Impressionist/Modern Evening Sale

The Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale and the auction of The Art of the Surreal took place on the evening of 4 February at Christie’s London, realising a combined total of £176,986,000/ $288,133,208/ €212,737,172 and selling 86% by lot and 95% by value. The auctions had a combined pre-sale estimate of £113.3 million to £162.9 million. The top price was paid for Nature morte à la nappe à carreaux, 1915, by Juan Gris (1887-1927) which sold for £34,802,500/ $56,658,470/ €41,832,605, setting a new world record price for the artist at auction (estimate: £12-18 million, pictured above). In total, 35 works of art sold for over £1 million / 43 for over $1 million, and four artist records were set, led by Juan Gris and also including records for a work by Carlo Carrà (lot 110), Le Corbusier (lot 14) and Dorothea Tanning (lot 124).

Jay Vincze, International Director and Head of The Impressionist and Modern Art Department, Christie’s London: “We are thrilled with tonight?s results, which represent the highest total for a sale held in London in any category. We were particularly pleased with the result of the private Swiss collection which more than doubled its pre-sale estimate with every work sold, and three new world records established. The energy of the sale and the depth of bidding was exceptional, particularly on the top lots, underpinned by both the quality of the works on offer and the global nature of both new and established buyers and bidders.”