Headlining our spring calendar of modern and contemporary art on 22 March, The Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale in London concludes with at total of £25,539,300 – selling 90% by lot and 97% by value. 60% of lots sold above their high estimate as Bridget Riley’s Gala set a new world auction record for the artist. Other highlights include Sir John Lavery’s The Croquet Party, Sir William Nicholson’s Miss Simpson’s Boots and David Bomberg’s The Bridge and the River Tajo, Ronda – all of which set new world records at auction – and L.S. Lowry’s The Sea, which was offered at auction for the first time. These great results follow on from the successes of 20th/21st Century: Shanghai to London, which included new world records and a record evening at Christie’s London.  

With more wonderful results, the Modern British and Irish Art Day Sale totalled at £5,103,630 and included a line-up of important painters, including L. S. Lowry, Vanessa Bell, David Hockney, Sir Peter Blake, works from the Scottish Colourists and sculptures by Elisabeth Frink to Lynn Chadwick and Anthony Caro. Our new auction format, Laugh now but one day we'll be in charge: Banksy and 21st Century Editions, realised £2,615,886 with works by Yayoi Kusama, Yoshitomo Nara, Tunji Adeniyi Jones, Harland Miller, Wade Guyton, Jeff Koons, STIK, Damien Hirst, David Shrigley, and others. Our seasonal Prints & Multiples realised 2,163,924, focusing on editions by leading 20th century modern and post-war masters, with highlights such as Andy Warhol’s Mick Jagger and Mao, Roy Lichtenstein’s iconic Forms in Space.