Results: Christie's London Impressionist and Modern Art

Even with some truly excellent examples of art in the sale, the results in London remain below expectations.  I am not sure if there is a bit of a cooling off period from sales held earlier this year or not, but by all accounts the London sales have not been overly impressive.  In fact a Monet Water Lilly painting 9see image) did not meet the reserve and was bought in.  The high bid was $43.5 million, just under the low end of the estimate which was $45 - $60 million.

The Christie's sale did total a record for a London art auction with sales of $226.5 million.  There were 63 lots offered, with 47 selling for a buy through rate of 75% which is respectable.  The top lot was the Pablo Picasso, from his blue period which sold of $51.6 million including buyers premium. It was estimated to sell between $46 and $60 million. Buyer breakdown by lot and by origin was 55% Europe, 40% Americas and 5% Asia. Some of the numbers were good, but there does not seem to be a break-out sale for multiples of the estimate.  We have seen that happen with regularity earlier in the year, but the pace has now slowed, and expectations must again be constrained.

Carol Vogel of the NY Times reports

Theories about the tempered bidding abounded. “A sense of reality has entered the market,” said Thomas Gibson, a London dealer. “You cannot bully people into paying huge sums just by putting huge estimates on a picture.”

Dino Zevi, a dealer based in St. Moritz, Switzerland, seemed surprised by the Monet’s failure to sell: “With all the publicity it had, there is no reason why it did not.”

Still, Mr. Zevi added, although the market is clearly “stronger than it used to be, collectors are picky and there is a price resistance.” And he considered the baleful Picasso portrait “a tough picture” to sell: “People these days are looking for attractive images. It would have been a struggle anywhere it was sold.”

Edward Dolman, Christie’s chief executive, said after the sale that “general economic conditions have changed” in recent months because of issues like the euro crisis, the Deepwater Horizon spill and widespread governmental belt-tightening. “There’s been a reduction in confidence,” he said. “People were simply expecting too much.”

The most talked-about artwork on offer in the current London auction season, the Picasso became well-known in 1995 when the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber bought it at Sotheby’s in New York for $29.1 million. Before that it had belonged to the New York collectors Donald and Jean Stralem for nearly 50 years.

To read the full NY Times article, click HERE.

Christie's stated about the sale

Giovanna Bertazzoni, Director and Head of Impressionist and Modern Art, Christie’s London: “Global bidders competed at this evening’s auction and demonstrated that the art market continues to attract significant levels of spending, particularly for the rarest and most exceptional works of art. We are particularly pleased that Picasso’s portrait of Angel Fernández de Soto realized over £34 million with proceeds to benefit arts culture and heritage in the UK, and that for the first time an auction in London has broken the £150 million barrier.”

The top price was paid for Portrait of Angel Fernández de Soto, 1903, a Blue Period masterpiece by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), which sold for £34,761,250 / $51,585,695 / €41,922,068. Offered at auction by The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, a charity which focuses on the promotion of arts, culture and heritage in Britain, it was acquired by an anonymous telephone bidder. It had been acquired by the Foundation at auction in New York in May 1995 for $29,152,500.