CHRISTIE’S FIRST CLASSIC WEEK IN LONDON (5 - 13 July)

TOTALS £109,038,888 / $141,931,118 / €128,048,200

LED BY RUBENS’S LOT AND HIS DAUGHTERS

THE HIGHEST PRICE ACHIEVED FOR A WORK OF ART AT AUCTION THIS YEAR

 London – Classic Week at Christie’s concluded on 13 July achieving a total of £109,038,888 / $141,931,118 / €128,048,200, having welcomed over 19,000 visitors to view the diverse displays and auctions which spanned the Decorative Arts, Antiquities, Old Master & British Paintings, Prints and Drawings, Books and Manuscripts and The Exceptional Sale. The week realised a strong average sell-through rate of 87% by value across the 14 sales, anticipating the market for each price point and category. Increased international participation saw over 1,000 registered bidders from 50 countries, 695 registered online bidders and substantial cross-category buying with over 700 active bidders across the week, including collectors of 20^th Century art. Christie’s achieved seven of the top ten auction prices of the season across all houses, underlining its leading position in the market. The auctions were highlighted by the memorable sale of Rubens’s masterpiece Lot and his Daughters, which achieved the highest price for a work of art at auction this year.

“The energy and response from Christie’s clients to the first Classic Week in London has been exceptional - as the salerooms were transformed to host the very best in classical art,” said Orlando Rock, Chairman, Christie’s UK. “Following Christie’s 20^th Century sales and the curated 250^th anniversary Defining British Art sale on 30 June which achieved £33.5 million for the Old Master category, Classic Week has been a fitting conclusion to a remarkable summer season at Christie’s, highlighted by Rubens’s masterpiece ‘Lot and his Daughters’. Our specialists have continued to innovate and inspire collectors and I hope that James Christie himself would have been proud that his legacy lives on.”

CHRISTIE’S SUMMER SEASON BY NUMBERS

• Classic Week (5 – 13 July 2016) totalled: £109,038,888 / $141,931,118 / €128,048,200.
• 20^th Century at Christie’s (20 – 30 June 2016) totalled: £212,545,850 / $291,370,503 / €258,869,958.
• Christie’s 250^th Defining British Art Sale (30 June 2016) totalled: £99,479,500 / $133,203,051 / €119,872,798.
• Top lots across the season:
  • Peter Paul Rubens’s Lot and his Daughters (circa 1613-14) achieved £44,882,500 / $58,167,720 / €52,422,760, the highest price realised for a work of art this year.
  • John Constable’s full-scale six-foot ‘sketch’, View on the Stour near Dedham by John Constable (circa 1821-22), which sold for £14,082,500 / $18,856,468 / €16,969,413.
  • Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure: Festival sold for £24,722,500 / $33,103,428 / €29,790,613, the highest price for a work by the artist at auction.
  • Francis Bacon’s Version No. 2 of Lying Figure with Hypodermic Syringe1968, realised £20,242,500 / $27,104,708 / €24,392,213.
  • 49 lots sold over one-million GBP.
  • 67 lots sold over one-million USD.
  • 30 artist records were set throughout the season.
  • Over 36,000 visitors to Christie’s King Street since the opening of the new gallery space.