Colin Gleadell limns the market for Jenny Saville’s work beginning with her student show when she graduated from the Glasgow School of Art in 1992. Charles Saatchi tracked down most of that work and monopolized Saville’s output for a number of years until she moved on to Gagosian. Some of that student work is still floating around, including this piece that is on offer at McTear’s in Glasgow on Aug. 11th:
Even after she decided she would rather have the money and work with the Gagosian gallery in New York, (which instantly raised her prices from under £2,000 at her degree show to $150,000 for large paintings), her shows always sold out before they opened. Amongst her retinue of wealthy collectors are S.I.Newhouse, owner of Conde Nast, David Tang, Michael Green and Kent Logan. By 2005, at the time of her last exhibition, Gagosian was asking $800,000 for large paintings. In 2008, the current auction record of £634,500 was set. Though small, the painting at McTear’s is a study for one of her most famous paintings, ‘Branded’, that sold for a record £333,750 pounds in 2001, and is estimated to fetch £50,000 to £70,000.
Scottish Art Sales: Students Who Passed the Test (Telegraph)
