This analysis of the October 2018 Frieze Contemporary Sales in London is available to AMMpro subscribers. Monthly subscriptions begin with the first month free. Feel free to subscribe and cancel before you are billed.

The top line news from the Frieze Auctions is that the 12% drop in overall sales volume from 2017 to 2018 could have easily been made up had the consignors of two works—a Jeff Koons Celebration-series cracked egg and a Richter scull painting—chosen to accept the bids offered in the room instead of holding fast to their reserve prices. That observation both brings into focus the growing issue of seller expectations and estimates in the Contemporary art category and the slowly changing composition of the Contemporary art market.