20^th CENTURY AT CHRISTIE’S AND DEFINING BRITISH ART TOTALS £212,545,850 / $291,370,503 / €258,869,958

20 ARTIST RECORDS ACHIEVED INCLUDING BUFFET, AUERBACH, RILEY, LEIGHTON AND MOORE

POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART TOTALS £83,148,525 / $111,177,611 / €100,154,406

IMPRESSIONIST & MODERN AND MODERN BRITISH & IRISH TOTALS
£95,858,325 / $135,284,171 / €118,301,057

London – 20^th Century at Christie’s concluded on 30 June with a total for the season of £212,545,850 / $291,370,503 / €258,869,958. Strong overall sell-through rates of 82% by value and 81% by lot demonstrated Christie’s expertise at anticipating the market with accurate estimates across all price points and precision selling. Twenty records were set for artists including Bernard Buffet, Lynn Chadwick, Alexandre da Cunha, Stanley Cursiter, Duncan Grant, Frederic Lord Leighton, Henry Moore, Samuel Peploe, Carol Rama, Bridget Riley, Sean Scully and Thomas Daniell. Christie’s achieved seven of the top ten auction prices of the season across all houses, underlining its leading position in the market. A highlight saw Defining British Art, a cross-category evening sale that celebrates Christie’s 250^th-anniversary year, achieve a stand-out total of £99,479,500 and set a record for the most expensive British sculpture sold at auction. A further nine sales were presented over 16 days as part of 20^th Century and saw registered bidders from 75 countries across six continents confirming the global position of collecting today, which is constantly evolving and expanding.

Post War and Contemporary Art realised an overall total for the category of £83,148,525 / $111,177,611 / €118,301,057. The Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction on 29 June achieved exceptional sell through rates of 92% by lot and 98% by value which was followed by the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Auction (30 June), which sold 90% by lot and 93% by value, with three artists records set and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (Plush Safe He Think) from the Collection of Johnny Depp achieving the highest price of the sale. The top work for the category was sold as part of Defining British Art, Francis Bacon’s Version No 2 Of Lying Figure With Hypodermic Syringe (1968), which achieved £20,242,500 / $27,104,708 / €24,392,213. Another major highlight of the auctions were eight works by Jean-Michel Basquiat from the Collection of Johnny Depp which were met with energetic bidding, driving prices above estimates in both the Evening and Day auctions. The international scope of the work offered was reflected in the global participation of buyers for works by British artists including Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach and Bridget Riley bringing determined bidding to the saleroom. 

Modern British & Irish Art and Impressionist & Modern achieved a combined total of £95,858,325 / $135,284,171/ €118,301,057 across live and digital auctions. Modern British & Irish Art continues to gain international momentum with increased bidding from Europe, Asia and America while the Impressionist & Modern Evening Sale on 22 June welcomed registered bidders from 34 countries across four continents and set a record for Bernard Buffet with Les Clowns Musiciens, Le Saxophoniste (1991). Impressionist & Modern Art at South Kensington sold 78% by lot 88% by value, offering opportunity to entry level collectors with prices beginning at £500, as well as setting a world record for Camille Bobois, the top lot which achieved £122,500 / $166,845 / €151,043. The Picasso Ceramics sale sold 100% by lot in an online only sale, complemented by a 66% increase in traffic to christies.com during the sale season, which demonstrates the growing reach of Christie’s digital platforms. 

20^th Century at Christie’s was a series of sales at Christie’s that took place from 20 to 30 June 2016 and provided platforms for both new and established collectors across every level of the global art market.

Christie’s summer season continues with Classic Week from 5 to 13 July. Following the success of Christie’s inaugural Classic Week in New York during April, these cross-category auctions span the Decorative Arts, Antiquities, Old Master & British Paintings, Prints and Drawings, Books and Manuscripts and The Exceptional Sale.

Defining British Art: Loan Exhibition is on display at Christie’s King Street until 15 July.

