Charlotte Burns paid extra close attention to Eykyn & Maclean’s buying last night. Here’s how she described it in The Art Newspaper:

“The market felt very sane. People are willing to pay a premium for the best works, but do not want to pay full or even value for lesser works.” Nicholas Maclean of secondary-market dealer Eykyn Maclean agreed: “In theory it looked like Christie’s was taking more of a risk, but they had great material and that’s what the market wants.”

Eykyn Maclean was successful in buying three major pieces: Joan Mitchell’s Mont St. Hilaire, 1956, for $4.4m (total $5m, est $2.8m-$4.5m), Sam Francis’ Reefs, 1955, for $3.2m (total $3.7m, est $1.8m-$2.5m) and Agnes Martin’s beautiful Homage to Greece, a 1959 canvas collage embedded with nails, for $1.6m (total $1.9m, est $700,000-$1m), all for private US clients.

Christie’s theatrical $300m sale caps New York auction week (The Art Newspaper)