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

Following a few days pause for collectors to recover from the busy rush of Armory Week in New York, Christie’s has kicked off another week of major sales in London this evening, concluding its Post-War and Contemporary Evening offering with an unexpectedly energetic outing.

Critics and insiders watching the sale had said little on the auction house’s offerings this week, other than its focus in recent sales on Asian bidders, instead focusing primarily on the high percentage of guaranteed lots in Sotheby’s competing offering tomorrow night.  Even so, Christie’s carried its own trove of guarantees, with at least 5 works promising third-party guarantees before the sale.  The strategy seemed to pay off, as the evening’s lots moved swiftly and without issue, with only 3 lots failing to find a buyer, and ultimately bringing the sale to a final tally of £96.3 million.

Njideka Akunyili Crosby, The Beautyful Ones (2012), 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…)

Paul Gauguin, Te Fare (La maison) (1892), via Christie’s

As New York City gears up for the rush and bustle of Armory Week, London has its own series of sales in swing, opening two weeks of major evening sales this evening with an impressively steady outing at Christie’s that offered some reassurance for towards alarmists and critics of the market’s current strength and consistency.  The pair of sales, kicked off by Impressionist and Modern works, and capped with a brisk sale of Surrealist pieces shortly after. (more…)

Gustav Klimt,  Bauerngarten (Blumengarten) (1907), via Sotheby’s

Moving away out of the depths of winter and towards the spring market rush, Sotheby’s and Christie’s will kick off their respective sales of Surrealist, Impressionist and Modern works this coming week, marking the first major auctions of 2017, and signaling the first real test of a market dealt the lion’s share of uncertainty in the past six months.  Taking place in London, the week’s sales will offer a first look at how recent shakeups at both auction houses, and attempts to broaden their respective scopes, will fare with works on the block.

Paul Gauguin, Te Fare (La maison) (1892), via Christie’s

(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), which sets a new world record at $66,327,500  via Art Observed

New York City’s week of marquee auctions, and its seemingly unpredictable results, continued tonight, as Christie’s concluded its offering in the Post-War and Contemporary markets, an impressively strong and consistent sale that saw 7 of 61 lots going unsold to reach a final tally of $276,972,500. (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

(more…)

Adrian Ghenie, Nickelodeon (2008), via Christie’s

Continuing the week’s unexpectedly strong auction results, Christie’s cinched up its entry in Frieze Week’s series of Contemporary Evening sales tonight in London, capping a 42-lot offering with a sale of brisk and enthusiastic bidding that ultimately pushed the sale to impressively strong results given the glut of sales and works on offer this week.  Only 2 works went unsold over the course of the main sale, with 1 lot withdrawn to bring a final of £34,266,000, followed by a less impressive Italian sale that still managed to achieve £18,680,250 in its own right after a number of passes and underbid lots.

(more…)

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

(more…)

Christie’s has changed its fee structure for the first time since 2013, with works up to $150,000 adding a 5% premium, works up to $3 million claiming a charge of 20%, and works above that price receiving a 12% premium. (more…)

The £20 million private collection of late dealer Leslie Waddington is set for the auction blocks this fall at Christie’s in London, the Telegraph reports.  The sale includes landmark pieces by Jean Dubuffet, Alexander Calder, and Agnes Martin.   (more…)

Henry Moore, Reclining Figure Festival (1951), via Christie’s

Adding one final sale to the end of a long two weeks of auctions, Christie’s “Defining British Art” Sale this past evening notched an impressive last set of sales for the spring season, pushing a 29-lot sale of works ranging from Impressionist Masterpieces to Modernist Sculpture to Contemporary pieces to an impressive £99,479,500 final tally.  The sale saw only two works go unsold over the course of the evening, and offering an exclamation point at the end of a week that did much to challenge assumptions over the impact of the Brexit on market health in Europe.

