Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Sale Tallied $145.5-M Thursday Evening

The tally was within Christie’s presale target range and represented a 28% decline from the equivalent event in May when $202.6-M changed hands. A year ago, Christie’s sold $166-M in its sale of Impressionist and Modern Art.

Rene Magritte's "Le miroir universel" — Rene Magritte’s “Le miroir universel”

Source: Christie’s

It was the final evening sale of a 10-day art marathon in New York.

The preliminary total for the series of Impressionist, Modern, Postwar and Contemporary art at Christie’s, Sotheby’s (NYSE:BID) and Phillips was $2.3-B, exceeding the low pre-sale estimate of $2.1-B, but short of the record $2.7-B set in May.

Results were mixed in the semiannual sales.

The top of the market continued to escalate, led by Modigliani’s Y 1917 painting, “Nu Couche (Reclining Nude),” which fetched $170.4-M earlier this week to become the 2nd-priciest artwork at auction. The mid-market appeared vulnerable, with buyers balked whenever overly aggressive estimates were applied to sub-par quality.

The top lot at Christie’s Thursday auction was Pablo Picasso’s Cubist still life “La Carafe (Bouteille et verre)” that fetched $10.5-M, surpassing the high estimate of $9-M. The prices include buyer’s commission charged by the auction house, the estimates do not.

Pablo Picasso's "La Carafe (Bouteille et verre)" — Pablo Picasso’s “La Carafe (Bouteille et verre)”

Source: Christie’s

Rene Magritte’s 1938-39 painting, “Le miroir universel,” depicting a statuesque nude, who appears to be at once inside a brightly lit room and out in the cerulean, nocturnal seascape, fetched $6.7-M, above its $3 – 5-M estimate. The buyer was a telephone client of Rebecca Wei, President of Christie’s Asia, excluding China. Later in the sale, she also bought a bronze female bust by Alberto Giacometti for $2.3-M.

Chinese billionaire Liu Yiqian was the buyer of the Modigliani nude, the season’s top lot. It will be shown at his private museum in Shanghai.

Asian buyers also bought art by Modigliani, Giacometti and Francis Bacon at Sotheby’s last week.

Wednesday, Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau paid $48.5-M at Sotheby’s in Geneva for a 12.03-carat Blue Diamond, the most ever spent on a gem at auction. A day earlier, he paid a record price for a 16.08-carat Pink diamond at Christie’s in Geneva

A charcoal drawing of a woman by Henri Matisse, which opened the sale, provided one such fiery moment, with 8 bidders chasing the work from the collection of Arthur and Anita Kahn. The final price was $3.8-M, almost 4X the high estimate.

Another high point was a Surrealist painting by Kay Sage, which soared to $1.2-M, 10X the high estimate and was purchased by an American museum, according to Christie’s.

Of the 59 lots offered, 83% sold. The 10 unsold artworks included sculptures by Picasso and Edgar Degas, and paintings by Berthe Morisot, Alfred Sisley and Georges Braque.

Christie’s day auction of Impressionist and Modern Art took place Friday. The auctioneer’s running tally in the category is $487.8-M. Sotheby’s, which completed its series of semiannual auctions, tallied $629.1-M in the category.

Have a terrific weekend.

HeffX-LTN

Paul Ebeling

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