Christie’s Modern British Art sales in London achieved a total of £14,815,625 in January, selling an average 88% by lot. Works with exceptional provenance led the Evening Sale, with L.S. Lowry’s The Mill, Pendlebury drawing lively bidding to realise £2,651,250 against a low estimate of £700,000. From the Collection of Richard L. Weisman, William Turnbull’s Hero II, depicted in 1968 by David Hockney in his portrait American Collectors, realised £671,250. Modernist painting had strong appeal throughout the evening, with Ben Nicholson’s 1934 (white relief) (£995,250), John Piper’s Forms on White Ground (£371,250) and Richard Lin’s Painting Relief 27-7-64 (£212,500).
Continuing this success, the Day Sale was 90% sold by lot and 92% by value, with four artist auction records set. Finally, on 23 January, The Delighted Eye: Works from the Collection of Allen and Beryl Freer achieved a sell-through rate of 99% – another outstanding result for a private collection of Modern British Art at Christie’s.