Sotheby’s February sale of contemporary art in London was record-breaking, realizing $189,423,299. It was the highest total for any contemporary art sale ever staged in Europe and the second highest total for any auction ever conducted at Sotheby’s in Europe (the highest total for a Sotheby’s sale in Europe was achieved three weeks earlier when its evening sale of Impressionist and Modern art on February 5 realized $232 million).
Six artist records were set for Gerhard Richter, Lucio Fontana, Juan Munoz, Gilbert & George, Paula Rego and Malcolm Morley.
Remarkable prices were seen across the board, and the top lot was Francis Bacon’s masterpiece, “Study of Nude with Figure in a Mirror,” 1969, a rare full-length portrait of the artist’s close friend Henrietta Moraes, which sold for $39,779,291 to a European private collector. This price follows last year’s record $52,680,000 for the artist at auction, achieved for “Study From Innocent X” at Sotheby’s New York in May 2007.
The saleroom broke into applause when Richter’s photo painting “Kerze (Candle)” from 1983 sold for $15,891,584 †more than three times its presale high estimate. Eleven bidders competed for the work.
The result immediately followed another success for the artist, when “Struktur,” 1979, achieved $9,194,096, after pursuit by eight bidders and gasps from the audience.
A work widely regarded as one of Lucio Fontana’s masterpieces, “Concetto Spaziale, La Fine di Dio” dating from 1963 achieved a record $20,579,826 for a work by the artist at auction. The egg-shaped canvas was one of only two gold works in this series. Pursued by five bidders, its price saw the saleroom once again erupt into applause. The phenomenal result saw Fontana become the second European postwar artist, after Francis Bacon, to break the $20 million barrier at auction.
“Three Self Portraits,” 1986, by Andy Warhol achieved $22,812,322. This rare trinity of canvases in the colors of the American flag, came from the artist’s only exhibition devoted to self-portraits, conducted at the Anthony d’Offay Gallery, London in 1986.
In the sale, Chinese contemporary art of the highest quality by some of the most important artists living and working in China today achieved a total of $11,917,343. Zhang Xiaogang’s “Big Family No. 1,” executed in 2001 †by far the largest work by the artist to come to auction to date and the culmination of the artist’s “Bloodlines” series †was the top selling lot of the section, selling for $3,389,607. Other works in the section that also performed well include “Comrades” by Zhang Xiaogang, which commanded $2,273,359, Yan Pei-Ming’s “Silver Bruce Lee” †the first image of the Kung Fu icon ever to appear at auction †which brought $1,380,360, and “Fools in the Night” by Yue Minjun, which sold for $1,826,859.
Prices reported include the buyer’s premium. For information, 20 7293 5000 or www.sothebys.com .
