Art in America: Records smashed at fall auctions - Front Page

After several years marked by slumps and scandals, New York's three biggest auction houses were on the rebound this fall. The salesrooms at Sotheby's, Christie's, and Phillips de Pury & Luxembourg were packed during the fortnight of evening auctions of Impressionist, modern and contemporary are Incense bidding and some wild spending sprees energized each sale, resulting in a number of record-breaking auction prices for individual artists and the strongest season totals for Sotheby's and Christie's since fall 2000. Sotheby's was on top this time, pulling in $244.1 million. Christie's was not far behind with a $223.5-million total, while Phillips, which participated only in the contemporary-art week, took in $14.7 million. Final prices quoted here include the auction house commissions: Sotheby's charges 20 percent of the first $100,000 and 12 percent of the rest; Christie's commission is 19.5 percent of the first $100,000 and 12 percent of the rest; Phillips charges 19.5 percent of the first $100,000, and 10 percent of any amount above that.

Impressionist and Modern:

A lively evening sale at Christie's on Tuesday, Nov. 4, kicked off the season and set the tone for the following two weeks. The auction's total, $117 million, was in the middle range of the night's $90.5-$125.2-million presale estimate, and 43 of the 51 lots offered sold. Modigliani's large canvas Reclining Nude (on Her Side), 1917, from the collection of Las Vegas casino magnate Stephen A. Wynn, was the evening's cop lot, It sold co an anonymous phone bidder for $26.9 million (est. $20-$25 million), a record auction price for the artist Another auction record was set for Leger, when his classic Cubist painting Woman in Red and Green (1914) shot past its $15-million high estimate to sell for $22.4 million. An auction high was also set for Henry Moore when his large bronze Three Piece Reclining Figure Draped (1975) brought $6.2 million, above its $5-million high estimate. Among the other highlights of the sale were van Gogh's brilliant watercolor study for his well-known painting Bridge of Langlois at Arles (1888), which sold for $8.3 million (est. $6-$8 million), and a Giacometti bronze Bust of Diego (1955), which brought $2.4 million (est. $600,000-$800,000).

The following evening at Sotheby's was similarly vigorous. Although 17 of the 57 lots offered failed to sell, the evening's total, $125.5 million, was within the $111.8-$155.9-million pre-sale estimate. New auction records were established for six artists. The star lot, Klimt's large landscape Villa at Attersee (1917), brought a whopping $29.1 million; it exceeded its $25-million high estimate and set a new auction record for the artist. Monet's Waterlilies (1908), a particularly luminous example from the series, brought $10.4 million (est. $10-$15 million); and a large van Gogh watercolor, Harvest in Provence (1988), garnered $10.3 million (est. $7-$9 million).

Among other auction records, Alexej yon Jawlensky's vibrant portrait of the model Schokk0 (1910), with a green face, sold for $8.3 million (est. $5-$7 million); and a large canvas by German Neue Sachlichkeit painter George Scholz, featuring a stylized portrait of Lenin, Of Things to Come (1922), garnered $579,200 (est. $200,000-$300,000). However, despite these successes, a number of major lots by artists including Picasso, Bonnard and Kandinsky were bought in.

Contemporary:

Building upon the momentum of the previous week, Christie's Post-War and Contemporary art sale on Tuesday evening, Nov. 11, produced consistently strong results. The total, $62 million, was in the middle range of its $50.3-$68.4-million estimate. All but 11 of the 68 lots offered sold; 18 went for over $1 million, and new auction records were set for 11 artists. The top lot, a large untitled 1963 canvas by Mark Rothko, was knocked down for $7.2 million, well above its $6-million high estimate. Alexander Calder's auction record was broken when his 11-foot-high untitled red steel stabile (1968) brought $5.8 million (est. $4-$5 million). Gray Numbers (1957), a Jasper Johns painting from the collection of the late MOMA curator Dorothy C. Miller, sold for $5.3 million (est. $5-$7 million); another work from the Miller collection, a small, untitled 1960 canvas-and-wire construction by Lee Bontecou, trounced its $70,000 high estimate to sell for $260,000.

One of the night's high points was Celebration (1960), a large abstract canvas by Lee Krasner, which was acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art for $1.9 million, far above its $300,000-$400,000 estimate and a record auction price for the artist. A medium-sized canvas by Clyfford Still, 1745-R (1945), went for $1.9 million (est. $1.2-$1.6 million), another artist auction record.

Fireman and Drunk (1989), one of Richard Prince's large "joke paintings," was knocked down for $365,900, more than double its high estimate; and Jeff Koons's bronze Lifeboat (1985) brought $2 million (est. $1.6-$1.9 million). A figure study by Marlene Dumas, Wet Dreams (1987), sold for $332,300 (est. $120,000-$160,000), an auction record for the artist; and a photo triptych by Matthew Barney, Cremaster 2-Genealogy (1999), fetched $186,700 (est. $120,000-$180,000).

