„Nympheas“ painted by Claude Monet in 1908, were among the items offered at Sotheby‘s auction of Impressionist and Modern Art in New York on November 5th and 6th. Photo – REUTERS
NEW YORK – A half dozen artists‘ works sold for record prices on Wednesday at Sotheby‘s contemporary art sale as auction houses wrapped up one of their most successful auction seasons in several years. The most expensive piece sold on Wednesday was Willem de Kooning‘s „Spike‘s Folly I,“ a 1959 abstract oil in shades of yellow and charcoal, which sold for $11,208,000, including commission. It had been expected to sell for $10 million to $15 million.
Mark Rothko‘s „No. 8 (White Stripe)“ from 1958 also fared well, fetching $8,856,000, making it the sale‘s second-most expensive work. Sotheby‘s officials hailed the results, which included new
records for Agnes Martin, Brice Marden and for a sculpture by Roy Lichtenstein.
„It was a fantastic success,“ said Tobias Meyer, Sotheby‘s worldwide head of contemporary art and the evening‘s auctioneer. „The market for contemporary art is I think stronger than ever.“ Christie‘s did similarly well with its auction of contemporary works on Tuesday, with an untitled outdoor work in red steel by American Alexander Calder going for a record $5,831,500.
The Sotheby‘s auction on Thursday took in $74,564,400 against a pre-sale estimate of $66.8 million to $92.6 million, with 81 percent of the 68 lots finding buyers. Sotheby‘s said it was one of its most profitable auctions of contemporary art in more than a decade. Marden‘s „Leaves“ led the record breakers. It sold for $2,584,000, far outpacing the old record of $1,875,750. It was also the seventh-most expensive lot of the sale. Marden‘s „10 (Dialog 2)“ fetched $2,472,000.
A Lichtenstein sculpture, „Woman: Sunlight, Moonlight,“ went for $2,136,000. The old mark for a sculpture by the late pop artist was $1,210,000. Works by Hans Hofmann, Susan Rothenberg and Lee Bontecou all went for record prices. Other highlights included Jean-Michel Basquiat‘s „Untitled (Two Heads on Gold),“ which sold for an impressive $4,600,000, Gerhard Richter‘s „Two Candles“ and Francis Bacon‘s „Three Studies for Portrait of Lucian Freud,“ each of which fetched $3,816,000, more than had been expected.
Among the few disappointments was the failure of Arshile Gorky‘s „Portrait of Y.D.“ to find a buyer. It had been expected to sell for $3 million to $4 million. Jeff Koons‘ „Popples“ also went unsold when no bids higher than $1.2 million could be found.
Reuters
