Sotheby's London Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale

Although I dont yet have the full results and sale analysis, early indicators are the Sotheby's London Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale was a success, or it least it was at the top end of the sale.  A Joan Miro sold for $37 million, a record at auction for the artist (see image).  The Miro was guaranteed to sell as there was a thrid party irrevocable bid on the lot.  The London sales over the next couple of weeks are expected to sell close to $500 million worth of art.

I will post the final results totals of the Sotheby's sale as soon as they are released.

Bloomberg reports on the sales

Impressionist and modern works achieved annual returns of 5.75 percent over the last 25 years, compared with 10.4 percent for contemporary, according to the New York-based Mei Moses Index, which tracks successful repeat sales of works at Sotheby’s and Christie’s. The S&P 500 yielded 9.3 percent during the same period, Mei Moses said.

More recently, quality works have been in shorter supply and price rises have slowed as new collectors migrate to contemporary art, which is up for sale next week.

Paul Gauguin’s recently rediscovered 1892 Tahitian landscape “Paysage aux troncs bleus” is among the works in these London sales that are fresh to the auction market. The Gauguin, entered from a Norwegian collection, is priced at 3 million pounds to 5 million pounds in Christie’s 71-lot event.

Pablo Picasso’s 1962 painting “Femme au chien,” showing the artist’s second wife Jacqueline Roque seated with an Afghan hound, is also making its auction debut, having been in the same family collection since 1974. Also subject to a third-party guarantee, this has been estimated by Christie’s at 6 million pounds to 9 million pounds. The auction is valued at 86.5 million pounds to 126.7 million pounds.

Investment Choice

“Though the quality at auctions these days isn’t as good as it has been, Impressionist and modern art is still a good place to park money,” said the London-based art adviser Hector Paterson, who will be bidding for clients on a dozen lots at this week’s sales. “Collectors are becoming more conscious of supply and demand, and that doesn’t apply as much as it does to contemporary art.”

Source: Bloomberg