Buyers however went back on their feet on the 14th during Sotheby's sale, which fared somewhat better with a $ 44,8 million turnover against a low overall estimate of $ 36 million with only seven unsold lots out of 60. A triptych by Gerhard Richter notably sold for $ 3,4 million against a top estimate of $ 1,5 million while Jean-Michel Basquiat's impressive untitled (Angel) acrylic on canvas went for
$ 783,500. A curtain of light of 1983 by Cuban artist Felix Gonzales-Torres sold for $ 618,500 while Damien Hirst's large disk of painting fetched it low estimate at $ 255,500.
Andreas Gursky still appeared much in demand as his immense photographic work titled “Prada III” sold for $ 310,500 equalling his previous price auction record.
Sotheby's also recorded a satisfying result with the sale of the Douglas S. Cramer collection with 100 % of lots sold for a total of $ 20 million. Some record prices were in the offing notably for Ellsworth Kelly at $ 1,4 million, Richard Serra at
$ 1,2 million and Ed Ruscha at $ 687,750.
Meanwhile, “Montez Singing” by Jasper Johns fetched $ 3,7 million and an “untitled” black chalk drawing by the same artist hit a record $ 2,5 million. Roy Lichtenstein's “Mirror#” also clinched a record (for the Mirrors series) $ 2,1 million.
Buyers were above all looking for important pieces by some American artists such as Roy Lichtenstein whose drawing representing George Washington went for
$ 940,750 (inclusive of buyer's premium) against a $ 300,000 estimate. A clew of string painted by the same artist in 1963 fetched $ 4,07 million against a $ 2 million estimate.
Still, more recent works did well such as Maurizio Cattelan's taxidermist installation of juxtaposed animals, which went for $ 610,750, $ 100,000 more than the work made with skeletons sold by Phillips on the 13th.
Jeff Koons received a far better treatment at Sotheby's with his sculpture titled “Ushering in Banality” representing three angels pushing a small pig, which recorded $ 1,87 million while two giant stockings filled with spices, a 1999 work by Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto sold for $ 52,000.
On the 15th Christie's sold for $ 666,000, a “devilish” price, an installation by Cuban artist Felix Gonzales-Torres made of 147 kilos of blue candies spread on the floor while Tom Friedman's pubic hair inserted as a spiral on a soap went for
$ 58,750.
A quarter of the lots offred by Christie's remained unsold but the sale was not a failure as it yielded $ 6,9 million with three record prices. Alex Katz' large painting depicting his wife under an umbrella fetched another “devilish” price of $ 666,000 while a hyper-realistic sculpture by Duane Hanson representing a warden in his uniform went for $ 314,000.
Andreas Gursky however stole the show with a photo showing the façade of a building in Montparnasse, which skyrocketed to a $ 600,000 record bid. In the space of one year Gursky's price at auction has thus tripled. Most artistic photos by Gursky, Thomas Demand, Thomas Struth or Thomas Ruff sold well, a sign that collectors are not only going for American art exclusively.
The main problem is that collectors have not been eager to part with important pieces for fear these would fetch less than what they would expect pricewise. However, the September 11th terrorist attacks had apparently less negative effects on the market than expected.
Overall, the good news is that buyers are still there though they tend to be more selective as they have cooled down for those artists whose works had been the targets of certain speculators.
Home
