The Lauffs Collection May Have Been Sotheby’s Secret Weapon But the Contemporary Sale Created a Sense of Awe in the Market

Sotheby’s 94.7 ($188) million pound sale of Contemporary art surprised the market with its nearly 95% sell-through rate. Only four lots were bought in, though one was a pricey Bacon. And despite the success of the Bacon study of George Dyer and the record price for a Prince Nurse painting–even as the London critiques roundly pan his Serpentine Gallery show–the real success of the sale was the broad base of the selling. The top ten lots only accounted for about 47% of the total sale (at Christie’s the night before it was 70%.) Read the rest of this entry »

U2 sells it’s 1982 Basquiat at Sotheby’s on July 1

Sotheby’s announces the inclusion of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (Pejo/Oreja), estimated at between 4 and 6 million pounds, in the July 1 sale of Contemporary art. Owned by the band U2, whose frontman held the very successful Auction (Red) at Sotheby’s in New York earlier this year, the picture will get plenty of press because of its provenance. But celebrity ownership won’t determine the value as much as the Basquiat market. The current record is $14.6 million. This one has the potential to flirt with the record. But is it the much-anticipated $20-$30 million Basquiat that commentators like Josh Baer have predicted? Read the rest of this entry »

Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Sale in Paris brings in $32 million

Clocking in at 20.384 million Euros, with 85% of the 179 lots sold, here’s the Top Ten from Monday night’s sale:

Prix (€) Estimation (€)

Artist, Title, Date

4,624,250 € ($7,267,934) 2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Francis Bacon, Sans titre (Pope), 1957-1959,
3,840,250 € ($6,035,721) 2,200,000 - 3,200,000
Joan Mitchell, La Ligne de la rupture, 1970-71
1,992,250 € ($3,131,219 $) 700,000 - 900,000
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sans titre, circa 1983
1,824,250 € ($2,867,174) 500,000 - 700,000
Robert Rauschenberg, Parliament (Borealis), 1991
1,152,250 € (1,810,991 $) 700,000 - 1,000,000
Georges Mathieu, L’abduction d’Henri IV par l’archevêque Anno de Cologne, 1958
** RECORD MONDIAL POUR L’ARTISTE**
973,050 € ($1,529,343) 700,000 - 900,000
Pierre Soulages, Peinture, 20 juin 1957
816,250 € ($1,282,900) 400,000 - 600,000
Jean-Paul Riopelle, Sans titre, 1950-51
581,050 € (913,236) 220,000 - 320,000
Niki de Saint-Phalle (1930-2002), La machine à rêver, 1970
420,250 € ($660,507) 200,000 - 300,000
Jean Dubuffet, Chevalier de Sainte Hourloupe, 1972
372,250 € ($585,065) 220,000 - 280,000
Maurice Estève, Faverdines, 1955