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Sotheby’s Evening Contemporary Art Auction in Progress, via Sothebys.com
With the audience being described as “dazed” and “fatigued,” excitement was sparse at yesterday evening’s Contemporary Art auction at Sotheby’s in London. The sale realized a total of £41,091,800, well within the £32-52 million estimate (total realized includes buyer’s premium, estimates do not). The sale had a sell-through rate of 83% by lot and 87.3% by value, while 45.4% of lots sold above their high estimates.
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Yves Klein, MG 42, 1960 (estimate £200,000-300,000, realized £481,250), via Sothebys.com
The headlining work, Yves Klein’s RE 49, sold for just over £6 million (estimate £4.5-6.5 million) after three minutes of bidding from four interested buyers. The other Klein canvas for sale yesterday evening, MG 42, realized a price of £481,250, above its pre-sale estimate of £200,000-300,000. Though the works performed reasonably well, there is still concern that the market might be tiring of them. “There are too many Kleins and Fontanas in these auctions,†Dusseldorf-based art adviser Jorg-Michael Bertz said, in conversation with Bloomberg reporter Scott Reyburn. “We need a rest from them.â€
More text and images after the jump…
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Frank Auerbach, Mornington Crescent-Summer Morning, 1991 (estimate £1.5-2 million, realized £2,281,250), via Sothebys.com
Of the 11 lots with the highest pre-sale estimates, two failed to sell (one of two Gerhardt Richters titled Abstraktes Bild and Peter Doig’s White Creep), while only one achieved a hammer price above pre-sale estimates. Frank Auerbach’s Mornington Crescent-Summer Morning, estimated to fetch between £1.5-2 million, sold for £2,281,250.
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Leon Kossoff, King’s Cross, March Afternoon, 1998 (estimate £250,000-350,000, realized £457,250), via Sothebys.com
Other School of London artists performed well, too. Leon Kossoff’s King’s Cross, March Afternoon brought £457,250 (estimate £250,000-350,000), establishing a new record for the artist at auction.
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Bharti Kher, The Skin Speaks a Language Not Its Own, 2006 (estimate £700,00-1 million, realized £993,250), via Sothebys.com
Bharti Kher’s immense sculpture of a dying elephant, The Skin Speaks a Language Not Its Own, sold for just under £1 million, within the pre-sale estimate but also setting a record not only for the artist at auction, but also for any work by a Contemporary female Indian artist at auction.
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Andy Warhol, Three Jackies, 1964 (estimate £1.5-2 million, realized £1,553,250) via Sothebys.com
However, the Kher sale was the exception, rather than the rule. For the most part, buyers stuck to post-war works by long-established favorites. Of the four Warhols for sale, three found buyers. Three Jackies was picked up by Larry Gagosian for just over £1.5 million (estimate £1.5-2 million). One of the two Self Portraits sold to Jose Mugrabi, who also purchased both Basquiats for sale last night.
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Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled, 1982 (estimate £550,00-850,00, realized £881,250), via Sothebys.com
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Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled, 1981 (estimate £650,000-850,000, realized £937,250), via Sothebys.com
-J. Mizrachi
Related Links:
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Sotheby’s Evening Contemporary Art Auction Results [Sothebys.com]
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Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Auction Realises $62 Million-Within Pre-Sale Expectations [Artdaily.org]
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Sotheby’s London Contemporary Evening Sale Totals $61.8 M. Yves Klein is Top Lot [Lindsaypollack.com]
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Sotheby’s Sale Leaves Its Audience Dazed [Nytimes.com]
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Fontana, Richter Boost $62 Million Art Auction as Buyers Go Back to 1960s [Bloomberg.com]
