The momentum in Paris generated final week by Artwork Basel—and the sturdy gross sales and dynamic exercise throughout all of the festivals—culminated within the Paris night auctions, the place outcomes exceeded estimates and expectations at each Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Patrons who appeared hesitant within the days main as much as the artwork weeks regained confidence after seeing the optimistic leads to London. “They known as again, asking for ensures or pre-auction bids,” Alessandro Diotallevi informed Observer forward of the gross sales. One among Christie’s youngest but most dynamic specialists, Diotallevi has rapidly risen to evening-auction prominence, typically securing the sale of the home’s most precious heaps, notably within the Italian postwar class, with artists equivalent to Boetti and Fontana.
Opening the now-marquee Paris gross sales on October 23 was Christie’s Avant-Garde(s) together with Pondering Italian, one of many public sale home’s 4 gross sales that week. The sale generated €92,443,769 ($107,419,660) in complete—up 16 % from the earlier yr—with 15 of the 19 heaps promoting for greater than €1 million. Pushed by high quality, sturdy provenance and revived market exercise in Europe, Avant-Garde(s) alone achieved €59,017,050 ($68,577,812), with a strong 89 % sell-through throughout its 60 heaps. Following the European directive, the VAT set at 5 % for imports and exports in France is clearly serving to the market return to full circulation.
Yves Klein’s largest 14-foot monochrome led the sale: California (IKB 71), rendered in his signature blue pigment. Having remained in the identical assortment for many years, the work takes its title from the state the place Klein exhibited it shortly after finishing it in 1961, throughout one among his few visits to the U.S. in his temporary however intense profession earlier than dying at 34, when he confirmed with Virginia Dwan’s legendary Los Angeles gallery. Working with the Yves Klein Basis, Christie’s not too long ago uncovered that, on its journey from Paris to California, the piece stopped in New York, the place it appeared in a present with seller Leo Castelli—including one other layer of significance to its provenance and to the artist’s transatlantic trajectory. The extraordinarily uncommon lot drew outstanding curiosity, promoting after a number of minutes of bidding for €18,375,000 in opposition to a €16-25 million estimate, setting a brand new public sale file for the artist in his house nation.
Among the many different prime numerous the night had been Marc Chagall’s lyrical blue-toned Bouquet à l’âne jaune, which offered above estimate for €1,707,000, and two work by Renoir, which offered for €633,500 and €1,355,000 respectively. Odilon Redon’s work, nevertheless, surprisingly did not discover a purchaser—probably attributable to its overly bold €700,000-1,000,000 estimate.
Promoting inside estimate had been Jean Dubuffet’s massive 1966 portray, which achieved €1,460,500 (in opposition to an estimate of €1,200,000-1,800,000), and Alberto Giacometti’s Femme debout, which offered for €5,428,000 below a third-party assure. Exceeding expectations was Simone Hantaï’s 1969 pink research, which fetched €1,143,000 and is ready to be included within the artist’s forthcoming catalogue raisonné, together with Lee Ufan’s Blue Traces (1980), which achieved €2,012,000—effectively above its €1,000,000-1,500,000 estimate. The three duck sculptures by François-Xavier Lalanne on the sale’s finish additionally surpassed expectations, promoting for between €300,000 and €400,000.
Main a very sturdy choice devoted to postwar Italian artwork—strategically moved from London to Paris post-Brexit—was Jannis Kounellis’s iconic Untitled, which set a brand new world file for the artist, fetching €1,792,400 in opposition to a pre-sale estimate of €1,000,000-1,500,000. Coming from a prestigious Italian assortment that had held the work since buying it instantly from the artist in 1970, the piece was additionally featured in Germano Celant’s catalogue for the key 2019 retrospective at Fondazione Prada in Venice held shortly after Kounellis’s passing.
Signaling renewed momentum for postwar Italian artwork after years of market sluggishness, Pondering Italian introduced in €9,528,070 for 33 works by Italian artists, with solely two failing to promote. Among the many standout outcomes, a Lucio Fontana Concetto spaziale with 4 slashes in yellow reached €1,168,000 in opposition to its €600,000-800,000 estimate, whereas one other work with two slashes in orange offered inside estimate for €787,800. Alighiero Boetti’s blue biro work Tutto e niente (1999) exceeded its pre-sale estimate of €250,000-350,000, promoting for €406,400 and reaffirming rising worldwide demand for the artist. A whole set of thirty variations from his colourful tapestry collection Ammazzare il tempo (1979) realized €1,333,500 (estimate €1,000,000-1,500,000). Just some years in the past, one might have acquired one among these 17 x 18 cm tapestries for €20,000 or much less.
A uncommon, easy-to-hang work by Italian provocateur Maurizio Cattelan additionally offered simply above its estimate for €304,000, following a number of reported gross sales of his works by Perrotin in the course of the Artwork Basel VIP preview. In the meantime, renewed enthusiasm surrounded Rome’s Pop Artwork scene, the Scuola di Piazza del Popolo. Mario Schifano’s Grande quadro equestre italiano greater than doubled its €150,000-200,000 estimate, promoting for €508,000.
The sale additionally set a brand new public sale file in France for Arnaldo Pomodoro, whose iconic bronze sphere doubled its estimate, promoting for €533,400. Sturdy outcomes for each artists continued within the following days throughout Artwork Moderne (October 24) and Moderne(s): Une Assortment Particulière Européenne (October 25). “I might say there was nice enthusiasm for the week from each worldwide and Italian collectors, all of whom had been bodily within the metropolis,” Christie’s senior specialist Elena Zaccarelli informed Observer. “The auctions achieved strong outcomes for Twentieth- and Twenty first-century artwork, in addition to for Italian artwork, which sparked sturdy competitors amongst collectors. Paris has positively develop into the brand new European hub for artwork.”
