SOTHEBY’S FALL SALE OF CONTEMPORARY ART Last night, Sotheby’s London concluded its successful autumn series of Contemporary Art with the annual sale of 20th Century Italian Art.
News-Antique.com - Oct 23,2007 - Last night, Sotheby’s London concluded its successful autumn series of Contemporary Art with the annual sale of 20th Century Italian Art. The Company achieved its best ever results for a series of sales in this season, with the total for the three sales reaching £66,250,000, against a combined pre-sale estimate of £48,604,000/67,974,000. The previous record for this season at Sotheby’s, achieved in October 2006, was £31,446,600 – just over half of this year’s total.
Highlights of the series of sales include:
* World auction record for a Chinese Contemporary work of art -- Yue Minjun’s Execution sold for £2,932,500
* World auction record for any Indian work of art -- Raqib Shaw’s Garden of Earthly Delights III sold for £2,708,500
* Record for a work at auction by Piero Manzoni -- Achrome, 1959 sold for £2,260,500
Please find attached a round-up press release and a top ten list for the day sale. Should you have any questions, please let me know.
Sale Results London, Bond Street
Sale L07026 Contemporary Art - Day Sale 15 October 07
Grand Total: £16,187,225 ($32,931,291) Exch Rate: 2.03
Sold by Lot: 85.3% Lots Offered: 258
Sold by Value:92.4% Lots Sold/Unsold: 220 / 38
Lot Price Estimate Buyer
279 £748,500 ($1,522,748) £650,000 - 850,000* Private Collector
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Pedestrian 2, 1984, acrylic and oilstick on canvas
283 £692,500 ($1,408,822) £150,000 - 200,000 Private Collector
Andy Warhol, Princess Diana, 1982, silkscreen ink and synthetic polymer on canvas
181 £535,700 ($1,089,828) £300,000 - 400,000 Private Collector
Yue Minjun, Cupid Kissing Psyche, 1995, oil on canvas
278 £367,700 ($748,049) £300,000 - 400,000 Private Collector
Keith Haring, The Acrobats, 1986, painted aluminum
249 £356,500 ($725,264) £120,000 - 180,000 Anonymous
Frank Auerbach, St Pancras Building Site, Summer 1954, 1954, oil on board
242 £345,300 ($702,478) £160,000 - 250,000 Anonymous
Pierre Soulages, Peinture, 1 Juin 1953, 1953, oil on canvas
189 £334,100 ($679,693) £120,000 - 180,000 Trade
Wang Guangyi, Great Criticism: Mexx, 2005, oil on canvas
186 £328,500 ($668,300) £80,000 - 120,000 Private Collector
Zhang Xiaogang, Untitled (Bloodline Series), 2002, oil on canvas
151 £322,900 ($656,908) £200,000 - 300,000 Private Collector
Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild 759-1, 1992, oil on canvas
261 £311,700 ($634,122) £200,000 - 300,000 Private Collector
Robert Indiana, Love Gold/Blue, 1966-2002, polychrome aluminium
*Pre-sale estimates do not include buyer’s premium
James Sevier, the specialist in charge of the Day Sale, said: “We are delighted with today’s excellent results, with strong
prices achieved across the board, both for cutting edge Contemporary works and for Post-War pieces . We were particularly
thrilled with the continuing success of Chinese Contemporary Art, as well as with the fantastic results for Jean-Michel Basquait’s
Pedestrian 2 and for Andy Warhol’s portrait of Princess Diana. Our Day Sale, which exceeded its pre-sale estimate by over £2
million, is further testament to the continued buoyancy of the market for Contemporary Art.”
Specialist in Charge: James Sevier Press Office Contact: Poni Ujlaky
