POST WAR AND CONTEMPORARY AND ITALIAN EVENING AUCTIONS COMBINED TOTAL

£78,729,000 / $121,793,764 / €106,756,524

Running Total for Frieze Week Auctions at Christie’s to Date:

£93,704,125 / $144,660,779 / €126,748,315

POST WAR EVENING AUCTION ACHIEVES:

£35,562,500 / $55,015,188 / €48,222,750

RECORD BREAKING ITALIAN EVENING SALE ACHIEVES:

£43,166,500 / $66,778,576 / €58,533,774

14 ARTIST RECORDS FOR:

Vincenzo Agnetti, Joe Bradley, Gianni Colombo, Nicole Eisenman, Luciano Fabro,  

Lucio Fontana, Charline von Heyl, Gerard Laing, Giorgio Morandi, Albert Oehlen,

 Giuseppe Uncini, Jonas Wood, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and Toby Ziegler

London – On October 16, Christie’s London evening auctions of Post-War & Contemporary Art and The Italian Sale realised a combined total of £78,729,000 / $121,793,764 / € 106,756,524.  Together with the sale of ‘A Visual Odyssey: Selections from LAC (Lambert Art Collection) on Wednesday this brings the total of auctions at Christie’s during Frieze week to £93,704,125 / $144,660,779 / €126,748,315 to date. The Italian Sale reached the highest total for any auction of 20^th-century Italian art. The top price was paid for Peter Doig’s, Cabin Essence painted in 1993-4, which sold for £9,602,500 / $14,855,068 / €13,020,990, exceeding its estimate in the region of £9 million and following the record set for the artist at Christie’s last season. Registered bidders from 47 countries across five continents demonstrated the continued strength of the global contemporary art market, with 22 lots selling for over £1 million and 33 for over $1 million.

 Eight artist records were established for Post-War and Contemporary artists: Joe Bradley, Nicole Eisenman,

Charline von Heyl, Gerald Laing, Albert Oehlen, Jonas Wood, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and Toby Ziegler. Another highlight was the highest price for an Andy Warhol 24 inch Flower painting.   Joe Bradley’s Untitled matched the current world record at auction, showing Christie’s strength of offering in the contemporary painting market. Six artist records were established in the Italian Sale: Vincenzo Agnetti; Gianni Colombo; Luciano Fabro; Giorgio Morandi and Giuseppe Uncini.

“We are thrilled with the results of this evening’s auction. Christie’s is dedicated to developing relationships with clients in a special way, by offering the freshest material. This sale brought together some of the most in-demand paintings and provided us with the opportunity to display classic German artists such as Albert Oehlen, Martin Kippenberger and Gerhard Richter alongside the major contemporary artists such as Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Jonas Wood, Amy Sillman and Charline von Heyl who are forming the next generation of painters. Fourteen artist records were set demonstrating the interest and sophistication of the global art market today.  We will continue to innovate and tell new narratives to this audience. ”
Edmond Francey, Head of Department, Post-War and Contemporary Art, London

“Christie’s has placed emphasis on educating an international set of collectors since our first sale 15 years ago and tonight’s sale achieved not only a record-breaking total but provided a platform for bidders from 42 countries. We are committed to introducing new artists to the market so as well as works by Fontana and Boetti we are delighted that records were set for Lucio Fabro, Vincenzo Agnetti and Giuseppe Uncini. The unparalleled interest in the Italian Sales reflect what is going on across London and New York right now and establishes our commitment to the field.”

Mariolina Bassetti, Chairman and Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art, Italy

Post-War and Contemporary Evening Auction

With sell through rates of 85% by lot and 92% by value, the Post War and Contemporary Evening Auction achieved a total of £35,562,500 / $55,015,188 / € 48,222,750.   Led by Peter Doig’s Cabin Essence, one of the largest of his early series of works, which was part of his Turner-Prize exhibition in 1994, and sold for a figure of £9,602,500 / $14,855,068 / €13,020,990. 

With almost 90% of the works offered for the first time at auction, new generation painting was hotly in demand, redefining the market for many featured artists.  This was evidenced by an energetic start to the evening with new artist records set for artists including Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, whose Knave (2011) sold for £446,500 ($690,736 / €605,454) over five times its pre-sale high estimate of £80,000. The painting was pursued on the telephone and in the room, going on to set a new artist’s record, at more than tripling her previous record of £146,500.  This enthusiastic start was quickly followed by Jonas Wood’s Untitled (MV Landscape) (2008), which established a record breaking figure of £542,500 / $839,248/ €735,630, almost £200,000 over the pre-sale estimate of £250,000 to £350,000, setting a new artist’s record for a work at auction, and by Adrian Ghenie’s Pie Fight Interior (2012), which sold for £446,500 / $690,736 / €605,454. Charline von Heyl’s painting was sold for £110,500 / $170,944 / €149,838 setting a new record for her work at auction while Amy Sillman’s Platypus achieved more than double its low estimate of £70,000 to achieve £158,500 / $245,200 / €214,926.  

Another artist that was much sought after was Gerald Laing, currently showing as part of Tate Modern’s ‘The World Goes Pop’ exhibition, whose Commemoration (1965) had not been seen in public since 1965 and sold for £1,202,500 / $1,860,268 / €1,630,590, breaking the artist’s previous record set at Christie’s last year. 

German painting also drew strong interest from collectors with Albert Oehlen’s Untitled (1989) achieving £1,142,500 / $1,767,448 / €1,549,230, more than twice its low estimate of £400,000, setting a new record and confirming the seventh record for his work held by Christie’s.  More highlights included a Gerhard Richter painting which sold for £2,658,500 / $4,112,700 / €3,604,926 and a 21 panel painting by Martin Kippenberger that sold at £2,434,500 / $3,766,172 / €3,301,182 with huge interest in a Günther Förg that doubled its low estimate of £140,000 and sold for £362,500 / $560,788 / €491,550.

The Italian Sale

With sell through rates of 90% by lot and 96% by value, the Italian Sale achieved a new world record with a total of £43,166,500 / $66,778,576 / € 58,533,774 with 14 works sold for over £1 million and 21 over $1 million. New records were established for Vincenzo Agnetti, Giorgio Morandi, Luciano Fabro, Giuseppe Uncini and Gianni Colombo. Alberto Burri’s 1961 Rosso Plastica M1 led the sale, having been in the same collection since 1969 and with the artist currently the subject of a retrospective at the Guggenheim New York, it was sold for £3,442,500 / $5,325,548 / €4,668,030. Suspended from the ceiling, Fabro’s most flamboyant and varied of the ‘Italie’ sculptures achieved the record breaking price of £2,714,500 / $4,199,332 / €3,680,862, more than three times its high estimate of £80,000. 

Eleven Lucio Fontana works achieved a combined total of £13,235,500/ $20,475,319 / € 17,947,338 while ten works by Alghiero Boetti totalled £4,153,000 / $6,424,691 / € 5,631,468. Four works by Enrico Castellani achieved £4,266,000 / $6,599,502 / €5,784,696 alongside strong sales of Michelangelo Pistoletto and Arnaldo Pomodoro.  

Christie’s auctions during Frieze week continue on 17 October with the Post War and Contemporary Day Auction where 26 works will be auctioned to benefit the Schinkel Pavilion in Berlin and London’s Tricycle Theatre, and are followed by the Post War and Contemporary Online Auction which remains open for bidding until 20 October.