London Autumn Auction Season Starts, Classic Works of Dali And Baselitz Won The First Battle
Every October is the boom season of art market with both modern and contemporary masterpieces. After fierce bidding in New York and Hong Kong, the major auctions in London have already began. Impressionist & Modern Art of Bonhams and 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale of Phillips were set off at October 15 and October 20 in local time respectively. A total of 81 lots were sold in this two auctions, with a sold-by-lot rate of 76% and total turnover is above GBP £37 million. 8 works were sold over one million pounds among which. Now, please follow ArtPro to view the recent auctions in London.
20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale of Phillips
On local time October 20, the 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale of Phillips' London has ended with GBP £26,583,980. The auction presented 40 exquisite works by artists like Georg Baselitz, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Yoshitomo Nara. The total 36 pieces were sold, with a sold-by-lot rate of 90%. 30% of the works were sold above the estimated price, and 7 works received a price over one million pounds.
Top1 Lot In Auction:
The 2.5-meters-high large-scaled oil painting Das letzte Selbstbildnis I is the most classic of Georg Baselitz's signatured upside-down style. The color of this work is vibrant, and it comes from the most important period of Baselitz's career. It received an estimated of GBP £4.7 million-6 million before auction, and eventually sold with GBP £4.1 million. The final price was GBP £4.9835 million include commission fee. This lot is the most expensive piece in this auction and set a record as Baselitz's personal Top3.
Top2 Lot In Auction:
On July 10 this year, George Condo broke his personal record at Christie's Hong Kong. The lot The Age of Reason is nearly 2 meters high. It is an exquisite piece Condo's that were completed in 2010. The silhouettes of seven figures on vermilion background, bringing a multi-level visual experience to the audience. The Age of Reason finally sold for GBP £2.261 million which entered the George Condo's Top 10 list.
Top3 Lot In Auction:
To Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1982 was an important year. After held his first solo exhibition, Basquiat began his way of a superstar. The large-scaled work Untitled (Pestus) on paper was completed in 1982. The black building structure in the painting are surrounded by symbols like arrows, wavy lines and many English slogans, which represent Basquiat's exploration of street art. The appraisal for this work was between GBP £2 million and GBP £3 million, it was finally sold for £2.2 million, making it the third most expensive lot in the auction.
Top4 Lot In Auction:
In Keith Haring's unique mask series, only 8 pieces were created in 1987, and Untitled (Grace Jones Mask) is one of them. This brightly colored work with size over one meter high has been sold for GBP £1.7165 million.
Top5 Lot In Auction:
Flower is one of the most representative themes in the works of American Pop Art master Andy Warhol. In 1964, Warhol started his "Flower" series at Leo Castelli's gallery in New York, which were sold out immediately. The print on auction at this time were sold for GBP £1.5955 million.
Other Highlighted Lots:
Post-70s artist Titus Kaphar broke his personal record at Sotheby’s New York on October 2, and this time his work Alternate Endings sold for a price that is 7.7 times higher than the low estimate, which became Kaffar's second expensive work. With another artist Emily Mae Smith, who is also a female artist born in the 1970s and broke her personal record.
In addition, Banksy, Sean Scully and Dana Schutz have achieved good results. Nicholas Party updated his personal Top3, and Hernan Bas updated his personal Top4. For more auction results, please click below to enter the auction session to view.
Impressionist & Modern Art of Bonhams
Impressionist & Modern Art of Bonhams' London scheduled to be held in March was postponed to this season due to the pandemic. On October 15, 45 works were sold at auction, with a total turnover of GBP £11,145,278 and a sold-by-lot rate of 68.2%. The surrealist artist Salvador Dali's double joint works led the auction with high prices.
Top1 Lot In Auction:
Couple Aux Têtes Pleines De Nuages represents the classic themes of Salvador Dali's paintings. The imagery in this painting is unique with a frame shaped as is a pair of figures of Dali and his wife Gala. This doublet was created at the peak of Dali's creation and was collected by Italian modernist composer Celci for more than half a century. This time, it was released on auction and sold with over GBP £8.17 million, which is the only piece in this auction that sold for more than one million pounds. It broke Dali’s personal Top3 at the same time.
Top2 Lot In Auction:
In the early 1920s, Tsuguharu Fujita was already the most favorite Eastern artist in Paris school. Painted in 1923, Femme allongée, Youki is an oil painting of his muse Lucie Badoul. It has appeared in many important exhibitions of Tsuguharu Fujita. It was estimated at 500,000-700,000 pounds before the auction, and eventually sold with GBP £795,000.
This auction presented 14 works of Tsuguharu Fujita, including oil paintings and watercolors, and a total of 10 have been sold. Except for Femme allongée, Youki is second high-priced work in this auction, the fourth, sixth and seventh lots are all from Tsuguharu Fujita. The work La Danseuse En Blanc on paper which was created in 1918, was sold for GBP £200,000.
Top3 Lot In Auction:
Le Retour Des Régates was created in 1933 at the peak of the French painter Raoul Dufy. It has 1.1 meters long and is one of the largest painting of boat racing scenes on the auction market. This oil painting has the vigorous and romantic features of France, and has been showed in the first international exhibition in North America. This time it was sold for GBP £287,562, which became the third most expensive lot on this auction.
Julius Evola Broke Personal Record
The Italian artist Julius Evola does not have many records on market. The oil painting Senza Titolo was created in 1918 received an estimated at GBP £18,000-22,000. It was finally sold for GBP £118,812, broke Evola’s previous personal auction record in one fell swoop.
In addition, French painter Jean Souverbie's oil painting Jeune Femme À La Mandoline was sold with a price that is 18 times higher than the low-estimate, updating the artist’sTop2. The sculptor Ossip Zadkine’s elm work Ephebus was bought in. To view more auction results, please click below to enter the auction sessions.
