CHRISTIE'S SPRING MARQUEE WEEK TOTALS $922 MILLION
NEW YORK – Thursday, May 18, 2023, Christie’s closed out its Spring Marquee Week of 20th and 21st Century Art Sales on a high note, generating a total of $922,194,766 across eight live auctions over the course of eight days. In total, the sales were sold 89% by lot and 102% hammer against low estimate. The season was a celebration of exceptional collections, offering works from esteemed private estates and collections including S.I. Newhouse, Gerald Fineberg, Paul G. Allen, Alan and Dororthy Press, Sophie F. Danforth, Jacques and Emy Cohenca, among others. A Basquiat masterpiece was the top lot of the week and 34 new records were established in total, 15 for female artists. Sales saw vibrant participation worldwide with active bidding on the phones, online, and live in the Rockefeller Center saleroom.
Bonnie Brennan, President of Christie's Americas, remarked, “This season, Christie's showed why we are the auction house of record for the world's most important collections. Our Marquee Week was anchored by exquisite masterworks from S.I. Newhouse’s collection, as well as the eclectic and diverse group of works assembled by Gerald Fineberg. From the record-breaking Rousseau last Thursday evening to the sale of the magnificent Basquiat history painting earlier this week, the past eight days in our Rockefeller Center sale room have been absolutely unforgettable and I could not be prouder of the Christie’s team.”
Masterpieces from the S.I. Newhouse Collection
Thursday, May 11, 2023, Christie’s Spring Marquee Week of 20th and 21st Century Art sales began with Masterpieces from the S.I. Newhouse Collection—a sale featuring 16 artworks which sold 100% by lot, and 105.6% by low estimate, totaling $177,792,000. With this sale, the Collection of S.I. Newhouse is now established as the sixth highest collection to sell at auction, with a combined total of $415,767,000. The top lot of the sale was Francis Bacon’s 1969 Self-Portrait, which sold for $34,622,500, followed by Willem de Kooning’s Orestes, which achieved $30,885,000.
Thursday, May 11, 2023, the 20th Century Evening Sale immediately followed the sale of the S.I. Newhouse Collection, offering more than 50 works foregrounded by a number of estates and private collections, including the Collection of Alan and Dorothy Press and the Paul G. Allen Collection. The sale total was $328,779,600, selling 81% by lot, 109% hammer against low estimate. The top lot of the sale was Henri Rousseau’s, Les Flamants, which made $43,535,000, establishing an artist record. An additional two artist records were set during the course of the sale for Agnes Pelton and for Ken Price. Other highlights included Pablo Picasso’s Nature morte à la fenêtre, which sold for $41,810,000; Ed Ruscha’s Burning Gas Station from the Press Collection which achieved $22,260,000, and Georgia O’Keeffe’s Black Iris VI from the Allen Collection, which sold for $21,110,000. Together, the sales on Thursday evening achieved $506,571,600, selling 86% by lot and 107% hammer against low estimate.
Post-War & Contemporary Art Day Sale
Friday, May 12, 2023, sales continued with the Post-War & Contemporary Art Day Sale. The sale achieved $80,464,790 selling 90% by lot, and 114% hammer against low estimate. The top lot of the sale was Number 28, 1949 by Jackson Pollock from the collection of Ann and Gordon Getty which sold for $6,705,000 –the second highest price ever in a Day sale. Nine new records were established during the sale, including Set List Focus by Jenna Gribbon which sold for $403,200—more than ten times the low estimate.
Impressionist and Modern Works on Paper Sale
Saturday May 13, 2023, Impressionist and Modern Works on Paper Sale totaled $10,684,100, selling 83% by lot and 114% hammer against low estimate. The top lot of the sale was Claude Monet’s La Tamise, which sold for $2,954,000. The second and third highest prices in the auction came for a Van Gogh drawing from the estate of Helen Sonnenberg Tucker titled Weesman met een hoge hoed in zijn linkerhand and Picasso’s Tête d'homme au chapeau from the Orange Blossom Collection—both sold for $529,200.
Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale
Saturday May 13, 2023, the Impressionist and Modern Works on Paper sale was immediately followed by the Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale, which totaled $28,505,006, selling 84% by lot and 84% hammer against low estimate. The sale’s top lot was Picasso’s Le peintre et son modèle which achieved $3,317,000. Together, Saturday’s Impressionist and Modern Art sales achieved $39,189,106, selling 84% by lot, 94% hammer against low estimate.
