newsfromsothebys201011

If Warhol's artworks still have strong competition (realising a total of £5 million for five works on sale, against a pre-sale total estimate of £3.8-£5.5 million) by art buyers, during yesterday's evening, Sotheby's principal stage was shared with two other works, one by the Spanish artist Juan Muñoz (brought a combined total for three works of £4,303,750 / $6,893,316/ €5,138,672), and another by the Swiss artist Franz Gertsch. Both artist were represented by rare works that had been out of circulation for a very long time.

Luciano I, executed in 1976 by Gertsch, was sold for the outstanding sum of £1,497,250 / $2,398,145 / €1,787,713, well above the pre-sale expectations (estimate £500,000-700,000 / €585,000-820,000/ $775,000-1,090,000). Whereas the top lot of the evening was Gerhard Richter’s Abstraktes Bild of 1990. Monumental in scale (225cm by 200cm), this intensely-worked, museum-quality piece attracted bids from some five prospective buyers who drove the price to £7 million. Three new artist records at auction were established for Franz Gertsch, Yinka Shonibare and Gary Hume artworks.

Accordingly with Sotheby's Chairman of Contemporary Art Europe, Cheyenne Westphal, collectors were "responding strongly to works of the highest quality that have not been available on the market for very many years ..., demonstrating the depth of demand for the very best that the market has to offer."

Sotheby's Contemporart Art Evening sale realised £44,359,900 / $71,051,252 / €52,965,613 (the sales had a pre-sale estimate of £30.4 to £43 million). With Looking Closely (held last week) sale, this sum brings the total for Sotheby’s Contemporary Art auction series so far this season to £88,022,550 / $138,728,359 / €104,465,529 (pre-sale estimate between £56 to £78 million) – well above combined pre-sale expectations – representing the second-highest total for a February Contemporary Art Sales Series in London (£95 million in 2008 - the highest total for any sale of contemporary art ever held in Europe -, £17.8 million in 2009, and £54.1 million in 2010) and the highest total for a Contemporary Art Sales Series in London since July 2008.

Auction data:
_ Sold by lot 91.5%
_ Sold by value 95.5%
_ Of the 59 lots offered, 54 sold (5 unsold)
_ 8 works sold for over £1 million, and 23 sold for over $1 million, bringing the total number of Contemporary artworks sold so far this season at Sotheby's for over £1 million to 17, and the number of works sold for over $1 million to 33 artworks.

Top five lots sold:
_ Lot 13 Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild, 1990 for £7,209,250 (est. £5-£7 million) to an anonymous buyer.
_ Lot 36 Andy Warhol, Nine Multicoloured Marilyns (Reversal Series), signed and dated 79/86 for £3,177,250 (est. £2 - £3 million) to an anonymous buyer.
_ Lot 37 Juan Muñoz, Conversation Piece, 1993 for £3,065,250 (£600,000-£800,000) to a Private European buyer.
_ Lot 17 Robert Ryman, Rule, signed and dated 91 for £1,889,250 (£900,000-£1,200,000) to a Private US buyer.
_ Lot 14 Franz Gertsch, Luciano I, 1976 for £1,497,250 (est. £500,000-£700,000) to a Private European buyer.