News-Antique.com - Jun 10,2009 - Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Surprises – artmarketblog.com
I always find it interesting to look at the lots from a particular auction that achieved prices well in excess of expectations because I find you can tell a lot about market trends and the state of the market for particular types of work from this information. The recent May contemporary art auctions were especially important because of the impact that the global financial crisis and subsequent art market correction has had on the market for contemporary art. It is immediately evident from the results that buyers are paying less for works of art and spending less on average on works of art but this comes as no surprise as the market begins to adjust to the new reality of the market for art. Now that the market is showing signs of stability there is a new benchmark beginning to develop that we can use to track trends, assess auction results and determine what direction the art market is heading. I don’t think that the art market has quite finished finding it’s feet but judging by the recent auctions we are not far off.
Looking at the lots that exceeded expectations from the Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening and Day sales that took place on the 12th and 13th of May can tell us several things about the market for contemporary art. First of all, buyers still have confidence in the work of the worlds top contemporary artists and are willing to pay good money for quality works by these artists within reason. Works valued up to the US$1,000,000 mark seem to be very popular at the moment with healthy competition for works and buyers appearing to be quite comfortable purchasing at this price range. Seven of the eight highest achieving works from Sotheby’s evening sale of more expensive works had high estimates under $1,000,000. Even more popular are original works of art with estimates up to the $100,000 with competition for the best works by the big names producing some great results. Seven of the eight highest achieving works (hammer price compared to estimate) from Sotheby’s day sale of lower priced works had high estimates under US$100,000. As you can see from the results below there was far more competition for less expensive works (under $100,000 especially) from Sotheby’s day sale than there was for more expensive works from the evening sale. It is also pleasing to see that works by up and coming contemporary artists are also seeing plenty of action provided that they are under the $100,000 mark.
Surprise Results from Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Auctions:
Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction May 12
Lot 4: Andy Warhol ‘Kellogg’s Cornflakes [Los Angeles Type]
sinkscreen on plywood
Estimate: $200,000-$300,000
Hammer Price: $400,000
Lot 5: Dan Colen ‘Untitled (Blow Me)’
oil on canvas
Estimate: $100,000 – $150,000
Hammer Price: $320,000
Lot 15: Alexander Calder ‘Ebony Sticks In Semi-Circle’
wood, steel and string standing mobile
Estimate: $1,000,000 – $1,500,000
Hammer Price: $3,050,000
