Sotheby’s Spring Evening Sale in London Achieves $175 M. White-Glove Result

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in On Balance, art news Newsletter about the art market and beyond. Register here Receive it every Wednesday.

It’s officially March, which means Wednesday I’m back at the Windmill Bar, just around the corner from Sotheby’s New Bond Street. In a world of uncertainty, my pre-sale of a pint ahead of the Spring Modern and Contemporary Evening Sale has become a sure thing. I only have 15 minutes to wrap it up because David Rothschild and james francis fox The co-head of private sales has just given me a tour of “The Apartment,” a private exhibition of 11 works in a palatial backstage at Sotheby’s. Paintings by David Hockney, Luciano Fontana and Helen Frankenthaler are displayed alongside furniture by designer and gallerist Rose Uniacke, all for sale. The total value of the artwork is approximately £40 million; at the time of writing, five works have sold. A buyer has signed an Andy Warhol work dollar sign Worked and took it away.

My tardiness meant there were no experts at the bar to draw intelligence from. They’re already flanking the auctioneer oliver buck on the phone. When I sneaked into the auction room a few minutes late, the auction room was already crowded with more than 300 people, and the bidding for the auction items was also very fierce. The 54-lot sale was a dynamic affair that achieved white-glove status – every lot sold (one of the lots was withdrawn early). The total came to £131 million, or about $175 million, a few million shy of the highest estimate, but no one seemed to mind. The Sotheby’s team was ecstatic. (All prices include fees.)

A year ago, the equivalent auction revenue for 38 lots was £62.5 million, against a high estimate of £66.6 million (approximately $83.6 million). Wednesday’s results showed a 110% increase.

“This is the first white-glove sale with different owners in my 22 years at Sotheby’s,” said a beaming man Alex BranchickLater in the press room, the head of the European Modern and Contemporary Art Department. “The sale is based on three collections: the Lewis Collection and two additional private collections from Germany and Italy. Quality drives bidding.”

The first three lots set the tone: Josef Albers A study in homage to the square: Gobelin The sale price was £1.1 million (high estimate was £830,000). Another Warhol dollar sign Earned £770,000 (high estimate £570,000). Warhol’s flowers Brought £2.4m (high estimate was £1.7m).

Does the celebration have a touch of levity? A few hours before the auction, Jussi PilkaninThe former CEO of Christie’s and founder of Art Pylkkänen reminded me that “war creates uncertainty,” citing Iranian bombings and retaliatory actions in the Gulf. “Any major conflict will affect bidding,” he said, pointing to market declines during the 2003 war in Iraq and after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine less than 20 years later. art consultant Pernilla Holmes London-based Wedel Arts echoed that cautious sentiment.

If Sotheby’s was nervous, it didn’t show it. “We have not lost a single pre-sale bid,” a spokesperson said ahead of the launch. Buyers continue to spend. Warhol’s Marilyn Four (Reversal Series) The sale price was £4.3 million against an estimate of £3.2 million. Fernand Léger’s man in city The transaction price was 4.8 million pounds.

Things get better. Leon Kossoff’s Children’s Pool, Saturday August 11am After a battle between 10 bidders, the work sold for £5.2 million, beating its estimate of £800,000 and setting a new auction record – 20 times Sotheby’s 1992 price. The work, which is being sold through Asia chairman Wendy Lin, is one of four London School works in the Lewis Collection commissioned by businessman Joe Lewis.

I asked Pylkkänen whether the apparent lack of wet painting artists in the auction reflected the mood of the market. “The wet painting market is going through a correction and major collectors are re-evaluating, and they are leaning more toward classic classic artists. Tonight’s material was deep and rich, and everything is very positive. You can also expect some good stuff from the May auctions,” he said. You heard it here first.

Claude Monet’s garden home Earned £8.2m (est. £8.5m). “It’s going well,” the honorary chairman said with a smile. haridarmeni As the hammer falls. CEO charles stewart The consensus was: “This will be our best London spring sale ever.”

Lucian Freud young painter The transaction price was £7.1 million, higher than the estimate of £6 million. And then there’s Francis Bacon’s self-portrait. The opening bid was £7 million, which exceeded the estimate of £12 million and sold for £16 million, to rousing applause.

what did bell faxof Josh Bell Consider litigation? “Retail therapy,” he told me. “Don’t get nervous about the chaos in the Middle East,” I said. “It’s always the other way around,” he replied. A great man once said that within chaos lies opportunity. Afterward, I asked Blanchik if he agreed with Bell. “The art world’s segregation worked pretty well, at least in the short term,” he said. “Just look at what happened on the day Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008 – Sotheby’s sold over £100m worth of Damien Hirst works in London.”

Other standout scores of the night included Frank Auerbach’s Studying a tree on Primrose Hill (£704,000), Constantin Brancuşi muse (£3.9m), and Vilhelm Hammershøi’s balconysold for £1.8 million. Alberto Giacometti’s female debut Nearly twice the high estimate, it sold for £5 million.

Christie’s will take tough action in London on Thursday. It hosts a three-pronged evening sale, beginning with the 20th/21st Century Evening Sale, followed by “Surreal Art” and “Modern Dreamers: The Roger and Josette Vantunut Collection.”

Before Wednesday’s sale, I asked Keith GillChristie’s head of impressionist and modern art, if he had any concerns about the impact of conflict in the Middle East on bidding. “We’re not seeing any impact at this stage,” he said. “The weekend scene was very busy and remains so today – call activity and overall interest are on par or stronger than October. Of course, events are impacting some of our clients and colleagues personally, but from a market perspective we are not seeing a slowdown.”

There were several standout lots in Christie’s three sales. Number one is undoubtedly Wassily Kandinsky’s red wheelthe highest estimate is 15.5 million pounds, approximately 21.3 million US dollars. It last sold eight years ago, when it appeared to have been bought by a Swiss billionaire for $20 million Georg von Opelwhich has now been consigned for sale.

In September, Christie’s filed a Uniform Commercial Code financing statement to acquire several works of art from Hans Aktiengesellschaft, an investment firm owned by von Opel. The works listed include works by Kandinsky, as well as works by Fernand Léger, Gerhard Richter and Roy Lichtenstein, the latter of which appears to have been sold at a Christie’s auction in November. Christie’s declined to comment in September, and Hans AG did not respond to a request.

Also starring in Christie’s 20th/21st Century Evening Sale is a newly auctioned Henry Moore sculpture titled king and queen (1952-53). The 64-inch-tall bronze has a high estimate of £15 million ($20.5 million). Catherine ArnoldVice Chairman of 20th/21st Century Art and Head of European Post-War and Contemporary Art at Christie’s tells us art news The bronze is “the most exciting sculpture I have ever seen come to market.”