CHRISTIE’S GLOBAL SERIES OF 20^TH CENTURY AUCTIONS REALISES A TOTAL OF:

£198,716,619 / $274,825,084 / €230,312,562 / HK$2,124,678,092

CONVENING GLOBAL COLLECTORS ACROSS THREE CITIES VIA LIVESTREAM

• Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Warrior sells for HK$323,600,000 / £30,265,619 / $41,857,351 / €35,077,853, Becoming the Most Valuable Western Artwork Ever Offered in Asia

• Banksy’s tribute to international frontline workers sells for world auction record, raising more than £16,000,000, which will fund community healthcare and wellbeing projects

• Joan Miro’s Peinture, 1925, sells for £10,231,500 / $14,150,165 / €11,858,309 / HK$109,395,198, leading The Art of the Surreal portion of the sale

• Picasso’s Femme nue couchée au collier (Marie-Thérèse), 1932, and Femme assise dans un fauteuil noir (Jacqueline), 1962, highlight the 20^th Century Art Evening Sale

• Conducted from London, the livestreamed auctions united collectors via our Hong Kong and New York salerooms with participation from 36 countries over 5 continents

• Records set for 5 artists: Banksy, Jean Fautrier, Joy Labinjo, Claire Tabouret, and Issy Wood with a record for a work on paper by Gerhard Richter

Global – Christie’s Spring Season of 20^TH Century Evening Sales continued on 23 March 2021, realising £198,716,619 / $274,825,084 / €230,312,562 / HK$1,655,333,300, selling 93% by lot, 97% by value and 128% hammer above low estimate. The series of consecutive sales was launched from Hong Kong with Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Warrior (1982), which set a new record, becoming the most expensive western artwork ever sold in Asia at £30,265,619 / HK$323,600,000 / $41,857,351 / €35,077,853 to. Warrior saw competition from phone bidders in London, New York and Hong Kong, before selling to an Asian buyer on the phone in Hong Kong.

The 20^th Century Evening Sale continued with records for contemporary painters Joy Labinjo’s No Wahala, which sold for £150,000 and Claire Tabouret’s The Last Day, which sold for £622,500, both of which exceeding their presale estimates by more than 300% each, Issy Wood’s Over Armour (non-linear, non-violent), sold for £250,000 in the artist’s auction debut.

Banksy’s painting Game Changer (2020), a tribute to international frontline workers during the global pandemic, achieved a world auction record following 14 minutes of bidding. Proceeds of more than £16,000,000 from the sale of the artwork will be used to support the wellbeing of University Hospital Southampton staff and patients as well as benefitting associated health organisations and charities across the UK that enhance the care and treatment provided by the NHS.

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s late Self-Portrait (1988) realised a price of £9,086,500 after bidding was witnessed across our global salerooms. Strong prices were also achieved by two major works by Pablo Picasso - The Power Of Colour: Picasso Masterpieces From An Important Private Collection - led by Femme nue couchée au collier (Marie-Thérèse), 1932, which realised £14,582,500 ($20,167,598), and was followed by Femme assise dans un fauteuil noir (Jacqueline), 1962, which achieved £9,659,000 ($13,358,397).

The 20^th edition of The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale totalled £48,426,000 / $66,973,158 / €56,125,734  / HK$517,770,792, selling 85% by lot and 90% by value, the second highest total to date for any auction dedicated to dada and surrealism.

Christie’s convened international collectors in London via livestreamed links to the salerooms in Hong Kong and New York reflected by participation in the auction from registered bidders in 36 countries and 5 continents.

The depth of bidding witnessed on 23 March continued the successes seen at Christie’s since launching the Spring Season on 1 March with A Family Collection: Works on Paper, Van Gogh to Freud and the Modern British Art Evening Sales.

20^TH CENTURY ART EVENING SALE: KEY TAKEAWAYS

Strength of bidding demonstrates global appetite for exceptional quality and provenance
New evening sale situates modern masters alongside contemporary stars, reflecting the eclectic tastes of Christie’s international collector base
Records achieved for:

Banksy, Game Changer, £16,758,000
Jean Fautrier, Pièges (Traps), 1946, £4,522,500
Joy Labinjo, £150,000
Claire Tabouret, The Last Day, £622,500
Issy Wood, Over Armour (non-linear, non-violent), £250,000
Gerhard Richter, Ohne Titel (Untitled), £2,242,500 – Record for a Work on Paper by the Artist
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Warrior, HK$323,600,000 – Most Expensive Western Work Sold in Asia

Further outstanding lots

Amoako Boafo’s Self-Portrait, 2016, £550,000
Matthew Wong’s Untitled, 2017, £2,722,500
Amedeo Modigliani, Portrait du photographe Dilewski, 1916, £4,402,500
Alighiero Boetti, Immaginando tutto (Imagining everything) 1976-1977, £300,000

THE ART OF THE SURREAL: KEY TAKEAWAYS

20^th edition of The Art of the Surreal achieves second highest total to date of £48,426,000 / $66,973,158 / €56,125,734 / HK$517,770,792 

René Magritte’s continued international appeal demonstrated in strong results for five paintings by the artist
René Magritte, La grande marée, £1,942,500
René Magritte, La tapisserie de Pénélope, £922,500
René Magritte, Le mois des vendanges, £10,002,500
René Magritte, Les jeunes amours, £3,262,500
René Magritte, La découverte du feu, £2,542,500

Examples from one of the greatest collections of Surrealist art ever put together sees market respond with exceptional results for Magritte, Miró and Ernst
20^th Century Modern Masters from a Private French Collection included eight works spanning both portions of the sale, realising a combined total of £27,342,500 / $37,814,678 / €31,689,958 / HK$292,346,010

Joining Christie’s global salerooms, over 400,000 viewers tuned into watch and participate in the auctions through Facebook, You Tube, We Chat, Weibo, Artron, ArtPro, Yitao, Christies.com and Christie’s Live™, highlighting the inclusive international nature of the interactive livestream.

For further commentary on the sale, please read the post-sale report on Christies.com. For quotes from Christie’s CEO Guillaume Cerutti and our 20^th Century and 21^st Century Art Specialists, please see the post-sale press conference here.

Christie’s 20^th Century Art Sales continue on 24 March with the Impressionist and Modern Art Day  and Works on Paper Sale and 25 March with the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale. First Open Online remains open for bidding until 29 March 2021.