Art Auctions Bringing in Big Bucks

With winter approaching, the art world seems to be keeping the fire burning this holiday season. Recently, the two major Auction houses hosted record-breaking sales, in spite of the current world financial woes. Christie’s most recent auction brought in $247.59 million and Sotheby’s brought in an astounding $315.8 million. It was the company’s third highest total ever for a contemporary art sale.

The Christie’s sale was heavy in artists such as Warhol and Lichtenstein, whose 1961 picture depicting a man looking through a peep hole, saying, “I can see the whole room … and there’s nobody in it,” sold for just over for $42 million, setting a new record for the artist.  In all, over 16 artists set new records at Christies alone during the 2 nights.   Not bad for such a generally weak economy.   With the lack of safe places for the wealthy to place their funds, the art market seems to be a bastion of security—- interest in Contemporary Art is as strong as ever.

Sotheby’s evening brought in a record $61.7 million for the artist, Clyfford Still, who is not usually an auction staple and rarely comes to market. The proceeds from his work were part of an endowment for the Clyfford Still Museum opening in Denver on Nov. 18^th.     Two of our ‘I could do that’ favorites were a glass & steel table with 6 glass vessels on it by Charles Ray that went for $3.1MM and a 1992 box construction by Robert Gober titled “Prison Window” that looked like, well, a prison window, that sold for almost $3.4MM.

Art Auctions—Volume II