Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

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

London’s Cool and Collected Impressionist & Modern Week

March 4, 2019 by Marion Maneker

But who was that couple that bid up—and bought—three of the most sought after works of the week?

This commentary by Marion Maneker is available to AMMpro subscribers. (The first month of AMMpro is free and subscribers are welcome to sign up for the first month and cancel before they are billed.)

There was a lot of talk surrounding the London Impressionist, Modern and Surrealism sales about two unexpected factors. One was predominant importance of Magritte in the current market for works of Surrealism—we told you last week about the collector who has been living on a plane these last two weeks who called Magritte the new Warhol—and the other was the visible presence of Japanese underbidders, something the Impressionist and Modern market has not seen in some time.

The Financial Times’s Melanie Gerlis picked up on the first point:

This week’s Impressionist, Modern and Surrealist auctions in London should have belonged to Monet but instead were dominated by Magritte. A total of 11 works by the Belgian surrealist all sold across two evenings, including L’étoile du matin (1938) for £4.5m (£5.3m with fees, Sotheby’s) and Le lieu commun (1964) for £16m (£18.4m with fees) among a strong selection at Christie’s.

The Art Newspaper’s Anny Shaw was quick to extend this point in her dispatch from the Sotheby’s Evening sales on Tuesday:

Despite much talk of the concurrent slowdown of the Chinese economy, Asian buying was strong and auctioneer Helena Newman spoke after the sale of “Pan-Asian bidding” with active buying from Taiwan and Japan, alongside China. Indeed, the poster lot—Monet’s view of Le Palais Ducal (1908)—was underbid by a Japanese bidder.

This is something former Sotheby’s specialist Melanie Clore tried to explain to Colin Gleadell in the aftermath of Sotheby’s well-managed sale:


Sign up to Art Market Monitor Premium today

You need a membership to AMMpro to view this article and other exclusive content daily.

You can register today for $90 per month—with your first month free!—or for $756 per year (no free trial period.)

Screenshot 2016-08-05 16.28.45

If you already have an account, sign in here:

 
 
Forgot Password

Filed Under: Premium

About Marion Maneker

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

  • After Pandemic’s Rapid Change, Sotheby’s Has 8 Predictions for 2021
  • For 2020, Phillips Brought in Total of $760.4 million, Down 16 Percent from 2019; Asia Sales Up 24 Percent
  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • A Season of Resilience: Fall 2020 Hong Kong Auction Analysis
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • Soulages First Owned by Senegalese Poet-Politician Léopold Sédar Senghor Sells in France
  • A Season of Improvisation: Fall 2020 New York Modern and Contemporary Art Auction Analysis
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • Christie's Announces $70m Picasso Self Portrait
  • 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