John Constable, View on the Stour near Dedham, full-scale sketch (c. 1821), via Christie’s

(more…)

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Self-Portrait (1981), via Christie’s

This week’s Contemporary Evening Sales have concluded, following Christie’s stolid outing in London this evening, as only 4 of the auction house’s 40 lots went unsold to reach a final total of £39,566,000.  Sales were consistently focused over the course of the evening, with few works falling under estimated price.  While an early warning note was sounded with the withdrawal of the sale’s leading Gerhard Richter lot, the auction house’s commitment to placing works this evening ultimately drove it towards a strong bottom line, even if the sale held back from ambitious benchmarks or marquee lots. (more…)

Loïc Gouzer is the subject of a profile in the New Yorker this week, as he discusses some of the curated projects he has run at Christie’s and his perspective on the selling exhibition.  “If you start putting works around another work, they give each other meaning,” he says.  “Each of the works are in dialogue, and they help each other.” (more…)

Amedeo Modigliani, Madame Hanka Zborowska (1917), via Christie’s

Early warnings about this week’s sales in London seem to have some weight to them following the sales outcome at Christie’s this evening.  The auction house’s summer Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale wrapped in London tonight with a dreary outing, closing the 36-lot auction to the paltry tune of £25,612,500, with almost one third of the works offered failing to find a buyer.

Claude Monet,  L’Ancienne rue de la Chaussée, Argenteuil (1872), via Christie’s

(more…)

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…)

In an interview with the New York Times, Alex Rotter confirmed that he will be leaving Sotheby’s to join the staff at Christie’s next year as chairman of postwar and contemporary art at Christie’s Americas.  “Christie’s over the last 10 years has been the Yankees,” he says. “I might as well go to the best team and make them even better, hopefully, with me coming there.” (more…)

The Modigliani Sells, via Art Observed

After a long week of sales that has seen both ups and downs for the two main auction houses, Christie’s has concluded its week with a consistently solid Impressionist and Modern sale, with 7 of the 54 lots at auction going unsold for a final tally of $141,532,000.   The auction house saw its momentary stumbles over the course of the sale, with several pieces falling well below estimate, and a few high-profile lots going unsold.  Even so, Christie’s managed to keep the bids moving, and keep works selling, a point that surely is not lost on those watching Sotheby’s occasionally disheartening sale earlier this week. (more…)

Jussi Pylkkanen and Brett Gorvy in front of the Record-setting Basquait, via Art Observed

Christie’s has wrapped its Post-War and Contemporary auction last night in New York, continuing a strong performance that contrasted sharply with the lackluster sales last night at Sotheby’s, including an impressive new record for Jean-Michel Basquiat.  All told, the sale saw 9 unsold lots out of a total 61 (counting a single withdrawn lot), and a final total of $318,388,000. (more…)

The New York Post has some fun speculating on the buyer for the Maurizio Cattelan Hitler sculpture that sold Sunday at Christie’s, listing François Pinault, Qatari Sheik Khalifa Al-Thani and Peter Brant as the most likely buyers.  “There are clues [as to who the winning bidder is] that aren’t obvious,” an unnamed consultant tells the reporter. “All three of the bidders who were taking instructions over the phone have connections to Christie’s.” (more…)

Maurizio Cattelan, Him (2001), via Christie’s

This week’s marathon series of art auctions is underway in New York City, as Christie’s launched a rare, specially-curated Sunday sale, ending its 39 lot Bound to Fail auction with a final tally of $78,123,250, with only a single lot going unsold.  The fair, which followed hot on the heels of the last hours of Frieze, saw modest bidding and consistently dependable sales, although several works sold for final prices below estimate. (more…)

Francis Bacon, Two Studies for a Self-Portrait (1970), via Sotheby’s

Just as Frieze closes its doors on a week of contemporary sales, the New York auction houses are opening theirs for a second week of major U.S. market activity.  Spreading the offerings across a marathon series of sales in the coming days, the New York spring/summer auctions will mark the last test of buyer interest before the summer recess. (more…)

Christie’s is preparing for an evening sale this coming May featuring a series of unconventional and peculiar works that would normally not appear in a large-scale auction, with a piece by Bruce Nauman as the centerpiece, and a theme of failure as its unifying concept.  “It’s a season where there’s not going to be many estates or collections,” says organizer Loic Gouzer. “We’ve entered this different era — you can feel an undertone of schadenfreude that the market may be slowing down. I like pursuing the idea that this whole sale is bound to fail.” (more…)