MutualArt/JULY, 2017 | We share key findings from this year’s June’s Impressionist and Modern and Contemporary Art sales in London. Impressionist and Modern Art Market Shows Signs of Growth
Impressionist and Modern Evening Art sales at both Christie’s and Sotheby’s saw growth in sold value compared to equivalent sales in 2016. At Sotheby’s, the 21 June evening sale total was £127,945,750 ($161,326,796) — up 24% from £103,280,000 ($151,834,501), appearing to indicate a market lift. The sale saw sell-through rates of 74% by lot and 96% by value.
Auctioneer and Global President Jussi Pylkännen selling Max Beckmann‘s Hölle der Vögel (Birds’ Hell), 1937-38. Sold for £36,005,000 ($45,834,362) against an estimate of £30,000,000.
At Christie’s, this year’s 27 June Impressionist and Modern Art Evening sale was a remarkable 484% up on the equivalent sale in June 2016, realizing £129,500,000 ($13,678,080) against last year’s meagre £25,612,500 ($37,573,538) — a result that was attributed to market uncertainty ahead of the UK’s historic Brexit vote. The 2017 sale was 94% sold by lot and 87% sold by value.
The artist with the greatest number of lots across all Impressionist and Modern and Contemporary Art Evening sales was Picasso, who accounted for a total of 13 lots, seven of which exceeded £1 million, with 2 lots offered between £100,000-500,000, and four between £500,000-1,000,000.
Photo: Wassily Kandinsky, Bild mit Weissen Linien (Painting with White Lines), 1913. Sold for £33,008,750 ($43,133,257) against an undisclosed estimate at Sotheby’s in London. (mutualart.com)
