20^th-CENTURY SEASON TOTALS £190,230,950/ $274,646,341/ €233,022,370

CHRISTIE’S DELIVERS STRONGEST SELL-THROUGH RATE OF THE SEASON: OVERALL 86% BY VALUE AND 84% BY LOT
19 OF THE TOP 20 LOTS OF THE SEASON SOLD 

IMPRESSIONIST MODERN & SURREAL TOTAL: £117,788,500/ $169,546,690/ €139,991,921: SOLD 87% BY VALUE AND 83% BY LOT

POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY TOTAL: £72,442,450/ $105,099,651/ €93,030,449:
SOLD 86% BY VALUE AND 86% BY LOT

    
   
London – 20^th Century at Christie’s concluded on 12 February with a strong total of £190,230,950/ $274,646,341/ €233,022,370 across seven sales. With a robust sell-through rate for the season with 86% of works sold by value and 84% of works sold by lot, Christie’s demonstrated its expertise at reading the art market with accurate estimates and precision selling. Registered bidders from 71 countries across six continents, gave a strong indication that globalisation continues to drive the evolution of collecting today.

The Impressionist, Modern and Surreal Evening Sale on 2 February built on the strength of the category in 2015 and sold all of the top ten lots, achieving a total of £95,917,100/ $138,024,707/ €126,418,738, within the pre-sale estimates. A highlight of the season includes the highest ever total for a various owner sale for Impressionist & Modern Art and Picasso Ceramics Sale, at Christie’s South Kensington, with exceptional sell through rates of 95% by value and 90% by lot and Christie’s LIVE™ accounting for 46% of lots either sold or directly underbid online; the Picasso Ceramics portion of the sales was 100% sold. Please click here for more information on Impressionist, Modern and Surreal sales.

Continuing an assuring start to 2016, the Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction on 11 February achieved £58,099,000/$84,301,649, €74,599,116, seeing sell-through rates of 89% of works sold by lot and 84% sold by value. British painting led the results with three decades of work by Peter Doig, David Hockney, Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud achieving stand out results – the top six results were for British artists. Records established on the evening included top prices for Joseph Beuys and Robert Mangold. Another highlight, Tracey Emin and Antony Gormley donated sculptures that generated £539,000/ $782,089/ €692,076 to benefit redevelopment of the South London Gallery (for further information please click here). The following Day Auction results were similarly buoyant achieving £14,343,450/ $20,798,002/ €18,431,333, with sell-through rates of 90% by value and 85% by lot and establishing records for Aaron Garber-Maikovska and Alan Charlton. 

20^th Century at Christie’s took place from 29 January to 12 February and provided the opportunity for both new and established buyers at every level of the market.

AUCTION RECORDS
- Joseph Beuys (1921-86), Zeitpunkt: Das Massaker von Muenchen (Point of Time: The Masacre of Europe (Painted in 1972), Price Realised: £854,500 /$1,239,880 /€1,097,178 (estimate: £250,000 – 350,000)

- Alan Charlton (b. 1948), Channel Painting no.4 (Painted in 1974), Price Realised: £43,750 /$63,481 / €56,219 (estimate: £15,000 – 20,000)

- Salvador Dalí (1904-89) (for a Work on Paper), Le voyage fantastique (Executed in 1965), Price Realised: £1,426,500 / $2,052,734 / €1,880,127 (estimate: £1,200,000 – 1,800,000)

- Aaron Garber-Maikovska (b. 1978), Untitled (Executed in 2014), Price Realised: £80,500  /$116,805 / €103,442 (estimate: £20,000 – 30,000)

- Robert Mangold (b. 1937), Untitled (Painted in 1973), Price Realised: £746,500 / $1,083,172 / €958,506 (estimate: (£300,000 – 500,000)

- Peter Rose Pulham (1910-56), Grisailles Figures I (Painted in December 1947), Price Realised: £12,500 / $17,988 / €16,475 (estimate: £20,000 – 30,000)

- Georg Scholz (1890-1945), Badische Kleinstadt bei Tage (Painted in December 1922 – January 1923), Price Realised: £1,202,500 / $1,730,398 / €1,584,895 (estimate £300,000 – 500,00)

TOP TEN WORKS DURING 20^TH CENTURY AT CHRISTIE’S
- Peter Doig (b. 1959): The Architect's Home in the Ravine (Painted in 1991), Price Realised: £11,282,500/ $16,370,908/ €14,486,730 (estimate: £10,000,000 - 15,000,000)

- Max Ernst (1891-1976), The Stolen Mirror (Painted in 1941), Price Realised: £7,642,500/ $10,997,558/ €10,5072,815 (estimate: £7,000,000 - 10,000,000)

- Egon Schiele , (1890-1918), Selbstbildnis mit gespreizten Fingern (Painted in 1909), Price Realised: £7,250,500/ $10,433,470/ €9,556,159 (estimate: £6,000,000 - 8,000,000)

- Marc Chagall (1887-1985), Les mariés de la Tour Eiffel (Painted in 1928), Price Realised: £7,026,500/ $10,111,134/ €9,260,927 (estimate: £4,800,000 - 6,800,000)

- Joan Miró (1893-1983), Femme et oiseaux dans la nuit (Painted on 26 March 1968), Price Realised: £5,794,500/ $8,338,286/ €7,637,151 (estimate: £3,000,000 - 5,000,000)

- Francis Bacon (1909-1992), Two Figures (Painted in 1975), Price Realised: £5,458,500/ $7,920,284/ €7,008,714 (estimate: £5,000,000 - 7,000,000)

- Fernand Léger (1881-1955), Le moteur (Painted in May 1918), Price Realised: £5,234,500/ $7,532,446/ €6,899,071 (estimate: £4,000,000 - 6,000,000)

- Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), Ferme en Normandie, été (Hattenville) (Painted in 1882), Price Realised: £5,122,500/ $7,371,278/ €6,751,455 (estimate: £4,500,000 - 6,500,000)

- Lucian Freud (1922-2011), Head of Esther (Painted in 1982-1983), Price Realised: £4,786,500/ $6,945,212/ €6,145,866 (estimate: £2,500,000 - 3,500,000)

- Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938), Erna am Meer, Fehmarn (Painted in 1913), Price Realised: £4,786,500/ $6,887,774/ €6,308,607 (estimate: £1,500,000 - 2,500,000)­

PRESS CONTACT: Belinda Bowring | +44 (0)20 7389 2677 | email bbowring@christies.com

About Christie’s

Christie’s, the world's leading art business, had global auction, private and digital sales in 2015 that totalled £4.8 billion / $7.4 billion. Christie’s is a name and place that speaks of extraordinary art, unparalleled service and expertise, as well as international glamour. 2016 marks Christie’s 250th anniversary. Founded in 1766 by James Christie, Christie's has since conducted the greatest and most celebrated auctions through the centuries providing a popular showcase for the unique and the beautiful. Christie’s offers around 350 auctions annually in over 80 categories, including all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewellery, photographs, collectibles, wine, and more. Prices range from $200 to over $100 million. Christie's also has a long and successful history conducting private sales for its clients in all categories, with emphasis on Post-War & Contemporary, Impressionist & Modern, Old Masters and Jewellery.

Christie’s has a global presence with 54 offices in 32 countries and 12 salerooms around the world including in London, New York, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Dubai, Zürich, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Mumbai. More recently, Christie’s has led the market with expanded initiatives in growth markets such as Russia, China, India and the United Arab Emirates, with successful sales and exhibitions in Beijing, Mumbai and Dubai.

*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium. Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer’s premium and do not reflect costs, financing fees or application of buyer’s or seller’s credits.

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