Post-War & Contemporary Art
The Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Auction realised a total of £27,788,900 ($44,879,074 / €32,790,902), selling91% by lot against a pre-sale estimate of £20.3 million to £29.2 million. 9 lots sold for over £1 million / 12 for over $1 million.
With buyers from 19 countries across 4 continents
Böcklin’s Tomb (copied from ‘Floating Cities’, 1981, by Chris Foss), 1998, by Glenn Brown sold for £2,322,500 ($3,750,838 / €2,740,550).
Nieder mit der Bourgeoisie (Down with the Bourgeoisie), 1983, by Martin Kippenberger sold for £1,818,500 ($2,936,878 / €2,145,830).
Red Canoe by Peter Doig sold for £1,762,500 / $2,846,438 / €2,079,750.
The Italian Sale
The Italian Sale achieved £26,798,000 ($43,278,770 / €31,621,640) – the highest ever total for an auction of 20thcentury Italian art. It was 92% sold by lot against a pre-sale estimate of £15.6m – £22.0m.
8 lots sold for over £1 million / 14 for over $1 million.
The top price was paid for Sacco by Alberto Burri which realised £2,994,500 ($4,836,118 / €3,533,510).
Concetto spaziale, Attesa, 1967, by Lucio Fontana sold for £1,986,500 ($3,208,198 / €2,344,070), while anotherConcetto spaziale, Attesa from 1968 realized £1,818,500 ($2,936,878 / €2,145,830).
Muro di pietra (Pietra pietra) Wall of stone (Stone stone) by Pino Pascali sold for £1,650,500 / $2,665,558 / €1,947,590 – a world record price for the artist at auction. A vast 3-metre-long, 2-metre-high wall-like structure comprised of a sequence of rectangular sponge blocks each bearing the stenciled misnomer ‘Pietra’ (Stone), this is a work that explodes the traditional boundaries between painting, sculpture, language, theatre and environment. Executed in 1964, it is one of a pioneering sequence of semi-theatrical ‘object-sculptures’ that Pascali exhibited together at his first one-man show at the Galleria La Tartaruga, in Rome in 1965.
ARTIST RECORDS:
Post-War & Contemporary Art
Lot 1 Josephine Meckseper (£52,500 / $84,788 / €61,950)
Lot 4 Lynette Yiadom-Boakye (£146,500 / $236,598 / €172,870)
Lot 21 Sarah Lucas (£290,500 / $469,158 / €342,790)
Lot 34 Ryan Trecartin (£37,500 / $60,563 / €44,250)
The Italian Sale
Lot 60 Marina Apollonio (£40,000 / $64,600 / €47,200)
Lot 62 Paolo Scheggi (£218,500 / $352,878 / €257,930)
Lot 80 Mario Schifano (£314,500 / $507,918 / €371,110)
Lot 81 Pino Pascali (£1,650,500 / $2,665,558 / €1,947,590)