AUCTION RECORDS
- Frank Auerbach (B. 1931) Head of Leon Kossof, (Painted in 1954), Price Realised: £2,658,500 / $3,559,732 / €3,203,493 (Estimate: £1,200,000-1,800,000)

- Camille Bombois (1883-1970), La blonde sur le pouf (Painted circa 1935), Price Realised: £122,500 / $166,845 / € 151,043 (Estimate: £45,000-65,000)

- Bernard Buffet (1928-99), Les clowns musiciens, le saxophonist (Painted in 1991), Price Realised: £1,022,500 / $1,500,008 / €1,329,250 (Estimate: £700,000-1,200,000)

- Lynn Chadwick, R.A. (1914-2003), Back to Venice, (Conceived in 1988), Price Realised: £1,650,500 / £2,210,020 / €1,988,853 (Estimate: £1,400,000-1,800,000)

- Stanley Cursiter, R.S.A., R.S.W. (1887-1976), The Ribbon Counter (Painted in 1913), Price Realised: £338,500 / $492,856 / €433,957 (Estimate: £300,000-500,000)

- Alexandre Da Cunha (B. 1969), Nude II (Executed in 2012), Price Realised: £40,000 / $53,400 / €48,200 (Estimate: £8,000-12,000)

- Thomas Daniell, R.A. (1749-1840), The gate of Serai, at Chandpore, in the Rohilla district, East Indies, £530,500 / $710,340 / €639,253 (Estimate: £150,000-250,000)

- Duncan Grant (1885-1978), George Mallory (Painted in 1913), Price Realised: £170,500 / $248,248 / €218,581 (Estimate: £70,000-100,000)

- Rita Kernn-Larsen (1904-98), La promenade dangereuse (Painted in 1936), Price Realised: £5,000 / $6,810 / €6,165 (Estimate: £3,000-5,000)

- Frederic, Lord Leighton, P.R.A. (1830-1896), Golden Hours, (Painted circa 1864), Price Realised: £3,274,500 / $4,384,556 / € 3,945,773 (Estimate: £3,000,000-5,000,000)

- Michel Majerus (1967-2002), (i) 255, (ii) 262, (iii) 555, (iv) 564, (v) 641, (vi) 645, (vii) 646, (vii) 654, (ix) 669 (Painted in 1998-2000), Price Realised: £122,500 / $163,537 / €147,613 (Estimate: £40,000-60,000)

- Manolo Millares (1926-1972), Untitled (Composition) Painting no. 4  (Executed in 1959), Price Realised: £842,500 / $1,124,738 / €1,014,370 (Estimate: £300,000–400,000)

- Henry Moore, O.M., C.H. (1898-1986), Reclining Figure: Festival, (Conceived in 1951), Price Realised: £24,722,500 / $33,103,428 / €29,790,613 (Estimate: £15,000,000-20,000,000)

 - Samuel John Peploe, R.S.A. (1871-1935), The Black Bottle, (Painted circa 1905), £902,500 / 41,208,448 / €1,087,513 (Estimate: £800,000-1,200,000)

- Carol Rama (1918-2015), Bricolage (Executed in 1967), Price Realised: £122,500 / $163,537 / €147,613 (Estimate: £20,000-30,000)

 - Neo Rauch’s (B. 1960), Stau (Congestion) (Painted in 1999), Price Realised: £326,500 / $435,878 / €393,106 (Estimate: £180,000-220,000) [Record in the medium]

 - Bridget Riley (B. 1931), Untitled (Diagonal Curve), (Painted in 1966), Price Realised: £4,338,500 / $5,809,252 / €5,227,893 (Estimate: £2,500,000-3,500,000)

 - David Roberts, R.A. (1796-1864), Jerusalem, from the South, (Painted in 1860), Price Realised: £962,500 / $1,288,788 / €1,159,819 (Estimate: £1,000,000-1,500,000)

- Sean Scully (B. 1945), Eve (Painted in 1992), Price Realised: £902,500 / $1,204,838 / €1,086,610 (Estimate: £400,000-600,000)

- Constantin Terechkovitch (1902-78), Nina de Tabarin (Painted in 1930), Price Realised: £63,700 / $86,759 / €78,542 (Estimate: £7,000-10,000)