AS INTERNATIONAL ART WORLD CONVENES IN LONDON AND PARIS
OUR INNOVATIVE 20/21 AND AVANT-GARDE(S), INCLUDING THINKING ITALIAN SALE PLATFORMS ENERGIZE THE MARKET FOR NEW ARTISTS AND MASTERPIECES
- During Frieze Week in London the lure of fresh to market works and the touring exhibition of art history masterpieces from the Paul G. Allen Collection, drew nearly 10,000 visitors to King Street and encouraged spirited international bidding across the sales. Names such as Hockney, Richter and Bacon were the backdrop to exceptional results for contemporary painters Sarah Ball, Tracey Emin and Scott Kahn. The exceptional quality of the pre-sale and visiting exhibitions resulted in a 100% sold 20th / 21st Century: London Evening Sale and strong sell-through rates across the 7 sales held in London in the last two weeks
- Paris Avant-Garde(s) Including Thinking Italian achieved the strongest sale total for a 20/21 sale at Christie’s Paris, with many works exceeding their high estimates, attesting to the vitality of Paris as a global sale centre of the art market, coinciding with Paris + Art Basel
MARKET DRIVERS ACROSS OUR SALES:
OVER £10 MILLION RAISED FOR PHILANTHROPIC COLLABORATIONS IN LONDON
- Going to the Match by L.S. Lowry sold to The Lowry in Salford who were bidding in Christie’s saleroom. Acquired for £7,846,500, the work set a new world auction record for the artist, and proceeds were devoted by The Players Foundation to support individuals with dementia and relieve poverty amongst current or former professional players
- A Place with No Name: Works from the Sina Jina Collection realised a total of £2,960,484; at least 20% of the consignor’s proceeds are designated for The African Arts Trust, providing support for the work of Gasworks, The Africa Centre, Lamu Environment Fund and Bët Bi
- Tracey Emin’s Like a Cloud of Blood was sold by the artist to raise funds for her pioneering TKE studio complex in Margate. Setting a record for a painting by Emin, it realised £2,322,000
THINKING ITALIAN: SUCCESSFUL FIRST EDITION IN PARIS
- The first presentation of Thinking Italian in Paris realised a total of €30.5 million, the best result for the category at Christie’s since 2018
- Concetto Spaziale by Lucio Fontana, sold for €15,147,000, the top lot of the Paris season
- Amongst other sale highlights in Thinking Italian: Alighiero Boetti's Mappa sold for €5,643,500 setting a new world auction record for the artist, Cretto by Alberto Burri, selling for €3,642,000 and La Stanza dei Disegni sold for €1,302,000 setting a new record at auction for Mario Schifano
32 WORLD AUCTION RECORDS SET ACROSS TWO WEEKS OF SALES IN PARIS AND LONDON
- Records set across the season included: Sarah Ball, Alighiero Boetti, Beauford Delaney, Atta Kwami, L.S. Lowry, Marlow Moss, Celia Paul, and Mario Schifano
And sales continued to demonstrate strong results for many female artists throughout the market such as Joan Mitchell, Niki de Saint Phalle, Leonor Fini, and Bridget Riley.
LOOKING AHEAD
‘VISIONARY: THE PAUL G. ALLEN COLLECTION’ AND 20/21 SEASON IN NEW YORK
- Attention now turns to New York where Visionary: The Collection of Paul G. Allen and Christie’s 20/21 auctions will take place at Rockefeller Center in November
- Christie’s 20/21 November sales, together with the greatest collection ever to come to market, one of the most powerful seasons in auction history, poised to transform the market
- Visionary: The Collection of Paul G. Allen has driven unprecedented international interest in the market, following the highly successful tours of masterpieces to both London and Paris, engaging thousands of collectors. London alone recorded more than 3,000 visitors in four days
- The collection, estimated in excess of $1 billion, will offer a comprehensive study of the art historical canon in more than 150 masterworks. All of the estate’s proceeds from this historic sale will be dedicated to philanthropy, pursuant to Mr. Allen’s wishes
THE COLLECTION OF MARIE LALANNE
- Following the exhibition at Kering’s headquarters in Paris of Sculpting Paradise, the collection of Marie Lalanne will be held on 7 December in New York
