JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT’S RED SKULL SOLD FOR £16,546,250 / $21,625,950 / €18,465,616 WITH PROCEEDS GOING TO KIPP SCHOOLS IN NEW JERSEY

POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART
EVENING AUCTION ACHIEVES HIGHEST TOTAL FOR A SALE DURING FRIEZE WEEK

£99,522,750 / $130,076,241 / €111,067,395

THINKING ITALIAN SALE ACHIEVES
£32,196,250 / $42,080,501 / €35,931,017

NINE AUCTION RECORDS FOR ARTISTS INCLUDING HURVIN ANDERSON, HOWARD HODGKIN, GRAYSON PERRY, MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO AND AMY SILLMAN

London – Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art and Thinking Italian Evening Auctions achieved a combined total of £131,719,000 / $172,156,735 / €146,998,405 bringing the running total for Frieze Week to £153,703,250 / $201,285,873 / €171,840,615. The Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction totalled £99,522,750 / $130,076,241 / €111,067,395, the highest total for a single auction during Frieze Week in London while Thinking Italian achieved £32,196,250 / $42,080,501 / €35,931,017. Sir Antony Gormley’s landmark sculpture, A Case for an Angel I (1989), a precursor to Angel of the North, sold for £5,296,250 / $ 6,922,199 / €5,910,615 to international collector Yusaku Maezawa. Further highlights included Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Red Skull, which sold for £16,546,250 / $21,625,950 / €18,465,616 — with proceeds going to KIPP schools in New Jersey, a network of free, public charter schools with no entrance requirements and a record of high performance.  

Edmond Francey, Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art London, “The Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction achieved a record total for a sale in London during Frieze Week confirming London’s global position in the art market with a packed saleroom demonstrating a confident market. The offering of work during Frieze Week, which includes our cross-category sales ‘Masterpieces of Design and Photography’ and ‘Up Close’, underlines the passion and breadth for collecting from an increasingly diverse collecting community and positions London as a truly international platform. New record prices achieved for established artists were highlights alongside strong prices for Jean-Michel Basquiat whose market continues to attract competitive bidding with a notable presence from Asia.”  

Yusaku Maezawa, Collector stated: "Meeting the artist two days ago and speaking with him about his work I liked the man and was moved by his commitment to his creation. Directly understanding the meaning and importance of A Case for an Angel I, I was inspired to add this masterpiece to my collection. I would like to thank Antony and the previous owners and I promise that we will take good care of the work, exhibiting it in our forthcoming museum."

The evening saw an electric start with records for British artists Grayson Perry whose Saint Claire 37 wanks across Northern Spain, a glazed earthenware vase from 2003, the year Perry became the first ceramic artist to win the Turner Prize, sold for £200,000 / $261,400 / €223,200. This was quickly followed by a world auction record for Howard Hodgkin’s Goodbye to the Bay of Naples which sold for £1,688,750 / $2,207,196 / €1,884,645, more than double its high estimate of £600,000. Turner Prize nominee Hurvin Anderson’s Country Club: Chicken Wire realised a world auction record of £2,648,750 / $3,461,916 / €2,956,005. Further records were achieved for David Salle’s Mingus in Mexico (£608,750 / $795,636 / €679,365), Tony Bevan’s Corridor (£112,500 / $147,038 / €125,550) and Amy Sillman’s The New Land (£440,750 / $576,060 / €491,877). Peter Doig’s Camp Forestia (1996), which is among the artist’s finest paintings of the 1990s, realised a strong figure of £15,421,250 / $20,155,575 / €17,210,116. The work demonstrates Doig’s extraordinary command of his medium, with studies being held in the Tate, London, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. 

In addition to Red Skull, Basquiat proved a draw across the evening his 1982 drawing Untitled tripled its low estimate to sell for £1,868,750 / $2,442,456 / €2,085,525. The group was completed by Both Poles (£3,777,500 / $4,937,193 / €4,215,690) and Keep Frozen (General Electric), a collaboration between Basquiat and Andy Warhol (£1,688,750 / $2,207,196 / €1,884,645).

The Thinking Italian sale, featuring the very best in post-war and contemporary Italian art, realised £32,196,250 / $42,080,501 / €35,931,017, with the top lot of the evening being Lucio Fontana’s Concetto spaziale, In piazza San Marco di notte con Teresita, executed in 1961. A defining work from the artist’s much-celebrated cycle of ‘Venezie’ paintings, the thickly painted canvas with coloured glass stones was bought for £10,021,250 / $13,097,774 / €11,183,716, the highest price paid for a work from this seminal series. Among the other highlights of the sale were Franco Angeli’s Fiore Partigiano (Partisan Flower), which achieved a record price of £181,250 / $236,894 / €202,275 and was followed by a world record for Uomo che guarda un negativo (1967), a remarkable early example of Michelangelo Pistoletto’s iconic ‘Mirror Paintings’ depicting the Arte Povera artist Alighiero Boetti, which sold for £3,721,250 / $4,863,674 / €4,152,915.

