When you really think about the fact that $2.3 Billion worth of art changed hands in the span of 2 weeks, how can anyone really complain? Yes, there were sub-par or overestimated works that did not sell; but on the flip side, there were certain works that brought record priced (Modigliani – $170.4M and Twombly – $70.5M) and others which left their estimates in the dust!
Last night, Christie’s offered their Impressionist and Modern works of art and the sale brought in $145.5M (low end of the pre-sale estimate was $108.8M) with 59 lots being offered and 49 finding buyers (83%). The top lot was a Cubist still life by Picasso at $10.5M (top end of its pre-sale estimate was $9M). It is interesting to contemplate that for the price of the one Modigliani ($170.4M) you could have bought all 49 works in this sale and still had enough money left to buy a really nice apartment in NYC to display them.
If you would like to read more about last night’s sale and the past two weeks, use the links below:
Katya Kazakina – Bloomberg
Scott Reyburn & Robin Pogrebin – The New York Times
Pablo Picasso “La Carafe (Bouteille et verre)”