Naked Portrait with Reflection, Lucian Freud (1980) via Artinfo
Christie’s held its Postwar and Contemporary Evening sale on Monday, June 30th, setting new records and selling 83% of the lots. The four largest sales came from Jeff Koons, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, and Andy Warhol. Other artists who were featured in the finely curated sale were Mark Rothko, Gerhard Richter, and Gilbert and George just to name a few. Out of the 48 lots that sold, 30 of them made over $1 million, and the total sale raised $172 million. This is Christie’s best result for a post-war and contemporary art sale in Europe.
Bacon Self-Portraits Fetch $34.5 Million at London Art Auction [Bloomberg]
Koons sculpture highlights record-breaking art sale [APF]
Koons record as London art sales draw to close [Reuters]
Christie’s London Bests Own Contemporary Record [Artinfo]
Record price for Koons sculpture [BBC]
Christie’s Post War and Contemporary Art Sale [Christie’s]
Bacon Triptych Sells for $34.4 Million in London [NYTimes]
Dead Artists Breathe Life Into Auctions [Wall Street Journal]
Koons’s ‘Balloon Flower’ sits in St. James Square before sale at Christie’s June 30th [Art Observed]
Lucian Freud, who set a new world record price for a work by a living artist with his painting, Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, when it sold for $33.6 million at Christies New York, has now sold another piece at the London sale last Monday. The Naked Portrait with Reflection has come in second for the highest price for any of his work, with a whopping $23.5 million. It was previously owned by a private American collector. (Pictured above)
Three Studies for a Self Portrait, Francis Bacon (1975) via Artinfo
The triptych, Three Studies for a Self Portrait, by Francis Bacon was the highest sale of the evening. It sold to an anonymous bidder for $34.5 million after being in a private French collection since it was painted in 1975.
Balloon Flower (Magenta), Jeff Koons (1995-2000) via BBC
This gigantic chromium stainless steel Balloon Flower has set a record for Jeff Koons; it fetched the highest price at auction for any of his work. At $25.8 million dollars, it exceeded the $23.5 million estimate. The piece was previously apart of the Rachofsky Collection in Texas, and was bought at auction by an anonymous telephone bidder.
To her Majesty, Gilbert and George (1973) via Christie’s
This photographic piece, To her Majesty, made by the duo Gilbert and George was sold by a private European collector for $3.8 million.
Another highlight of the show:
Nine Multicoloured Marilyns (Reversal Series), Andy Warhol (1928-1987) via Christie’s
Sold for just over $8 million.
Concetto Spaziale, Lucio Fontana (1964) via Christie’s
One of the pieces that didn’t fare as well as expected, but still drew a high bid was Lucio Fontana’s Concetto Spaziale from 1964. Bidding for this piece stopped at $12.5 million, which just under the requested estimate.
