The article reports on the Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sales in London during June 2013, with Sotheby’s and Christie’s competing results. Sotheby’s total was $116.8 million and Christie’s $108.4 million, with detailed figures on lots sold and unsold, and bidder participation from 38 countries. Notable works mentioned include Francis Bacon’s Three Studies for Isabel Rawsthorne (1966) and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (1982).
Katherine Boyle reports that a 17th-century Persian Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet from the Corcoran Gallery of Art sold at Sotheby’s for $33,765,000, breaking the world record for rugs sold at auction. The sale occurred during a 25-rug auction to raise funds for new acquisitions, with the anonymous phone bidder winning the piece from William Clark’s bequest.
Wassily Kandinsky's Studie zu Improvisation 3, 1909 sold for just over 21 million dollars (approximately 13.4 million pounds) at Christie's London, short of its top estimate of 24.19 million dollars and a Kandinsky auction record. The sale was part of Christie's Impressionist and modern art evening, which totaled about 64.07 million pounds ($100 million) and fell short of the pre-sale top estimate of 75.8 million pounds.
The painting Monet, Le Palais Contarini, sold for $30.8 million at Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern sale in London to an anonymous phone bidder; it last appeared at Christie’s in 1996 when purchased by the Nahmad family for $4.2 million.
The article discusses the US restraining of the 1909 Pablo Picasso painting Compotier et tasse, valued at $11.5 million, on behalf of the Italian government. It references an ongoing Italian criminal investigation involving Gabriella Amati and Angelo Maj, and notes the painting was recovered in May and restrained by a U.S. court order in New York.
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s untitled 1982 painting depicting two large figures sold at Christie’s in London for $29 million, topping the sales. The work had been expected to bring about $23 million to $30 million and was bought by an unidentified telephone bidder; it followed a recent $48.8 million record for Basquiat at Christie’s in New York.
Francis Bacon’s works were the star again at Sotheby’s contemporary art sale in London, including two paintings featuring a favorite Bacon model and a man behind glasses. The sale totaled $116.8 million with 15 works not selling, and Sotheby’s outperformed Christie’s, which totaled $108.4 million. The event featured other blue-chip names such as Lucio Fontana, Andreas Gursky and John Currin, and was described as continuing a marathon of sales across major cities.
The article reports that the Dia Art Foundation plans to sell a group of paintings and sculptures at Sotheby’s in New York on November 13 and 14 to raise at least $20 million for an acquisition fund. Works mentioned include pieces by Cy Twombly, Barnett Newman, and George Baselitz? (Not specified here). The sale is intended to grow Dia’s collection, with the foundation previously possessing works by artists such as Warhol, Walter De Maria, Joseph Beuys, Robert Ryman and John Chamberlain.
A Cy-ing Shame: Dia Ditches All Its Twomblys mentions Dia Art Foundation planning to unload nearly 30 works by Cy Twombly, John Chamberlain and Barnett Newman via Sotheby’s, including all Twombly holdings such as Poems to the Sea (Presale estimate: $6-8 million). The piece discusses the rationale and controversy surrounding the sale, citing statements from Sotheby’s press release and comments attributed to Philippe Vergne and Carol Vogel.
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (1982) sold for £18,765,875 / $28,974,511 / €22,031,137 in the London post-war and contemporary art week. The top lot of the week was Basquiat's Untitled; other highlighted works included Eduardo Chillida’s Buscando la Luz IV and the exhibition Homage to Chillida. Christie's notes a world record for a Spanish contemporary artist and remarks on rising prices for Tauba Auerbach, Ali Banisadr and Oscar Murillo.