Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

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

Believing in the Real Thing: Old Master Sales

July 31, 2012 by Howard L. Rehs

By the beginning of July it was time for the Old Master sales and there was a great deal of hype surrounding them.  A number of works by important artists were hitting the blocks (Constable, Rembrandt, van de Velde, Brueghel, etc.) and all eyes were peeled on them.

First up was Christie’s and the most talked about work was being offered by them – John Constable’s The Lock.  There was a great deal of controversy regarding its sale and the work carried a third party guarantee (in other words someone basically bought the work before the sale and then would benefit from any upside).  Well, on that day the painting sold at the reserve and the Russian guarantor was now the owner at £22.44M ($35.2M – est. £20-£25M) – so we cannot chalk that up as a true ‘auction’ sale, but it sold and made the highest price for the day.  In second came Rembrandt’s small A Man in a Gorget and Cap at £8.44M ($13.2M – est. £8-£12M – bought on the reserve by an Asian) and in third was Lorenzetti’s Christ between Sts. Peter & Paul at £5.1M ($7.97M – est. £1-£1.5M).

When the evening’s action ended, of the 64 works offered 54 sold for a total take of £85M ($133.5M – presale est. was £61.8-£88.3M – so they were well within the range).  The top 10 works brought in just over £59M (92.8M) or about 70% of the total sale.

The next day they offered the general merchandise and the top lot here was catalogued as Follower of da Vinci and carried a £50-£70K est. — it sold for 937K ($1.47M); it was also interesting to note that 9 of the top ten works beat their estimate.  When the day was done, of the 121 works offered 71 sold (59% – not very strong) and the total take was £4.44M ($6.96M – est. range was £3.7-£5.5M – so they made the numbers).

That evening Sotheby’s presented their offerings and taking the number one slot was Van de Velde’s The Surrender of the Royal Prince… which carried a £1.5-£2M est. and sold for £5.3M ($8.32M) – not bad.  In second was Brueghel’s The Battle between Carnival and Lent that made £4.5M ($7.09M – est. £4-£6M) and in third was Cranach’s The Feilitzsch Altarpiece at £4.3M ($6.74M – est. £4-£6M) – the last two only making their estimates with the buyer’s premium.

When this sale ended, of the 43 works offered 29 sold (67.4% — a bit better than the competition) and the total take was £32.2M ($50.6M – presale est. £26.7-£40.4M).

The following day came the last of the painting sales and the top three works here were a piece attributed to Dirck Dircksz. Van Santvoort at £409K ($639K – est. £80-£120K); another by Dirck Dircksz. Van Santvoort at £289K ($452K – est. £60-£80K) and a William Larkin at £289K ($452K – est. £40-£60K).  I have to guess that the buyer of the attributed work believes it is the real thing!

In the end, this sale saw 218 works offered and 124 sold (56.6%) for a total take of £6.2M ($9.6M).  I also need to add that both salerooms offered a selection of works on paper: Sotheby’s brought in £6.9M ($10.8M) and Christie’s added £4.16M ($6.5M).

So, for the week Christie’s brought in £93.6M ($146.9M) and Sotheby’s generated £45.3M ($71.1M); and when combined that adds another £139M ($218M) to the London totals (about $918M) — still a little shy of the $1 Billion mark – but what is a few million among friends!?

 

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Artelligence Podcast: Mathias Rastorfer on Wifredo LamArtelligence Podcast: Mathias Rastorfer on Wifredo Lam
  • Richter’s Eisberg Estimated at £8-12m Leads Sotheby’s London SaleRichter’s Eisberg Estimated at £8-12m Leads Sotheby’s London Sale
  • Bill Gross Doesn’t Like Stocks or Bonds But Likes Real Assets; What About the Art Market?Bill Gross Doesn’t Like Stocks or Bonds But Likes Real Assets; What About the Art Market?
  • Madison Park Deaccessions LeWitt SculpturesMadison Park Deaccessions LeWitt Sculptures
  • Abstraction Traction Pulls Ellsworth Kelly Back into LimelightAbstraction Traction Pulls Ellsworth Kelly Back into Limelight
  • Are Prices Strong or Weak?Are Prices Strong or Weak?

Filed Under: Auction Results

About Howard L. Rehs

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

  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Restituted Van Gogh Portrait from London Collection to Sell at Christie’s
  • Roy Lichtenstein’s Top Ten Auction Prices
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • Christie’s to Sell Its First Fully Digital Work of Art in Test of Emerging Market
  • Basquiat's Last Girlfriend
  • Podcast
  • How to Chant Like an Auctioneer
  • 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