News

Sotheby's sale of Contemporary art held in London on July 1, 2015 only achieved £130,4 million, a fine total however 12 million short from its low expectations as four of its top lots were unsold.

Francis Bacon's Study for a Pope 1, once owned by the German playboy Gunther Sachs  which sold it for a record $10 million 10 years ago did not attract a single bid  while two other works by the artist, a self-portrait and a triptych of self portraits sold respectively for £15.3 millionandr £14.7 million.

Andy Warhol's dollar bill of 1962 went for £20,9 million against a high estimate of &( million while a rare 1981 silkscreen with 20 dollar signs on it feched £6.9 million. Another single, multi-coloured image sold near the low estimate for £4.4 million and a small yellow Warhol dollar sign was won by an online bidder for £545,000 while a small red one sold to a phone bidder for £509,000, both double their mid estimates.

However, one 1986 dollar bill collage bought in 2006 for $150,000 sold below estimate for £125,000 and two. much larger dollar bill works from 1962 found no buyers with estimates from £5 million to 18 million.

Tim Noble and Sue Webster's 2001 light bulb sculpture in the shape of a dollar which cost £240,000 at auction in 2007 only sold for £112,500..

Following Christie's sale the previous day during which four works by Richter were unsold a 1968 cityscape, Stadtbild M 6 by the German artist found no buyer at a £2 million estimat while a 1964 photo booth style portrait, Portrait Schmela, sold below estimate for £3.3 million. Still but a coloured abstract, A.B Brick Tower, (1987), from a Swiss collection with a £12/16 million estimate managed to fetch £14 million.

An early,  charcoal portrait by Frank Auerbach  of the Head of Gerda Boehm, 1961, which had been in the collection of the poet, Stephen Spender, for 50 years, sold for £2.2 million over its £250,000/350,000 estimate—a record for a work on paper by the artist while Peter Doig's "Pelican". remained unsold at £ 6 million.

Portuguese born Paula Rego's pastel titled,Looking Out, (1997) went for a record £965,000. followed by a 1988 acrylic , "The Cadet and his Sister",  which surpassed estimates and this new record  to sell for £1.1 million.