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Christie’s Finds Relief in Stable Prices, and a Basquiat Sale Christie’s Finds Relief in Stable Prices, and a Basquiat Sale
(about 2 hours later)
Going into its postwar and contemporary sale on Tuesday night, Christie’s had reason to be anxious about a perceived softening in the market — fears that appeared to have been confirmed by Sotheby’s Impressionist and modern auction on Monday night, when a whopping one-third of the 62 lots failed to sell.Going into its postwar and contemporary sale on Tuesday night, Christie’s had reason to be anxious about a perceived softening in the market — fears that appeared to have been confirmed by Sotheby’s Impressionist and modern auction on Monday night, when a whopping one-third of the 62 lots failed to sell.
But Christie’s management was soon breathing a sigh of relief: Its centerpiece canvas by Jean-Michel Basquiat sold for $57.3 million, a high for the artist at auction. And its final tally was $318.4 million with fees, against a low estimate of $281 million.But Christie’s management was soon breathing a sigh of relief: Its centerpiece canvas by Jean-Michel Basquiat sold for $57.3 million, a high for the artist at auction. And its final tally was $318.4 million with fees, against a low estimate of $281 million.
The auction house was ultimately pleased by what Brett Gorvy, Christie’s worldwide chairman of postwar and contemporary art, described as “strong but deliberate buying.”The auction house was ultimately pleased by what Brett Gorvy, Christie’s worldwide chairman of postwar and contemporary art, described as “strong but deliberate buying.”
The evening confirmed contemporary art’s continued status as the hottest category in the market, which showed unexpected resilience given that many potential sellers had decided to sit out the auctions this season in wait-and-see mode, keeping their best pieces on their walls (or in a free port). The Basquiat was the most highly valued of the 61 lots on Tuesday night, and 87 percent of them sold.The evening confirmed contemporary art’s continued status as the hottest category in the market, which showed unexpected resilience given that many potential sellers had decided to sit out the auctions this season in wait-and-see mode, keeping their best pieces on their walls (or in a free port). The Basquiat was the most highly valued of the 61 lots on Tuesday night, and 87 percent of them sold.
“It’s not 2014 — we got used to super-high results,” Kyoko Tamura, the Japanese collector, said. “The really fashionable artists are down 20 to 30 percent. But the market is O.K.”“It’s not 2014 — we got used to super-high results,” Kyoko Tamura, the Japanese collector, said. “The really fashionable artists are down 20 to 30 percent. But the market is O.K.”
The auction houses have been scrambling this season to wrest top works out of the hands of people no longer inclined to sell, even as the houses are trying to give away fewer guarantees to preserve their shrinking profit margins. (Christie’s had 10 guaranteed lots on Tuesday night, compared with 49 guarantees on 82 lots last May.) Christie’s final tally, $318.4 million, represented a 52 percent decline from its postwar and contemporary art sale a year ago, which took in $658.5 million. The auction houses have been scrambling this season to wrest top works out of the hands of people no longer inclined to sell, even as the houses are trying to give away fewer guarantees to preserve their shrinking profit margins. (Christie’s had 10 guaranteed lots on Tuesday night, compared with 49 guarantees on 82 lots last May.) Christie’s final tally, $318.4 million, represented a 52 percent decline from its postwar and contemporary art sale a year earlier, which took in $658.5 million.
But while several valued lots just barely made their low estimates, the overall results on Tuesday night left several art experts pleasantly surprised. “It was much stronger than any of us thought it was going to be,” Mary Zlot, a San Francisco art adviser, said. “If the price is right, people will buy.” While several valued lots just barely made their low estimates, the overall results on Tuesday night left several art experts pleasantly surprised. “It was much stronger than any of us thought it was going to be,” Mary Zlot, a San Francisco art adviser, said. “If the price is right, people will buy.”
Here are some of the highlights.Here are some of the highlights.
BEAST OF A BASQUIAT Not all Basquiats are created equal, and 1982 was considered a very good year for the artist, which made this untitled canvas — in which Basquiat depicts himself as a horned devil rising amid furious brush strokes of orange, red, white and black — the evening’s main prize. It was sold by the New York collector Adam Lindemann, who bought it for $4.5 million in 2004. One of the few artists with a celebrity following — Leonardo DiCaprio and Jay Z have collected his work — Basquiat seems impervious to the vagaries of the global economy. The painting sold to an Asian buyer on the telephone for $57.3 million. “Top paintings make top prices,” said Larry Warsh, a collector, “come rain or shine.” Dealers said the price was remarkable given the atypical composition and large size. BEAST OF A BASQUIAT Not all Basquiats are created equal, and 1982 was considered a very good year for the artist, which made “Untitled” — in which Basquiat depicts himself as a horned devil rising amid furious brush strokes of orange, red, white and black — the evening’s main prize. It was sold by the New York collector Adam Lindemann, who bought it for $4.5 million in 2004. One of the few artists with a celebrity following — Leonardo DiCaprio and Jay Z have collected his work — Basquiat seems impervious to the vagaries of the global economy. The painting sold to an Asian buyer on the telephone for $57.3 million. “Top paintings make top prices,” said Larry Warsh, a collector, “come rain or shine.” Dealers said the price was remarkable given the atypical composition and large size. On Wednesday, Christie’s said that Yusaku Maezawa, the founder of Contemporary Art Foundation, had purchased “Untitled,” plus four other works at the evening sale. ‘‘This Basquiat was first exhibited in Tokyo in 1985,” Mr. Maezawa said in a statement. “For Japan this was an art historical moment.”
