Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Imp/Mod Tale of the Tape

May 11, 2009 by Marion Maneker

Colin Gleadell goes over the Impressionist and Modern sales data and comes to these conclusions:

By the end of the sales the statistics told two different but compatible stories. Lot numbers were down by one third from last spring and the series’ total by nearly two thirds, from $598 million to $208 million – a figure not seen since 2003. Losses were taken on a number of works. A Miró sculpture, bought two years ago for nearly $1 million, sold for only half a million, and a Man Ray sculpture, bought two years ago for $42,000, sold for $5,000.

However, there were also gains. Jerome Fisher’s $14.6 million Picasso had been bought in 2004 for $7.2 million. An 1892 Pissarro view of the Seine was bought in 2006 for $1.76 million, and, returning with attractive $1 million to $1.5 million estimate, sold for $2.54 million. The de Lempicka portrait of Marjorie Ferry had cost Joop $552,500 in 1995.

What is more, after a tricky start and the negative headlines surrounding the unsold Picasso and Giacometti, the next three auctions all met their estimated targets. On average, only 15 per cent of lots went unsold during the week, which was a remarkable achievement, not seen for a decade.

The main question mark hangs over the saleability of $10 million-plus works of art. Last November there were 14 works on sale for $10 million or more and half of them found buyers. This spring there were three, and only one sold.

New York Sales Hold Their Own (Telegraph)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Irma Threatens Art Spread Throughout South Florida HomesIrma Threatens Art Spread Throughout South Florida Homes
  • Parmalat Art SeizedParmalat Art Seized
  • $14.8 M. David Hockney Sunflowers Leads Sotheby’s $76.8 M. Hong Kong Contemporary Evening Sale$14.8 M. David Hockney Sunflowers Leads Sotheby’s $76.8 M. Hong Kong Contemporary Evening Sale
  • Basically Bacon and Beyond (Hirst’s Private Collection)Basically Bacon and Beyond (Hirst’s Private Collection)
  • Minor RebellionMinor Rebellion
  • Late to the Russian Cont. Market?Late to the Russian Cont. Market?

Filed Under: Auction Results

About Marion Maneker

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

Top Posts

  • Following Legal Dispute, Restituted Pissarro Recovered From Toll Collection To Sell at Auction
  • British Modernists Draw Deep Bidding in Christie's $42 M. London Sales
  • Bonnie Brennan and Jennifer Zatorski Rise at Christie’s
  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • French Impressionist Art from Lanvin Family Holdings to Sell at Sotheby’s Auction
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Vienna Secession Painting, Long Thought to Be Lost, Sets a Record at Auction
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • Sotheby’s to Auction Historic Waffle Spike Sneakers Made by Nike Cofounder, Bill Bowerman
  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor