ArtCult - Les nouvelles du marché de l'art.-CRAZY ENTHUSIASM FOR CONTEMPORARY ART-MARKET

Sales of Contemporary Art organised in November 2007 showed a buoyant art market as several important records were broken. Christie's, Sotheby'sand Philips de Pury sold an unprecedented total of $948 million worth of art.

Although the volatility of the financial markets, as well assome Impressionist and Modern results, created feelings of concern, the success of the Contemporary sales confirmed that buyers remained present and active, paying top dollar for the highest quality Contemporary Art.

The week began at Christie's with the sale of the Collection of Allan Stone, which realised $52 million, followed by the $325 million achieved at their Evening sale the next day, both well within pre-sale low and high estimates. The market continued strongly at Sotheby's on 14 November, when its Evening sale brought $315.9 million, the highest sale total in the auction house's history. Their next closest sale total was realised in 1990 during the last major art boom. At the three houses, eighty-three percent of the works on offer were sold.

Francis Bacon's Second Version of Study for BullfightNo. 1 achieved just under $46 million at Sotheby's, making it the highest priced work sold in the two weeks of Impressionist and Contemporary auctions.The artist's Self Portrait offered in the same sale brought $33million, landing it in the top three lots of the week. As prices for Contemporary art inch closer to those paid for Impressionist & Modern Art, the hunger for great works by artists such as Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, MarkRothko and others brought the highest prices in the category. Rothko's Untitled(Red, blue, orange) fetched $34.2 million and Warhol's Liz achieved $23.6 million.

Sculpture played a prominent role inthe week's sales, realising big numbers and setting multiple auction records. Most notable was the sale of Jeff Koons' Hanging Heart (Magenta/Gold), which brought $23.6 million at Sotheby's, surpassing the record for a living artist that was set by Damien Hirst's Lullaby Spring earlier this year at Sotheby's London.

Records were also set for John Chamberlain, Anish Kapoor and Richard Serra, asserting buyers' appetite for post-war and Contemporary sculpture. The strength of this part of the market comes as no shock after this season's sale of Impressionist & Modern Art, where sculptural works by Picasso, Calder and Modigliani brought strong prices.

Contemporary Chinese works, a recent addition to the evening sales in New York, did exceedingly well. Zhang Xiaogang's Family Portrait brought $4.9 million and Fang Lijun's Series 2, No. 6 sold for $4million, contributing to the total of fifty-five lots that sold for over $1million. The inclusion of these works and their subsequent success at auction demonstrates the strength of emerging Contemporary markets and the global nature of the business.

The Day sales also commanded strong results, contributing to the overall success of the week. Sotheby's brought a record of over $102million, with the sale of works by Gerhard Richter, Robert Indiana, Andy Warhol and Takashi Murakami bringing high prices. Christie's also fared well with a Day sale total of $93 million.

As the market grows, so has the client base. Buyers are becoming increasingly international, bidding from around the world. American buyers were more active than originally anticipated, as evidenced at Sotheby's, where they comprised fifty-five percent of the buyers.

Art Basel Miami and the December sales in Paris will be the next opportunities to measure the strength of the Contemporary Art market.

Top Ten Lots
Post-War and Contemporary Art

Francis Bacon, Second Version for Bullfight No. 1 $45,961,000