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Modern and Contemporary Art in London at Christie's: Back to pleasing EU buyers but also conquering the Middle East and Africa

The “Christie's 20th/21st Century: London Evening” auction closed with a €97.556.260 / $107.147.925 sale, with 89% of lots sold and 96% of lots sold in value, an increase of 83% year-on-year.

Modern and Contemporary Art in London at Christie's: Back to pleasing EU buyers but also conquering the Middle East and Africa

The auction just concluded in London by Christie's, coinciding with Frieze Week, achieved a sales rate of 91,2% per lot and over 60% of the lots exceeded their estimates. A sign of recovery that was also expected in coincidence with the centenary of the Surrealist Manifesto.

50% of buyers came from the EMEA region, 28% from the United States and 22% from Asia and 23 countries. Of the 52 works for sale, 33 were new to the market and 24 lots exceeded £20m. The unique 21/23 platform continues to attract a younger demographic, with XNUMX% of all buyers being millennials or younger.

Ria, Naked Portrait by Lucian Freud led the sale (realised price: £11.810.000), followed by Balloon Monkey (Blue) by Jeff Koons (realised price: £7.555.000) and More Woldgate Timber by David Hockney, 13 October 2009 (realised price: £4.638.000).


Good results for surrealist works

Three works by René Magritte attracted competitive bidding, led by Le grand style which sold for £2.581.000 (estimate: £1.000.000-1.500.000); Leonor Fini's Rogomelec achieved £907.200 (estimate: £450.000-650.000); and a new auction record was set for Léon Spilliaert whose Phare sur la digue sold for £982.800.

Sarah Sze's Spell also sets auction record

Other notable results include Annie Morris’s Stack 8, Viridian Green (realised £302.400, 68% above high estimate) and Vilhelm Hammershøi’s Landskab. Sommer, Fra Ryet ved Farmuse (realised £1.250.000, 79% above high estimate).

The top ten lots: here is the list

Lucian Freud – Ria, Naked Portrait£11,810,000$15,435,670
Jeff Koons – Balloon Monkey (Blue)£7,555,000$9,874,385
David Hockney – More Woldgate Timber, October 13th 2009£4,638,000$6,061,866
Richard Prince – Hurricane Nurse£4,184,250$5,468,815
Willem de Kooning – Untitled XVIII£3,488,500$4,559,470
Lucian Freud – Head of a Woman£3,428,000$4,480,396
And Ruscha – Start Over Please£3,186,000$4,164,102
Cecily Brown – The Skin of Our Teeth£3,065,000$4,005,955
Le Corbusier - Two figures in yellow tree trunks£2,581,000$3,373,367
Rene Magritte – The grand style£2,581,000$3,373,367

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