Christie’s Frieze Week auctions opened on Tuesday 3 October with two new evening sales, Masterpieces of Photography & Design (sale total: £7,452,500 / $9,874,563 / €8,421,325) and Up Close (£14,531,750 / $19,254,569 / €16,420,878). Stand out results included the world record price for Robert Mapplethorpe at £548,750 / $727,094 / €620,087 and the quadruple estimate result for the Giacometti from the collection of Antoni Tàpies (£14,531,750 / $19,254,569 / €16,420,878).

For further insight please view our post-sale conference on Facebook Live.

ARTIST RECORDS 

Lot 1

Grayson Perry (b. 1960)
Saint Claire 37 wanks across Northern Spain
glazed earthenware
33 x 22 x 22in. (84 x 56 x 56cm.)
Executed in 2003

Estimate: £80,000 – 120,000

Sold for: £200,00 / $261,400 / €223,200

WORLD RECORD PRICE FOR THE ARTIST AT AUCTION

Previous Record 

Grayson Perry

MAP OF TRUTHS AND BELIEFS, 2011

wool and cotton tapestry

Sotheby's London: Thursday, March 9, 2017 [Lot 00236]

Contemporary Art Day Auction

Estimate 80,000 - 120,000 GBP (97,311 - 145,967 USD)

Sold For 118,750 GBP Premium (144,447 USD)

Lot 3

Howard Hodgkin (1932-2017)
Goodbye to the Bay of Naples
oil on wood
22 x 26 3/8in. (55.9 x 66.9cm.)
Executed in 1980-1982

Estimate: £400,000 – 600,000

Sold for: £1,688,750 / $2,207,196 / €1,884,645                                                                                  

WORLD RECORD PRICE FOR THE ARTIST AT AUCTION

Previous Record 

Howard Hodgkin

In the Green Room, 1984-1986

oil on wood

Christie's London: Wednesday, February 11, 2015 [Lot 00020]

Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction

Estimate 550,000 - 750,000 GBP (837,648 - 1,142,248 USD)

Sold For 1,202,500 GBP Premium (1,831,404 USD)

Lot 7   

David Salle (b. 1952)
Mingus in Mexico
signed, titled and dated ‘David Salle 1990 “Mingus in Mexico”’ (on the reverse)
oil and acrylic on canvas
95 1/8 x 122 3/8in. (241.5 x 311cm.)
Painted in 1990

Estimate: £300,000 – 500,000

Sold for: £608,750.00 / $795,636 / €679,365                                                                  

WORLD RECORD PRICE FOR THE ARTIST AT AUCTION

Previous Record 

David Salle

Footmen, 1986

diptych—oil and acrylic with wood bowl on canvas

Christie's New York: Wednesday, May 17, 2017 [Lot 0013B]

Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale

Estimate 250,000 - 350,000 USD

Sold For 583,500 USD Premium

Lot 14

Antony Gormley (B. 1950)
A Case for an Angel I
plaster, fibreglass, lead, steel and air
77½ x 337¾ x 18 1/8in. (197 x 858 x 46cm.)
Executed in 1989

Estimate: £5,000,000 – 7,000,000

Sold for: £5,296,250 / $6,922,199 / €5,910,615                                                                         

WORLD RECORD PRICE FOR THE ARTIST AT AUCTION

Previous Record 

Antony Gormley

Angel of the north (maquette), 1996

cast iron

Christie's London: Friday, October 14, 2011 [Lot 00005]

Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Auction

Estimate 1,500,000 - 2,000,000 GBP (2,371,166 - 3,161,555 USD)

Sold For 3,401,250 GBP Premium (5,376,620 USD)

Lot 18

Hurvin Anderson (b. 1965)
Country Club: Chicken Wire
signed, titled and dated 'Hurvin A., Tuesday 4th November 2008, Country Club Series: Chicken Wire' (on the overlap)
oil on canvas
Painted in 2008

Estimate: £700,000 – 1,000,000

Sold for: £2,648,750 / $3,461,916  / €2,956,005                                                                        

WORLD RECORD PRICE FOR THE ARTIST AT AUCTION

Previous Record 

Hurvin Anderson

Afrosheen, 2009

oil on canvas

Year of Work Christie's London: Tuesday, July 1, 2014 [Lot 00015]

Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Auction

Estimate 300,000 - 400,000 GBP (514,315 - 685,753 USD)

Sold For 1,314,500 GBP Premium (2,253,557 USD)

Lot 54

Tony Bevan (b. 1951)
Corridor
signed twice, numbered and dated 'Bevan PC9710' (on the reverse)
acrylic and charcoal on canvas
105¾ x 82in. (268.5 x 208.3cm.)
Executed in 1997

