Results: Christie's London Old Master Sale

Tuesday evening Christie's held its London Old Master Sale. As you may recall, the Old Master market segment has been relatively strong in these difficult economic times. The Old Master market has not been impacted nearly as much as the contemporary art market has over the past year or so. Looking at the sales figures from this auction, there were certainly some impressive lots, but the quality and high value does not appear to have run throughout the sale. As a matter of fact it was very much top end loaded.

The sale totaled $112.42 million, with 43 lots being offered. Of the 43 lots offered, only 28 sold, for a 65% sell through rate. The high end of the sale, in particular the top three lots accounted for $96.32 million, or 86% of the sale total. The top two lots set new auctions records for a Raphael drawing at $47.94 million and $33.21 million for a Rembrandt painting. The Rembrandt, which did set an auction record, sold at just above the low estimate, so bidding was rather mild.

The sale total of $112.42 also set a record for an Old Master auction. On the surface the sale looks very strong, but ones enthusiasm is curbed when looking with more depth.

Christies Richard Knight stated

This auction was an historic event for the art market. Not only was it the highest total for an auction of Old Masters, but we realised 2 of the top 5 prices ever paid for an old master painting or drawing at auction and set
artist records for three giants of European art history; Raphael, Rembrandt and Domenichino.

Throughout the year we have seen a strong demand for works of art of the highest quality; we have now sold the two most expensive lots of the year with Henri Matisse’s ‘Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose’ which led the record-breaking sale of the Collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé in Paris in February (€35.9 million), and this evening’s exquisite drawing by Raphael. Art continues to stand the test of time and the results seen at this evening’s auction highlight that collectors will continue to act and seize opportunities to acquire works of art which appeal to them whenever the opportunity arises.