SOTHEBY’S ACHIEVES HIGHEST SALE TOTAL IN 263-YEAR HISTORY Tonight Sotheby’s achieved its highest sale total ever when its evening sale of Contemporary Art in New York brought $315,907,000, exceeding its high estimate (est. $220.3/298.7 million).
News-Antique.com - Nov 16,2007 - EVENING SALE OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN NEW YORK BRINGS $315,907,000, ABOVE THE HIGH ESTIMATE
FRANCIS BACON’S SECOND VERSION OF STUDY FOR BULLFIGHT NO. 1, 1969, COMMANDS $45.9 MILLION –
THE HIGHEST PRICE ACHIEVED OVER THE PAST TWO WEEKS OF AUCTIONS JEFF KOONS’ SPECTACULAR HANGING HEART ACHIEVES $23.6 MILLION, A RECORD FOR A LIVING ARTIST AT AUCTION
THIRTEEN AUCTION RECORDS ACHIEVED FOR ARTISTS INCLUDING KOONS, ELLSWORTH KELLY, JOHN CHAMBERLAIN, FANG LIJUN, ZHANG XIAOGANG, ANISH KAPOOR, AD REINHARDT, YAN PEI MING, RICHARD SERRA, JOSEF ALBERS, SOL LEWITT, WALTER DE MARIA AND MATTHEW BARNEY
New York, New York, November 14, 2007 – “Tonight’s results, the most spectacular in Sotheby’s 263-year history, are evidence of the hunger that exists across a global community of buyers for Contemporary art of the highest quality,” said Tobias Meyer, Sotheby’s Worldwide Head of Contemporary Art and the auctioneer of tonight’s historic auction. “Among the thirteen artist records we established this evening was one for Jeff Koons, set by his remarkable Hanging Heart, which was also a record for any living artist at auction, eclipsing the previous record set at Sotheby’s London earlier this year for Damien Hirst’s Lullaby Spring. I am immensely proud of the extraordinary offering that our international team of specialists was able to assemble.”
Tonight Sotheby’s achieved its highest sale total ever when its evening sale of Contemporary Art in New York brought $315,907,000, exceeding its high estimate (est. $220.3/298.7 million*), with sold values of 98.2% by value and 91.6% by lot1. Francis Bacon’s Second Version of Study for Bullfight No. 1, 1969, which commanded $45,961,000 and sold to an American dealer, was the top lot of the two week series of sales in New York (lot 29, est. to sell for in excess of $35 million), and his Self Portrait, from the same year, brought $33,081,000, selling to an anonymous buyer (lot 19, est. to sell for more than $15 million). Additionally, a new record for a living artist at auction was set when Jeff Koons’ dazzling Hanging Heart brought $23.6 million.
Thirteen artist records were set this evening, including for Koons, Ellsworth Kelly, John Chamberlain, Fang Lijun, Zhang Xiaogang, Anish Kapoor, Ad Reinhardt, Yei Pei Ming, Richard Serra, Josef Albers, Sol LeWitt, Walter de Maria and Matthew Barney. Six lots sold for over $10 million; 16 for over $5 million; and 55 for over $1 million. Anthony Grant, International Senior Specialist of Contemporary Art, continued, “Sculpture was very present in our sale tonight. Following Sotheby’s world record for a sculpture set by Pablo Picasso’s Tête de femme (Dora Maar) last week, and in addition to the remarkable price achieved for the Koons, we set artist records for sculpture by John Chamberlain, Anish Kapoor, Richard Serra and Sol LeWitt, among others.
The widely admired installation of the Koons in Sotheby’s unparalleled 10th floor gallery space inspired bidding in tonight’s sale. Additionally, we had works in our sale dating from 1935 to 2006 of various nationalities and mediums, and over the past week, an unprecedented
