Old Master & British Paintings Evening Sale

The Old Master & British Paintings Evening Sale realised £11,562,250/$18,603,660/€11,426,147, selling 54% by lot and 70% by value.

The top lot was Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678), The Meeting of Odysseus and Nausicaa.

Richard Knight, co-Chairman of Old Master and 19th Century Paintings and Georgina Wilsenach, Head of Old Master & British Paintings at Christie’s London: "Recent auctions of Old Masters at Christie’s have attracted bidders from around the world and this sale continued that trend. We welcomed private and trade buyers from 15 countries, with participation from Asia and Russia; works such as the Wright of Derby (lot 47) drew in further new collectors to the category. We were particularly pleased to once again present notable re-discoveries to the market, led by the Jordaens – which set a world record price for the artist at auction – and the Wright of Derby. Their strong results demonstrate the continuing interest in rare Flemish and British works for which there is always a strong demand. 2012 has been a remarkable year for the Old Master and British Paintings market; Christie’s London sale in July broke boundaries realising the highest ever total for the category. We look forward to our Day sale on 5 December; Old Master Prints sale on 6 December and Works on Paper sale at South Kensington on 6 December; followed by our sales in New York on 30 and 31 January 2013, which will be led by Madonna and Child by Fra Bartolomeo and the Rockefeller Madonna, Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist by Sandro Botticelli."