Monday, May 15, 2023, the 21st Century Evening Sale totaled an incredible $98,802,500 selling 96% by lot, and 123% hammer against low estimate. The top lot of the evening was Jean-Michel Basquiat’s El Gran Espectaculo (The Nile), which sold for the phenomenal price of $67,110,000 after more than five minutes of competitive bidding. Nine lots in the sale set artist records, more than half of which were for female artists.
A Century of Art: The Gerald Fineberg Collection Part I
Wednesday, May 17, 2023, A Century of Art: The Gerald Fineberg Part I totaled $153,053,300 selling 91% by lot, and 77% hammer against low estimate. The top lot of the sale was Christopher Wool’s Untitled, which sold for $10,070,000. This rich and diverse collection established five new records, three for female artists: Alma Thomas, Jo Baer, and Alina Szapocznikow. Two were set by artists of color, Thomas and Barkley Hendricks, whose portrait of Stanley Whitney sold for $6,100,000.
A Century of Art: The Gerald Fineberg Collection Part II
Thursday, May 18, 2023, A Century of Art: The Gerald Fineberg Part II concluded a successful week, achieving $44,113,470 bringing the collection total to $197,166,770. The sale was 97% sold by lot, 100% hammer against low estimate. The top lot of the sale was The Future by Ed Ruscha, selling for $1,865,000 and eight new artist records were established. Continuing the theme of the season, female artists achieved fantastic results, including exceptional prices for Lynne Drexler and Grace Hartigan.
MARQUEE WEEK RECORDS
20th Century Evening Sale | May 11, 2023
Henri Rousseau, Les Flamants sold for $43,535,000
Agnes Pelton, The Fountains sold for $3,438,000
Ken Price, M. Green sold for $554,400
Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale | May 12, 2023
Jenna Gribbon, Set List Focus sold for $403,200
Jesse Mockrin, The Pursuit sold for $113,400
Maysha Mohamedi, Too Young to Go Steady sold for $107,100
Shona McAndrew, Jade sold for $23,940
Alvin Armstrong, Ball Isn’t Life sold for $15,120
Santiago Calatrava, Untitled (Nude) sold for $6,300
David Hockney, Caribbean Tea Time sold for $378,000 (record for the edition)
Hilary Pecis, Scrabble Board sold for $44,100 (record for a work on paper)
Piero Dorazio, Untitled sold for $8,190 (record for a ceramic work)
21st Century Evening Sale | May 15, 2023
Robin F. Williams, Ice Queen sold for $428,400
Simone Leigh, Stick sold for $2,712,000
Danielle McKinney, We Need to Talk sold for $201,600
Rebecca Ackroyd, Garden Tender sold for $56,700
Diane Arbus, A box of ten photographs sold for $1,008,000
Vojtěch Kovařík, Aphrodite sold for $378,000
El Anatsui Prophet sold for $2,228,000
Peter Saul, Human Dignity sold for $819,000
William Eggleston, Untitled 1970 sold for $1,008,000 (for a single work)
A Century of Art: The Gerald Fineberg Collection Part I | May 17, 2023
Alma Thomas, A Fantastic Sunset sold for $3,922,000
Barkley Hendricks, Stanley sold for $6,100,000
Jo Baer, Untitled sold for $327,600
Alina Szapocznikow, Portret Wielokrotny (Dwukrotny) [Multiple Portrait (Double)] sold for $907,200
Milton Resnick, Ulysses sold for $252,000
A Century of Art: The Gerald Fineberg Collection Part II | May 18, 2023
Melvin Edwards, Ile Ogun, Planetary, Road to Goma, Alterable [Four Works] sold for $409,500
Tokujin Yoshioka, ‘Water Block’ Bench sold for $226,800
Pat Passlof, Mulberry sold for $252,000
Joseph Glasco, Marvello sold for $34,020
William T. Williams, Old Bethel sold for $81,900
Marcia Marcus, Emily sold for $46,620
Ryuji Tanaka, Untitled sold for $75,600
Willie Cole, House and Field sold for $20,160
MARQUEE WEEK COLLECTION TOTALS
The Gerald Fineberg Collection: $197,166,770
The S.I. Newhouse Collection: $177,792,000
The Paul G. Allen Collection: $88,856,000
The Alan and Dorothy Press Collection: $51,593,310
The Estate of Sophie F. Danforth totaling $25,661,680
The Collection of Jacques and Emy Cohenca: $21,653,680
The Collection of Nicole Emmerich Teweles: $10,015,090
The Collection of Joan and Julius Jacobson: $5,260,500
The Orange Blossom Collection: $3,511,620
