London - Christie's announces outstanding results for the Modern British & Irish Art Evening Sale with sell-through rates of 90% by lot and 95% by value, realising a total of £14,635,500 / $18,148,020 / €17,050,358.

André Zlattinger, Senior Director, Head of Modern British Art, Christie’s London, Rachel Hidderley, International Specialist and Director, Modern British Art and William Porter, Head of Evening Sale, Modern British & Irish Art:

“The Modern British & Irish Art Evening Sale achieved a number of world records and exceptional sell-through rates of 90% sold by lot and 95% sold by value, totalling £14,635,500 / $18,148,020 / €17,050,358, with spirited bidding in the lively saleroom. The top lot for the evening was a world auction record for Ben Nicholson’s ‘April 57 (Arbia 2)’, which realised £3,749,000 / $4,648,760 / €4,367,585 against an estimate of £600,000-800,000. Further records were achieved for John Minton’s ‘Jamaican Village’ (1951) (£293,000 / $363,320 / €341,345), which had not been seen in public since it was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1951 and Edward Wadsworth’s ‘Imaginary Harbour I’ (1934) (£197,000 / $244,280 / €229,505), a work formerly belonging to Robert Harling, a friend of Ian Fleming’s and an astute collector of Modern British Art. These results reflect continued interest in distinguished private collections following the second auction of work from The Leslie Waddington Collection, which concluded on 22 November. Bidding from Asia was particularly strong, underlining the growing global appeal for this dynamic category that represents the diversity of artists working in Britain and Ireland during the last two centuries. We look forward to the Modern British & Irish Art Day Sale on 24 November and the Modern British Art: Online Sale which opens for bidding on 2 December and runs until 12 December 2016.”

WORLD AUCTION RECORDS ACHIEVED FOR:

Ben Nicholson, April 57 (Arbia 2), £3,749,000 / $4,648,760 / €4,367,585

John Minton, Jamaican Village, £293,000 / $363,320 / €341,345

Edward Wadsworth, Imaginary Harbour I, £197,000 / $244,280 / €229,505