Just a fortnight after Christie’s opened a new 500,000 sq ft headquarters in Hong Kong, and having cancelled its June Modern and contemporary art offering, there was a sense of anticipation in its London saleroom last night.
The first of the evening’s auctions (at 5pm ahead of Sotheby’s 7pm sale), it offered a degree of reassurance to a sector adjusting to cooling demand, realising a total of £81.9m with fees for its 52-lot offering, against a pre-sale estimate of £73.4m and £110.6m (calculated without fees), with 89% of lots sold. This suggests an 83% increase from last year’s October results, although the omission of the June sales this year makes direct comparisons tricky.
“Last night affirmed our decision to focus on two sale seasons in London,” says Keith Gill, the head of department for Impressionist and Modern art, who added that this was clearly “very much in line with what clients were wanting.”
Blue chip examples performed well. Lucian Freud’s Ria, Naked Portrait (2006/7) hammered at £10m (£11.8m with fees), whilst Jeff Koons’ Balloon Monkey (Blue) (2006-2013), sold for £6.3m (£7.5m with fees) and Van Gogh’s Kop van een vrouw met witte muts Head of a Woman with White Cap (1885) comfortably surpassed its estimate and fetched £1.5m (with fees), likely boosted by The National Gallery’s current exhibition.
Jeff Koons’ Balloon Monkey (Blue)
Courtesy of Christie's
Demand was also strong for quality Surrealist works. Magritte’s Le grand style (1951) exceeded its estimate at £2.1m (£2.6m with costs), and Leonor Fini’s Rogomelec (1978) surpassed its £450,000 to £650,000 estimate, selling at £720,000 (£907,200 with fees).
There were bumps in the road, however. Several lots were withdrawn in advance of the sale, including Paula Rego’s Untitled No.7 (1998/9), which turned out to be the first in a string of bad moments for the artist’s work that evening, with her Nativity (2011), estimated at £350,000 to £400,000 also failing to find a buyer. Over at Sotheby’s the artist’s, Jenufa (1995) did sell, but under its estimate, hammering at £850,000 (£1m with fees, est. £1.2m and £1.8m)
Seemingly gone are the days where auction records for young artists felt synonymous with Frieze week. However, a new auction record was set for the more established Sarah Sze, whose Spell (undated) hammered at £600,000 (£756,00 with fees, est. £600,000 to £900,000). And, while the artists may not be as youthful as those in Frieze’s risk-loving heydays, 33 of the 52 lots on offer were fresh to auction.
As a work by Ed Ruscha began to drive some more pacey bidding, a voice in the room quipped, "Good, we needed a bit more drama". While a touch of excitement was indeed welcome on an admittedly long day for the trade, the art market, seeking to regain its footing, might relish a lack of drama.
Day sales in Impressionist and Modern art, and Post-War and contemporary art continue today (11 October).
