, image courtesy Christie’s

Despite a nor’easter last night in New York, Christie’s had a full house for its Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale, which boasted a sale total of $204, 800,000 with just 48 of 69 lots sold.  The sales achieved were not always consistent but very high numbers were reached during many bids.  The value sold by lot was 80%, with most of the works that did sell achieving their high estimate or beyond.  Head of the Department, Brooke Lampley, declared it a “strong sale” in the post auction press conference.

Sale room at Christie’s, photo by ArtObserved

The major excitement of the sale came with the record-breaking price of $23 million for Kandinsky’s Studie für Improvisation 8  – the highest price ever paid at auction for a work by the artist. The painting is an early figurative example of the artist’s transition to abstraction. (more…)