FEATURES ARCHIVE

The London February Evening Sales of Impressionist & Modern Art and The Art of the Surreal confirmed the strength of these buoyant markets, as well as the continued global appetite for top quality artworks. 

With the combined sale total of £76.9 million against a pre-sale estimate of £54.5 to £77.8 million, the auction saw a flurry of competitive bidding across the board, with 8 of the top 10 lots selling for above their high estimate, and 21 works realising over £1 million. A tightly edited selection, which was 93% sold by value, the group showcased works of the finest quality at the height of demand from Impressionism, German Expressionism, Surrealism and the 20th Century avant-garde. 

Bold and colourful masterpieces from the core of Modernism and the avant-garde as well as German Expressionism achieved particularly strong results. These top lots, which were actively sought after by buyers from across the UK, Europe, Asia and the Americas, included Pablo Picasso’s striking 1963 portrait of his second wife Jacqueline, which realised over £8.1 million on a £3-4 million estimate. Natalia Gontcharova’s circa 1916 cubo-futurist design for a Spanish ballet, Espagnole, realised over £6.4 million against its £4-6 million estimate. Kees van Dongen’s post-Fauvist circa 1910-1911 portrait of a Spanish dancer, La gitane, realised over £7 million on £5.5-7.5 million estimate.  Otto Mueller’s circa 1927 picture, Badende, achieved a world record for the artist after a heated competition between multiple bitters, in the end realising over £2 million, quadruple its pre-sale low estimate.