Results: Old Masters Week In London

Sotheby's and Christie's both appeared to be very pleased with the sales results of this weeks Old Master Paintings, including the collection of a Johnson and Johnson heiress. The Sotheby's Evening sale and the collection from Barbara Johnson totaled nearly $60 million including buyers premium. The evening sale brought $42.76 million in sales, with 48 of 33 lots selling. The buy through rate was 68%. Fourteen of the lots sold for over $1 millions and 5 new auction records were set. The Johnson collection brought a total of $15.9 million with 44 of 56 lots selling. The buy through rate was a strong 78%, with three lots selling for over $1 million. Of the lots sold in the Johnson collection, 57% sold for prices above the pre sale catalog high estimate.

The Art Newspaper noted the interesting news that this is the first time in several years where Old Master paintings have outperformed the Contemporary and Modern sales. I still am reluctant to say the Old Masters are thriving, but with the numerous records set it was clearly a very good sale. The sales of the recent Contemporary and Modern auctions were considered by many to not be of the highest quality, with some works that were recently seen on sale. In any event, the Old Master category may not be thriving, but it is certainly showing signs of strength when compared to other categories.

Sotheby's stated Alexander Bell, Co-Chairman of Old Master Paintings, Sotheby’s Worldwide, commented after the sale: Johnson, a selection in which most of the major schools in the field of Old Master paintings were well-represented and the “Tonight’s results demonstrate yet again the consistent underlying strength of the Old Master Paintings market. We were pleased to offer in addition to the impressive group of paintings, sculpture and works of art from the collection of Barbara Piaseckapre-sale exhibition had a real buzz and air of excitement. This area has a long-established and stable collecting base, which was very much in evidence tonight and collectors responded with particular enthusiasm to the unique spiritual aesthetic of the Johnson collection. Ribera’s Prometheus – the top-selling lot of the Johnson collection – was greatly admired and we’re thrilled to have set a new auction record for the artist.”

The Christie's Old Master sale saw 63 lots come under the hammer with 48 selling to a sell through rate of a strong 76%. The 48 selling lots totaled $32.84 million including buyers premium. The sale had 9 paintings selling for over $1 million dollars, with the top lot of selling to a US private collector for $3.5 million. Three auction world records were also attained during the Christies sale.