The sale offered 69 lots with 60 selling for a buy through rate of 87%. The sale total $207.33 million including buyers premiums (nearly twice what Sotheby's did with fewer lots) against a total pre sale estimate of $160.1 million to $216.9 million. The sale sold 98% by value. Five of the top ten lots went to anonymous bidders, three to European Private buyers, one to European trade and one to Christophe Van de Weghe.
The top selling lot was by Yves Klein (1928-1962), Le Rose du bleu (RE 22), 1960 selling for $36.78 million. This was a record price at auction for the artist. The to three lots had estimates by request listed in the press release. By comparison, Sotheby's top selling lot sold for $8.7 million.
So perhaps confidence and the economy is less of a factor when it comes to works the market considers high quality as there was plenty of buying activity and bidding at the Christie's sale.
The NY Times reported on the Christie's sale
Source: The New York Times
At Christie’s post-war and contemporary art auction here on Wednesday evening – an event aptly described by the super dealer Larry Gagosian as “Masterpiece Theatre’’ – collectors from around the world dropped millions of dollars on works by many of the major names of the 20th century, and record prices were set for two of them: Yves Klein and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Hoping to capture the attention of both established collectors and new-rich ones from places like the Middle East, Russia and Asia, Christie’s had marshaled its international connections, pulling in exceptionally strong artworks for an evening auction like few others London has seen. The sale totaled $207.3 million, against an estimate of $160.1 million to $216.9 million, the highest total of any auction in the category that Christie’s has held in Europe.
Unlike Sotheby’s, whose auction on Tuesday evening made $108 million with more works of lower value, Christie’s reached for the stars.
1 comment:
Post a Comment