Rocking Chair No. 3 by Henry Moore
On Wednesday, October 16th, Christie’s London hosted this year’s second set of sales focused on Modern British and Irish art. The first round in late March did relatively well, but the autumn sales did slightly better in several regards. The evening sale was short, with approximately thirty lots in total, including some familiar names grabbing the top spots. Christie’s specialists predicted Henry Moore’s bronze sculpture Rocking Chair No. 3 would become one of the top lots, assigning it a £700K to £1 million estimate range. It was one of only seven lots expected to make at least £500K that day. However, not only did Rocking Chair No. 3 exceed its high estimate, it achieved more than double that figure. Several bidders fought over the bronze until the hammer came down at £2.35 million / $3.1 million (or £2.9 million / $3.7 million w/p).
Wisteria at Englefield by Sir Stanley Spencer
The Moore was the only surprise that day at Christie’s, with the other top lots remaining relatively close to their estimates. The second and third place lots both sold for £1.1 million / $1.4 million (or £1.4 million / $1.8 million w/p). Sir Stanley Spencer’s 1954 painting Wisteria at Englefield was commissioned by Gerard Shiel, who later helped found the Stanley Spencer Gallery in 1962, shortly after the artist’s death. The painting is set at Englefield, Shiel’s manor house in Berkshire, close to the village of Cookham, where Spencer grew up. Spencer created five paintings of scenes at Englefield, considered some of his career’s most detailed landscapes. The painting last sold at Christie’s in 2015 for £962.5K w/p against a £800K high estimate. This time around, with a £800K to £1.2 million range, the Spencer sold within its estimate. The third-place lot was another bronze sculpture, Walking Woman by Lynn Chadwick. The bronze has been in the same private collection for nearly its entire existence, having been purchased by the seller in 1988 from Marlborough Gallery, which had received it directly from Chadwick. With Christie’s predicting it to sell for between £500K and £800K, Walking Woman sold slightly above estimate.
Walking Woman by Lynn Chadwick
In some ways, the March Modern British & Irish auction outperformed the most recent October sale. The springtime sale consisted of thirty-two lots predicted to bring in a total hammer of at least £14.95 million. With 41% of lots selling within estimate, the March sale brought in £18.7 million. This time, Christie’s expected the thirty lots to bring in at least £9.9 million, with the auction eventually achieving £11.6 million / $15 million. So, the March auction did better regarding the total amount compared to the estimates. However, the October sale did better than the spring sale in other ways. With sixteen lots selling within estimate, the house specialists achieved a higher accuracy rate, landing at 53%. More lots during the March sale sold over their estimates (28% compared to October’s 13%), but the October sale had a better sell-through rate. Only seven lots (23%) went unsold compared to eight (25%) getting bought in during the spring auction. Despite another Lynn Chadwick sculpture (est. £700K to £1 million) going unsold, the October sale was still successful overall.
Christie’s London Modern British & Irish Sale
Rocking Chair No. 3 by Henry Moore
On Wednesday, October 16th, Christie’s London hosted this year’s second set of sales focused on Modern British and Irish art. The first round in late March did relatively well, but the autumn sales did slightly better in several regards. The evening sale was short, with approximately thirty lots in total, including some familiar names grabbing the top spots. Christie’s specialists predicted Henry Moore’s bronze sculpture Rocking Chair No. 3 would become one of the top lots, assigning it a £700K to £1 million estimate range. It was one of only seven lots expected to make at least £500K that day. However, not only did Rocking Chair No. 3 exceed its high estimate, it achieved more than double that figure. Several bidders fought over the bronze until the hammer came down at £2.35 million / $3.1 million (or £2.9 million / $3.7 million w/p).
Wisteria at Englefield by Sir Stanley Spencer
The Moore was the only surprise that day at Christie’s, with the other top lots remaining relatively close to their estimates. The second and third place lots both sold for £1.1 million / $1.4 million (or £1.4 million / $1.8 million w/p). Sir Stanley Spencer’s 1954 painting Wisteria at Englefield was commissioned by Gerard Shiel, who later helped found the Stanley Spencer Gallery in 1962, shortly after the artist’s death. The painting is set at Englefield, Shiel’s manor house in Berkshire, close to the village of Cookham, where Spencer grew up. Spencer created five paintings of scenes at Englefield, considered some of his career’s most detailed landscapes. The painting last sold at Christie’s in 2015 for £962.5K w/p against a £800K high estimate. This time around, with a £800K to £1.2 million range, the Spencer sold within its estimate. The third-place lot was another bronze sculpture, Walking Woman by Lynn Chadwick. The bronze has been in the same private collection for nearly its entire existence, having been purchased by the seller in 1988 from Marlborough Gallery, which had received it directly from Chadwick. With Christie’s predicting it to sell for between £500K and £800K, Walking Woman sold slightly above estimate.
Walking Woman by Lynn Chadwick
In some ways, the March Modern British & Irish auction outperformed the most recent October sale. The springtime sale consisted of thirty-two lots predicted to bring in a total hammer of at least £14.95 million. With 41% of lots selling within estimate, the March sale brought in £18.7 million. This time, Christie’s expected the thirty lots to bring in at least £9.9 million, with the auction eventually achieving £11.6 million / $15 million. So, the March auction did better regarding the total amount compared to the estimates. However, the October sale did better than the spring sale in other ways. With sixteen lots selling within estimate, the house specialists achieved a higher accuracy rate, landing at 53%. More lots during the March sale sold over their estimates (28% compared to October’s 13%), but the October sale had a better sell-through rate. Only seven lots (23%) went unsold compared to eight (25%) getting bought in during the spring auction. Despite another Lynn Chadwick sculpture (est. £700K to £1 million) going unsold, the October sale was still successful overall.