Post-War and Contemporary Art (Evening Auction)

On 13 February, Christie’s London evening auction of Post-War & Contemporary Art realised a total of £81,668,850/ $127,730,081 / € 94,654,197, selling 96% by value and achieving the highest total for a February Evening Auction of Post-War & Contemporary Art at Christie’s London.

The top price of the evening was paid for Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown), which sold for £9,337,250 / $14,603,459 / €10,821,873 (estimate: £7 to £9 million) (illustrated above). A selection of works offered from the collection of Mrs. Ingvild Goetz realised £4,286,750 ($6,704,477 / €4,968,343), achieving three times the low pre-sale estimate.

Francis Outred, International Director and Head of Post-War & Contemporary Art, Christie’s Europe: “An exciting night of Christie’s theatre saw Jussi Pylkannen excelling in the face of an unprecedented volume of bidding from around the world. Some works carried up to fourteen phone lines, as the thirst for post-war & contemporary art continues to develop. Five world records were achieved, including for Peter Doig and Pierre Soulages, the new and the old masters in our field, alongside the consistent growth of the market for Basquiat, Bacon, Hockney and Richter. Christie’s was privileged to be able to present a selection of special works generously offered by Mrs. Ingvild Goetz, which achieved three times the pre-sale low estimate raising funds for the much needed and under-supported causes of anorexia and asylum seekers.”