ACROSS THREE SALE SITES, CHRISTIE’S PRESENTED UN FOLLE AMORE - THE AGRATI COLLECTION
GLOBAL - Un Folle Amore - The Agrati Collection was presented in live and online-only 20/21 sales across New York, Paris and Milan, realising a combined total of €9,279,502 / $9,551,796. The selection offered from the prestigious collection was comprised of around 100 works by artists including Andy Warhol, Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, and Minjung Kim. Andy Warhol’s Self-Portrait led the group, selling in New York on 17 November for $4,260,000. In Paris on 1 December, Wifredo Lam’s Sans Titre drew deep competition, achieving €189,000 against a pre-sale estimate of €80,000. The largest grouping was sold in an online-only sale as part of Milan’s November 20/21 season, which closed for bidding on 5 December. Highlights included Vincenzo Cabianca’s Donne in riva al mare which sold for €69,300 against a low estimate of €1,500 and Giacomo Balla’s Motivo floreale per sciarpa which realised €35,280, more than five times the low estimate (illustrated below). Works by Frank Stella, Ellsworth Kelly and Josef Albers all performed well against estimate with Frank Stella’s Double Gray Scramble leading the online component of the seminal collection sale (€119,700). Luigi and Peppino Agrati first began assembling their storied collection of contemporary art in the 1970s. Over the last 50 years, the collection has developed into one of the world’s premier private collections of artworks by Italian and international contemporary artists from the latter half of the 20th century. The proceeds of the sale series will benefit selected charitable organisations which had been supported by the late Mr and Mrs Luigi Agrati throughout their lifetime.
