The new 2012-2013 international auction season began in September, opening in London, where compared to last year, there is greater interest from both collectors and investors, which suggests a possible market recovery.
In anticipation of the next contemporary art auctions that will take place in New York in the next few days, Wednesday 19 September saw sia Christie's and Sotheby's (London) engaged in an auction dedicated to prints, lithographs etc. by modern and contemporary authors, a sector that is acquiring more and more interest, also due to the fact that the figures remain accessible to a wider public, compared to unique contemporary works, which now present figures with different zeros and seem intended only to a specific collection, i.e. ai Top Clients.
Christie's, registers for the “Moderrn & Contemporary Prints” auction, 95 lots it's a total sold of $2,936,805, and Sotheby's “Old Masters, Modern and Contemporary Prints”, 195 lots and closes with a total of $ 4,809,1609.
Overall, the works of Moderno, including several works by Pablo Picasso, were awarded according to the starting estimate which, compared to last year, presents a +10% in the catalogue, while others reached Top Lot values.
Pablo Picasso
$70,325 (estimate: $48,000 – $81,000) – Bullfighting, a complete set of 26 aquatints from 1959, copy 31 of 263 (365 x 510 x 60 mm) – Christie's;
$45,588, (estimate $35,000-$40,000) – L'espagnole (617×440 mm) – Sotheby's.
Edvard Munch
$148,373 (estimate: $81,000 – $113,000) – Separation II , 1896 lithograph (472 x 650 mm) – Christie's;
$ 333,839 (estimate: $292,000 – $325,000) – The girls on the bridge (623×526 mm) – Sotheby's.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
$99,593 (estimate $48,000 – $81,000) – Le Chapeau Épinglé (Deuxième Planche) color lithograph (903 x 618) mm – Christie's.
Henri De Toulouse-Latrec
$70,346 (estimate $40,000-$50,000) – Napoleon (638×498mm) – Sotheby's.
The interest has been gradually growing in the session of contemporary works, until it reaches $ 211,250 for a silkscreen work by Andy Warhol, from an important European collection.
Francis Bacon – Seats Figures – $11,179, Top Lots: Triptych Auguste – $30,488 (Christie's); Three studies for a self-portrait – $38,629, Top Lot: Study for a Bullfight N.1 -$56,683) (Sotheby's).
Eduardo Chillida – Aldikatu II -$7,114, Top Lots: Inguru -$20,325 – Christie's; Aromas -$30,496 (Sotheby's).
Keith Haring - Pop Shop Quad II -$20,325 (Christie's); Pop Shop II -$26,430 (Sotheby's).
Damien Hirst - Tetrahydrocannabinol – $28,455, Top Lots: In a Spin -$52,764 (Christie's).
Roy Lichtenstein - Modern Print -$14,228, Top Lots: Bull Profile Series -$138,617 (Christie's); Crying girl -$44,728) (Sotheby's).
Andy Warhol - Ladies and Gentlemen – $38,618, Flowers -$34,553 – Mick Jagger -$32,520 –Marilyn – $89,837,Top Lots: Lenin - $138,617 (Christie's); Reigning Queens (Royal edition) -$70,346, Reigning Queens: Queen Elizabeth II – $177,695, Top Lots: The Scream -After Munch-$211,250 (Sotheby's)
Lucian Freud - Garden in winter -$84,008, Top lots: Kai – $109,382) (Sotheby's).
Takashi Murasami – Flower, Flower2 - $10,165 (Sotheby's).
Also of interest to some works by Italian artists, those best known by an international audience:
Afro - Controcanto – $4,066,
Alberto Burri - Triptych E – $7,319,
Lucio Fontana - Red Space Concept – $6,506, (Sotheby's).
