Results: Christie's London Contemporary Sale

Kelly Crow has a good review of the Christie's London Contemporary art Sale. In summary, the sale totaled $98.7 million with Andy Warhol leading the way with a $17.44 million sale for his 1967 self portrait 9see image). 63 lots were offered with 59 selling for a 92% buy through rate. 28 of the lots sold for over $1 million, and according to Christie's buyers came from 21 different countries. The pre sale high estimate was around $83.7 million, so the sale did very well at $98.7 million (including buyers premium).

Crow reports in the WSJ

"Last Year in Capri (Exotic Title)," a rare portrait by Martial Raysse, a French precursor to Pop, sold to London dealer Chris Eykyn for a record £4 million, far surpassing its £1.5 million estimate. A Russian-speaking collector bidding by telephone paid £3.1 million for Gerhard Richter's 1990 blue abstract, "Abstrakes Bild," doubling its high estimate.

But the feverish pace of the bidding seemed to pick up whenever works were offered by artists who gained fame during the boom era but haven't been seen much at sales since, such as British artists Jenny Saville and Ged Quinn; Spanish artists like Eduardo Chillida and Miquel Barcelo; and Brazilian Adriana Varejao. Collectors paid record sums for each of their works in the Christie's sale, including £1.4 million for Ms. Saville's looming nude, "Branded," and £193,250 for Mr. Quinn's "Gone to Yours." That work, Mr. Quinn's wry take on a 19th century pastoral, was only expected to sell for up to £60,000.

Sculptures met with a mixed reception though. At least one collector liked Jeff Koons's pair of 4-foot-tall (121.9-cm) "Winter Bears," ultimately paying £2.9 million for it. And a risqué sculpture of a two-headed nude girl by Jake and Dinos Chapman sold to an Asian telephone bidder for £91,250, three times its high estimate. But a £181,250 steel figure of a man by Antony Gormley barely edged past its £180,000 low estimate, and Juan Munoz's "Albuquerque Balcony" sculpture stalled at £110,000 and went unsold. It was priced to sell for at least £150,000.

Click HERE to read the full WSJ article on the sale.

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