Giovanna Bertazzoni, Vice Chairman, 20th / 21st Century Art Department, Christie’s: “This June at Christie’s, we curated a selection of works that reflected the unique cultural programme in London, placing portraiture at the centre in recognition of the highly anticipated re-opening of the National Portrait Gallery. Masterpieces of both the 20^th and 21^st centuries led the sales, with Signac’s exquisite depiction of Saint-Tropez and Basquiat’s iconic portrait in homage to Pablo Picasso, each drawing competitive global bidding.”

• Paul Signac’s Calanque des Canoubiers (Pointe de Bamer), Saint-Tropez realised the top price this evening of £8,015,000

• Jean-Michel Basquiat’s iconic tribute to the legacy of Picasso Untitled (Pablo Picasso) was sold for £6,462,500 to a client in the room. Having led Christie’s 20/21 sales in New York and Hong Kong, the global interest in the artist continued in London

• Spirited Bidding Witnessed for New Contemporary Names and Female Artists
  • Diane Dal-Pra’s surrealist portrait, It Belongs to You, sold to an online bidder for £113,400 against an estimate of £30,000-50,000, achieving a new world auction record for the artist
  • Sahara Longe’s Self-Portrait also sold for £113,400, marking the artist’s Evening Sale debut (estimate: £40,000-60,000)
  • Caroline Walker’s Recreation Pavilion sold for £441,000 (estimate: £150,000-250,000)
  • Louis Fratino’s Listening to a conch was the first work by the artist to be included in a Christie’s London Evening Sale, realising a price of £201,600 against an estimate of £40,000-60,000
  • Victor Man’s Weltinnenraum (World Within) saw 25 bidders competing against one another before it sold for £1,734,000, a world auction record for the artist
  • Another debut in Christie’s London Evening Sale for the artist Chase Hall saw Earl Hooker Blues in D Natural sold for £75,600, a world auction record for the artist
  • Miriam Cahn’s herumstehen, 9. + 29.1. + 13.4.17 (standing around, 9. + 29.1. + 13.4.17), sold for £201,600 (estimate: £60,000-80,000)

• Additional Highlights;
  • Etel Adnan’s Untitled sold well above estimate for £151,200
  • Pierre Soulages’ Peinture 91 x 181 cm, 26 décembre 2014 sold for £1,153,200
  • Ahmed Mater’s Magnetism (Triptych) realised £189,000, a world auction record for the artist

• Celebrating the re-opening of the National Portrait Gallery, portraiture was a focus within the 20^th / 21^st Century: London Evening Sale:
  • Edgar Degas’ Autoportrait, vers sa vingt-et-unième année achieved £554,400
  • Pablo Picasso’s Tête de Femme realised £1,250,000, having remained in the Berggruen Family Collection since 1976
  • Lucian Freud’s incredible self-portrait A Man (Self-portrait), which had never been seen at auction before, sold for £1,734,000

• As the auction house for private collections worldwide, Christie’s offered works from A Century of Art: The Gerald Fineberg Collection, and Living Through Art: An Important Private Collection, highlighted by:
  • Kazuo Shiraga’s Choryo (Jumping Dragon) (£1,492,000)
  • Roman Opalka’s OPALKA 1965/1 -∞ Détail 2194426 – 2213198 (£554,400)

• Coinciding with the artist’s first survey exhibition in New York, Cecily Brown’s Kiss Me Stupid sold for £3,549,000

RECAPPING THE STATS

The 20^th / 21^st Century: London Evening Sale

• Total Realised £63,824,100 / $81,184,255 / €74,099,780
• Lots offered: 66
• Lots sold: 61
• Sell-through rates of: 92% by lot / 91% by value
• Top ten

For further commentary on the sale, please view Keith Gill, Head of Impressionist and Modern Art, London and Tessa Lord, Acting Interim Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art, London discussing the highlights in the post-sale press conference link here.

Sales continue with the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale on 29 June, the Impressionist and Modern Art Day and Works on Paper Sale on Friday 30 June, and First Open: Post-War and Contemporary Art Online, which remains open for bidding until 5 July

Selfhood: Explorations of Being and Becoming in 20th and 21st Century Art, a selling exhibition focusing on art as a vehicle for the expression of self-identity, part of the National Portrait Gallery’s Portrait Mode campaign, remains on view until 13 July. The cross-platform exhibition will also be available online until 31 August and includes works by Tracey Emin, Lucian Freud, Alice Neel, Suzanne Valadon and many more.