René Magritte “L’empire des lumières”
Some serious money was spent at Christie’s Impressionist and Modern sale last night. The high spot for the evening was van Gogh’s Labourer dans un champ which hammered down at $72M ($81.3M with commission) and Leger’s Contraste de formes only (ha ha) made $62M ($70.1M with commissions) … they were expecting $65-$85M — oh well!
Of the 68 works offered, 60 sold (88.2%) and the total take was $479.3M — pre-sale estimate range was $360-$476M. The action continues today with their day sale and then tonight, we move over to Sotheby’s for their sale … which has no $50M plus lots.
Source: Van Gogh’s Insane Asylum View Sells for $81.3 Million at Auction
Source: Christie’s $479.3m Impressionist and Modern sale hits highest total since 2007 | The Art Newspaper