Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Auction

Christie's February auctions of Post-War & Contemporary Art in London realised £109,514,400 ($172,110,443/ €130,573,642) - the highest total for a series of Post-War & Contemporary Art Auctions at Christie's London. The top price of the week was paid for Francis Bacon’s Portrait of Henrietta Moraes, which sold for £21.3 million / $30.1 million / € 22.9 million - the highest price for a work of Post-War & Contemporary Art at Christie's London since February 2008. In total, 17 lots sold for over £1 million (29 for over $1 million).

A Way of Thinking, Works From An Important Private Collection

A Way of Thinking realized £4,009,325/$6,302,659/€4,775,106, selling 78% by lot and 86% by value.

Darren Leak, Head of the Sale commented: “Featuring works by a number of artists rarely seen at auction, the sophisticated vision of ‘A Way of Thinking, Works From An Important Private Collection’ attracted the interest of many international collectors. The momentum of the robust bidding from the Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Sale carried through with record prices set for various artists, including Victor Burgin, Raoul De Keyser, Matt Mullican and Ian Wallace. This unique and varied collection proved the continuing strength of the market for conceptual works”.

Post-War & Contemporary Art Day Auction

The Post-War and Contemporary Day Sale realised £15,349,100/$24,128,785/€18,280,778, selling 77% by lot and 88% by value.

Darren Leak and Beatriz Ordovas, Heads of Sale commented: “Following the extraordinary results of yesterday evening, we were pleased to see continuing solidity and trends at the Day sale, illustrating a healthy market at every price level. The top 10 prices of the day include works of art spanning 50 years, and, as with last night, we saw demand for both established Post-War masters as well as exciting and cutting edge contemporary artists. Three out of the top ten lots of the sale were works by Gerhard Richter, a clear demonstration of the strength of the artist’s market at many different levels”.