Estimate: £70,000 – 100,000

Sold for: £112,500 / $147,038 / €125,550                                                                                 

WORLD RECORD PRICE FOR THE ARTIST AT AUCTION

Previous Record 

Tony Bevan

Horizon

Acrylic on Canvas, 1997-1997

Sotheby's London: Thursday, March 30, 2000 [Lot 00008] Contemporary Art

Estimate 20,000 - 30,000 GBP (31,746 - 47,619 USD)

Sold For 54,300 GBP Premium (86,190 USD)

Lot 58

Amy Sillman (b. 1966)
The New Land
signed, titled and dated 'Amy Sillman 2005 "THE NEW LAND" oil/canvas' (on the overlap); signed and dated 'Amy Sillman '05' (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
78 x 66in. (198 x 167.8cm.)
Painted in 2005

Estimate: £100,000 – 150,000

Sold for: £440,750 / $576,060 / €491,877                                                                                   

WORLD RECORD PRICE FOR THE ARTIST AT AUCTION

Previous Record 

Amy Sillman

P

Medium oil on canvas

Year of Work 2007

Size Height 45 in.; Width 39 in. / Height 114.3 cm.; Width 99.1 cm.

Misc. Signed, Inscribed

Sale of Sotheby's New York: Friday, November 18, 2016 [Lot 00407]

Contemporary Art Day Auction

Estimate 70,000 - 100,000 USD 

Sold For 504,500 USD Premium  

RECORD FOR THE MEDIUM

Lot 44

Thomas Schütte (b. 1954)
Study For 'Die Fremden' (The Strangers)
signed 'Th. Schutte' (lower left); dated '26.4.92' (lower right)
gouache and crayon on paper
43 3/8 x 78in. (110 x 198cm.)
Executed in 1992

Estimate: £200,000 – 300,000

Sold for: £236,750 / $309,432 / €264,213

Current Record 

Thomas Schütte

Untitled (Große Geist Nr. 6)

Medium bronze w/green patina

Year of Work 1996

Sale of Christie's New York: Monday, May 12, 2014 [Lot 00026]

If I Live I‘ll See You Tuesday: Contemporary Art Auction

Estimate 3,500,000 - 4,500,000 USD

Sold For 5,317,000 USD Premium 

Previous Works on paper Record

Thomas Schutte

Untitled (Portraits of Women)

Year of work 1991

Height 23 in, ; Width 19,1 in. / Height 58.4 cm, Width48.6 cm.

Inscribed, Stamped,

Christie’s London Wednesday, July 1, 2015 [ Lot 00155]

Post War and Contemporary Art Day Sale

Estimate 150,000 – 200,000 EUR

(234,265 – 312, 353 USD)

Sold For 182,500 GBP Premium (285,022 USD)

Lot 102

Franco Angeli (1935-1988)

Fiore Partigiano (Partisan Flower)

signed, titled and dated 'Fiore Partigiano Angeli 1962' (on the reverse)

enamel, acrylic and plaster on canvas and toile

47 3/8 x 55 1/8in. (120.3 x 140cm.)

Executed in 1962

Estimate: £55,000 – 75,000

Sold for: £181,250 / $236,894 / €202,275

WORLD RECORD PRICE FOR THE ARTIST AT AUCTION

Previous Record

Franco Angeli

TUNISIA

Medium oil, gauze, plaster and glue on canvas

Year of Work 1961

Size Height 63.8 in.; Width 55.5 in. / Height 162 cm.; Width 141 cm.

Misc. Signed, Inscribed

Sale of Sotheby's London: Friday, October 7, 2016 [Lot 00019]

The Italian Sale

Estimate 40,000 - 60,000 GBP (49,695 - 74,543 USD)

Sold For 100,000 GBP Premium (124,239 USD)

Lot 108

Michelangelo Pistoletto (b. 1933)

Uomo che guarda un negativo (Man Looking at a Negative)

signed, titled and dated 'Pistoletto 1967 -UOMO CHE GUARDA UN NEGATIVO-' (on the reverse)

painted tissue paper on polished stainless steel

90½ x 47¼in. (230 x 120cm.)

Executed in 1967

Estimate: £2,500,000 – 3,500,000

Sold for: £ 3,721,250 / $4,863,674 / €4,152,915

WORLD RECORD PRICE FOR THE ARTIST AT AUCTION

Previous Record

Michelangelo Pistoletto

Amanti (Lovers), 1962-1966

Medium painted tissue-paper on stainless steel

Christie's London: Tuesday, July 1, 2014 [Lot 00004]

Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Auction

Estimate 1,000,000 - 1,500,000 GBP (1,714,383 - 2,571,575 USD)

Sold For 2,322,500 GBP Premium (3,981,656 USD)