Christie’s Post War & Contemporary Art sales week Top Lot Sold at Auction this Week: Francis Bacon’s Rent Cheque Painting Study from the Human Body, Man Turning on the Light Sold for £8,084,500 / $16,371,113 / €11,528,497
News-Antique.com - Oct 23,2007 - CHRISTIE’S LONDON POST WAR & CONTEMPORARY ART WEEK TOTALS £66.6 MILLION / $135 MILLION
• Christie’s Leads the London October Post War & Contemporary Art Sales Week
• Top Lot Sold at Auction this Week: Francis Bacon’s Rent Cheque Painting Study from the Human Body, Man Turning on the Light Sold for £8,084,500 / $16,371,113 / €11,528,497
London – Christie’s Post War & Contemporary Art sales week held from 14-16 October 2007 totalled £66,565,575 ($135,108,066 /€95,088,567), the highest ever total for the October Post War & Contemporary Art auctions in London. Strategically timed during a week when the world’s focus is on international contemporary art in London, the sales saw over 750 clients register to bid in person, in writing, on the phone and through Christie's LIVE.
“It has been a superb week in London with every major collector from around the world travelling to the capital to attend our auctions and the events surrounding the Frieze Art Fair. Christie’s newly-designed salerooms and galleries provided a spectacular backdrop to both our exhibitions and highly successful auctions this week, which have seen the market maintain its strong position. Over the next six weeks we host major auctions in New York, Hong Kong and Dubai and look forward to this very positive trend continuing,” said Jussi Pylkkänen, President of Christie’s Europe.
“The Post War & Contemporary Art market continues to thrive and the results this week have shown the continued strength of the market. Boosted by new and established collectors from the US, Europe, Russia, the Middle East and China, we have seen particularly strong results for both older-generation European and American artists and newly emerging artists notably from China,” said Pilar Ordovás, Head of Post War and Contemporary Art, Christie’s London.
The Post War & Contemporary Art Evening sale including Double Vision held on Sunday 14 October 2007 totalled £39,810,200 ($80,615,655 /€56,769,345), the highest ever total for Christie’s October Post War & Contemporary Art sale in London and double the previous total for this sale of £19 million in 2006. 10 new world auction records were established for artists from across the world including China, Europe, Australia and America.
The top selling lot for the week was Study from the Human Body, Man Turning on the Light by Francis Bacon (1909-1992) which sold for £8,084,500 ($16,371,113 / €11,528,497), the fourth highest price for the artist at auction. The picture was offered by the Royal College of Art who were given the work directly by the artist as rent for the use of a studio in Cromwell Road in 1969 and who were selling the painting in order to raise funds for a major new campus.
Christie’s seventh annual The Italian Sale - 20th Century Art on Monday 15 October 2007 totalled £14,759,000 ($30,019,806 / €21,164,406), the second highest total ever for this sale at Christie’s,* with six new world auction records established.
The week of sales ended with the Post War & Contemporary Art sale on Tuesday 16 October 2007 which