LATE NEWCOMER In these uncertain times, Christie’s was not taking many risks with young emerging artists. One of the few “newcomers” on Tuesday night was Kerry James Marshall, 60, whose retrospective will open at the Met Breuer this fall. Christie’s — and a third-party guarantor — offered “Plunge,” the artist’s vibrant 1992 painting, which depicts a bikini-clad woman about to dive into a swimming pool. Estimated at $1 million to $1.5 million, the canvas sold to a telephone bidder for $2.2 million, a new high for the artist at auction.LATE NEWCOMER In these uncertain times, Christie’s was not taking many risks with young emerging artists. One of the few “newcomers” on Tuesday night was Kerry James Marshall, 60, whose retrospective will open at the Met Breuer this fall. Christie’s — and a third-party guarantor — offered “Plunge,” the artist’s vibrant 1992 painting, which depicts a bikini-clad woman about to dive into a swimming pool. Estimated at $1 million to $1.5 million, the canvas sold to a telephone bidder for $2.2 million, a new high for the artist at auction.
BEST OF THE B TEAM It is hard to believe that $30 million has come to seem like small potatoes, but given an art market that has grown accustomed to $100 million prices, the top lots at Christie’s on Tuesday night were not the stuff of headlines. A 1957 blue and green Mark Rothko abstract sold for $32.6 million to one bidder, just above the low estimate.BEST OF THE B TEAM It is hard to believe that $30 million has come to seem like small potatoes, but given an art market that has grown accustomed to $100 million prices, the top lots at Christie’s on Tuesday night were not the stuff of headlines. A 1957 blue and green Mark Rothko abstract sold for $32.6 million to one bidder, just above the low estimate.
WOOL PROOF Christopher Wool’s 1992 word painting, “And if You,” offered a clear comparison to where the market was two years ago. The 9-foot-high enamel on aluminum painting that sold on Tuesday night for $13.6 million with fees is nearly identical — it has the extra word “And” — to another that sold in May 2014 (in a booming market) for $23.7 million. Both feature this artist’s same profanity-laced exhortation for people without a sense of humor to get “OUT OF MY HOUSE.” And both had been estimated at $12 million to $18 million. “It was a great phrase, but it didn’t have visual power, said Andrew Fabricant, the New York dealer, who added that the inclusion of the extra “and” made the composition cramped. “A number of collectors were disappointed with it,” he said. What a difference a word makes.WOOL PROOF Christopher Wool’s 1992 word painting, “And if You,” offered a clear comparison to where the market was two years ago. The 9-foot-high enamel on aluminum painting that sold on Tuesday night for $13.6 million with fees is nearly identical — it has the extra word “And” — to another that sold in May 2014 (in a booming market) for $23.7 million. Both feature this artist’s same profanity-laced exhortation for people without a sense of humor to get “OUT OF MY HOUSE.” And both had been estimated at $12 million to $18 million. “It was a great phrase, but it didn’t have visual power, said Andrew Fabricant, the New York dealer, who added that the inclusion of the extra “and” made the composition cramped. “A number of collectors were disappointed with it,” he said. What a difference a word makes.
TOO FEW WOMEN Though surprisingly short on female artists in a year of major museum shows featuring women, the Christie’s sale attracted among the most excitement and highest prices of the evening with the Joan Mitchell painting “Noon.” The canvas went to Abigail Asher, an art adviser, for $9.8 million against estimates of $5 million to $7 million.TOO FEW WOMEN Though surprisingly short on female artists in a year of major museum shows featuring women, the Christie’s sale attracted among the most excitement and highest prices of the evening with the Joan Mitchell painting “Noon.” The canvas went to Abigail Asher, an art adviser, for $9.8 million against estimates of $5 million to $7 million.
THE LAST WORD Tuesday’s sale did, indeed, bring out at least one new buyer: Edward Zeng, the founding partner of the Beijing-based investment bank China Bridge Capital, who bought Yves Klein’s azure monochrome painting for $3.3 million, just over the low estimate of $3 million. “The blue color,” Mr. Zeng said after the sale, “touched my heart.”THE LAST WORD Tuesday’s sale did, indeed, bring out at least one new buyer: Edward Zeng, the founding partner of the Beijing-based investment bank China Bridge Capital, who bought Yves Klein’s azure monochrome painting for $3.3 million, just over the low estimate of $3 million. “The blue color,” Mr. Zeng said after the sale, “touched my heart.”