Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

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

Christie's Starts London Season Strong

February 3, 2010 by Marion Maneker

The Master, Judd Tully, is in London for ArtInfo.com covering the sale at Christie’s where$122m worth of art was sold.

Of 85 lots on offer in the sale, which also included a section titled “The Art of the Surreal,” 69 found buyers, which translates to svelte unsold rates of 19 percent by lot and only 7 percent unsold by value. Twenty-one works sold for more than £1 million ($1.6 million), and of those, four topped the £5 million ($8 million) mark.

Scott Reyburn on Bloomberg was paying attention to the bidders, especially on the star lot:

“They want flashy, colorful pictures by the big names,” Thomas Seydoux, Christie’s international head of Impressionist and modern art, said in an interview. “We were surprised by the amount of bidding from Russian and former Eastern Bloc buyers.” At least six Christie’s staff members — including Matthew Stephenson, managing director of Christie’s Russia, and Sandra Nedvetskaia, of the company’s London-based Russian art department — took telephone bids on Picasso’s 1963 painting “Tete de Femme (Jacqueline).”

It had been entered by descendants of the Chicago collectors, the late Kenneth and Bernice Newberger, who were guaranteed a minimum price by an unidentified third party. After several minutes of competition, the portrait was sold to a telephone bidder represented by Isabelle de La Bruyere, a Christie’s director, based in Dubai. […]

Forty-eight percent of the lots sold to European buyers (including Russians), 25 percent to the U.K., 25 percent to the U.S. and 2 percent to bidders based in Asia, said London-based Christie’s.


London Auction Kicks Off with a Bang (Artinfo.com)

Picasso Portrait Sells for 8.1 Million Pounds on Russian Demand (Bloomberg)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Christie’s Surprise Picasso Buyer and Other Tales From a Long SaleChristie’s Surprise Picasso Buyer and Other Tales From a Long Sale
  • London’s Imp-Mod Sales Rise 59%, Near 2014 Peak SalesLondon’s Imp-Mod Sales Rise 59%, Near 2014 Peak Sales
  • Christie’s London Imp-Mod Day = £16.5m ($20.6m)Christie’s London Imp-Mod Day = £16.5m ($20.6m)
  • Christie’s London Imp-Mod Works on Paper = £6.4m ($8m)Christie’s London Imp-Mod Works on Paper = £6.4m ($8m)
  • Christie’s London Imp-Mod Evening Sale = £94m ($117m)Christie’s London Imp-Mod Evening Sale = £94m ($117m)
  • Christie’s Announces £12m Gauguin, Matisse for March in LondonChristie’s Announces £12m Gauguin, Matisse for March in London

Filed Under: Auction Results Tagged With: Christie's, Impressionist, London, Modern

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

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

  • 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