Results: Sotehby's NY Contemporary Art Evening Sale

Sotheby's just held its NY Contemporary Art evening sale. The sale offered 58 contemporary art works, with 49 selling for a very respectable 84.5% sell through rate. The 49 lots totaled $128.1 million including buyers premium. The pre sale estimates ranged from a low of $120.8 million to $171.4 million (not including buyers premium). So the sale appears to have just met the lower expectations of the pre sale estimates.

Six of the seven Andy Warhol works were sold for a combined $31 million, with the top selling lot being his 16 Jackies at $20.24 million (see image).

Like last weeks impressionist and modern sales, the trade reports on the contemporary sale were generally OK to a bit on the slow side. There now seems to be a bit of reservation and caution creeping into the upper end of the modern and contemporary art sectors.  I dont wish to say the sectors are cooling, but they dont appear to be advancing either, perhaps neutral is the best term.  I hope Mei Moses/BAA do another analysis on the contemporary sale so we can gauge from a financial perspective how the sale compares.  If you recall, the sales last week were not considered strong, but from a financial return on duplicate sales, it was very positive when looking at other investments.

Carol Vogel reports on the sale in the NY Times

A mix of overly optimistic sellers and price-conscious buyers made for a bumpy evening at Sotheby’s sale of contemporary art on Tuesday night. In an overflowing salesroom filled with big-money collectors like the former Hollywood agent Michael Ovitz, the fashion designer Valentino and the Los Angeles financier Eli Broad, the audience did more watching than shopping, with thin bidding on the most expensive works.

Sellers’ expectations are high, “and it’s up to us to match expectations,” Tobias Meyer, director of Sotheby’s contemporary art department worldwide and the evening’s auctioneer, said after the auction. “Sometimes it works but sometimes it’s difficult. Still, being able to sell 84 percent is actually O.K.”