No. 3 (1953-54), a large painting by Joan Mitchell, shot past its $400,000-$600,000 estimate to sell for $903,500, an auction record for the artist, while Andy Warhors small Self Portrait painting, part of the series upon which the current U.S. 37-cent postage stamp is based, went for $1.4 million (est. $700,000-$900,000). While the sale was an overall success, there were a few notable casualities, including important lots by Yves Klein, Roy Lichtenstein and David Smith.

The totals at Sotheby's the following night were even more impressive. The evening's take was $74.6 million (the presale estimate was $66.9-$92.6 million), with 55 of the 68 lots sold and seven new artist auction records established. De Kooning's classic Ab-Ex work Spike's Folly 1 (1959) was the top lot, bringing $11.2 million (est. $10-$15 million). Second was a large Rothko, Number 8 (White Stripe), 1958, which brought $8.9 million (est. $8-$10 million). Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1982 painting Untitled (Two Heads on Gold) sold for $4.6 million (est. $2.5-$3.5 million); and David Smith's small 1959 bronze Walking Dida brought $1.5 million, about double its high estimate. Brice Marden's 10 (Dialog 2), 1987-88. went for $2.5 million (est. $2-$3 million), a record price for the artist at auction.

Agnes Martin's auction record was broken when her spare white Leaves (1966), from the Vera G. List estate, was knocked down for $2.6 million (est. $1.8-$2.2 million). New auction highs were also reached for Hans Hofmann, whose 1963 abstraction In Upper Regions brought $1.1 million (est. $400,000-$600,000), and Susan Rothenberg, whose painting of a pair of horses, Layering (1974-76), sold for $1 million (est. $600,000-$800,000).

Andreas Gursky's large photo, Chicago Board of Trade (1997), brought $478,500, far above its $350,000 high estimate. And, for the second night in a row, Lee Bontecou wowed the auction crowd when her untitled 1959-60 wall-hung construction zoomed past its $70,000 high estimate to sell for $456,000, a record price for the artist at auction.

On Thursday evening, Nov. 13, Phillips conducted a successful sale of contemporary works. The night's $11-million total was near the $11.4-million high presale estimate, and only 6 of the 55 works offered were bought in. Record prices were attained for 11 artists. The top lot was Damien Hirst's 2001 sculpture Something Solid Beneath the Surface of All Creatures Great and Small, consisting of a large metal-framed glass cabinet containing various animal skeletons. The work sold for $1.16 million (est. $800,000-$1.2 million), a record auction price for the artist. Among other stellar prices were $460,500 for Richard Prince's Untitled (Cowboy), 1999, several times its $120,000 high estimate, and $427,500 for Luc Tuymans's Within, a large painting of a cage, far above its $200,000 high estimate; these were auction records for both artists. New highs were also set for the young German figurative painter Daniel Richter, whose large canvas Gedian (2002) brought $240,500 (est. $40,000-$60,000); the late Juan Munoz, whose sculpture Looking Sideways (1996-97) sold for $185,500 (est. $100,000-$150,000); and Wire Delvoye, whose stained-glass sculpture St. Stephanus 11 (1990) went for $89,650 (est. $50,000-$70,000). A found-object-and-light sculpture by Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Wasted Youth (2000), brought $218,500 (est. $100,000-$150,000), and a Pierre et Gilles photo, Madonna of the Sacred Heart (1991) brought $196,500 (est. $40,000-$60,000); these were auction records for both artist-teams.

Daytime sales at all three auction houses produced some notable results. At Christie's, John Chamberlain's auction record was demolished when his large, black and silver freestanding piece Murmurous Moto, Maestro (1991) sold for $567,500 (est. $150,000-$200,000), and a new auction high was reached by Malcolm Morley when his large painting Farewell to Crete (1984) sold for $343,500 (est. $120,000-$160,000).

At Sotheby's, Barbara Kruger's large photo work Money Can Buy You Love (1985) sold for $108,000 (est. $40,000-$60,000); and Elizabeth Peyton's small canvas Jarvis and Liam Smoking (1997) was knocked down for $108,000 (est. $40,000-$60,000). A 1962-63 Marisol sculpture, Baby Boy, sold for $131,200 (est $40,000-$60,000); a large word painting by Glenn Ligon, Walt Whitman #1 (1991) brought $87,000 (est. $50,000-$70,000)--all auction records for those artists. At Phillips, Sharon Lockhart's large photo diptych Julie/Thomas sold for $34,655 (est. $20,000-$30,000), and Teresita Fernandez's wall sculpture Double Orange Climber (2001) went for $34,655 ($20,000-$30,000).