Modigliani and different data
Beginning on the afternoon of October 24 at its newly opened Saint-Honoré venue—with the gross sales Surrealism and Its Legacy and Modernités—Sotheby’s achieved its highest complete ever in France, closing at €89.7 million in opposition to a pre-sale estimate of €53.1-75.2 million, up 52 % from final October, with 90 % offered by lot.
5 artists set new data in France over the afternoon and night at Sotheby’s, together with the highest lot of the week: Amedeo Modigliani’s Elvire en buste, which offered for €27 million, changing into probably the most priceless work by the maudit artist ever offered in France. Held in the identical non-public assortment since 1974 and marking the primary look at public sale of a portrait of Elvira—a working-class lady and one among Modigliani’s early muses throughout his formative Paris years round 1908-1911—the psychologically charged portrait drew seven bidders, driving the ultimate worth effectively above its €5.5-7.5 million estimate. Earlier within the sale, one other Modigliani portrait, Raymond—believed to depict the younger novelist Raymond Radiguet and held in the identical non-public assortment for greater than 65 years—soared to €10.6 million after a spirited ten-minute bidding battle over an estimate of €5.5-7.5 million.
Sotheby’s opened strongly with its Surrealism and Its Legacy sale, which noticed spirited bidding all through and closed with a 97 % sell-through fee—affirming the enduring enchantment of a motion that harnessed creativeness and the unconscious to confront chaos and destruction. By the tip of the afternoon, the Surrealist part alone had generated €26.9 million in opposition to an estimate of €16.3-23.4 million, marking the second-highest complete ever for a Surrealist artwork sale at Sotheby’s in France.
As has develop into customary, a sturdy number of works by Magritte led the sale. His La Malédiction—a serene sky paired with a mysteriously alluring title and one among a minimum of eight recognized variations—fetched €952,500, greater than tripling its €200,000-300,000 estimate. Fierce competitors additionally erupted for La magie noire, pursued by three decided bidders, which doubled its estimate and offered for €10.7 million, setting a brand new public sale file for a magie noire by the artist.
Paul Delvaux’s Lady with a Rose achieved €2.4 million, the best worth ever paid in France for a piece by the artist, whereas Salvador Dalí’s Swirling Sea Necklace from the Schlumberger Assortment doubled its €300,000-500,000 estimate to promote for €736,600. Francis Picabia’s Lu-Li greater than doubled its excessive estimate to succeed in €508,000, and Max Ernst’s Bosse de nage introduced €292,100. Among the many rediscovered regional masters, a fantastical panorama by Óscar Domínguez—whose work bridged Surrealist precision with the volcanic creativeness of his native Canary Islands—exceeded expectations at €990,600. Likewise, Konrad Klapheck’s portray, exploring the absurdity of recent mechanization, far surpassed its excessive estimate to promote for €825,500. Each achieved new public sale data for the artists in France, the place their works had hardly ever appeared in night gross sales. Sotheby’s continued success with its “gems” technique, specializing in distinctive highlights from particular artwork scenes, helped draw new worldwide patrons.
In the meantime, Giorgio De Chirico’s Piazza d’Italia—by the Metafisica grasp whose market extends far past Italy—fetched €406,400. The portray had beforehand been included within the touring exhibition Giorgio de Chirico and the Fantasy of Ariadne on the Philadelphia Museum of Artwork and The Estorick Assortment of Trendy Italian Artwork in London in 2002-2003.
Because the sale explored the motion’s legacy, it additionally featured a conceptual work by John Baldessari, initially acquired from Sonnabend Gallery, which offered above estimate for €292,100 after charges, and a sensual lamp sculpture by Polish artist Alina Szapocznikow—dropped at world consideration by Hauser & Wirth—which achieved €279,400.
Opening the Modernité part (with Sotheby’s notably excluding modern works from its Paris choices), a bronze by Alberto Giacometti tripled its €200,000-300,000 estimate to succeed in €571,500. A blue monochrome by Yves Klein met expectations at €1,506,500, whereas Roy Lichtenstein’s Water Lily Pond with Reflections—from the artist’s property and tailor-made to the Paris viewers—fetched €1,116,100 in opposition to a €300,000-500,000 estimate.
A number of heaps later, Wols’s intricate L’Oeil de Dieu achieved €1.9 million, setting a file for the artist in France. Sturdy outcomes adopted for Jean Dubuffet and Jean Fautrier, whereas a 1948 Composition by Nicolas de Staël surpassed its €200,000-300,000 estimate to promote for €596,900 regardless of having appeared twice earlier than at public sale. One other Nature morte rouge by de Staël reached €1.69 million. Unsold heaps included Joan Mitchell’s blue marine abstraction (probably attributable to its bold €4-6 million estimate), a Boetti tapestry from the Sperone assortment (€500,000-700,000) and a Warhol Mao (€700,000-1,000,000)—although a yellow model simply prior fetched €787,400. Closing the Modernité sale, Picasso’s full Séries 347 (1968) achieved €1.9 million, surpassing its €1.2-1.6 million estimate and setting a French public sale file for any print collection by the artist.
A robust urge for food for Trendy and postwar masters
Christie’s adopted within the night with its Artwork Moderne sale on October 24, which totaled €9,841,865 throughout 183 heaps. The public sale opened with eleven bronze animal sculptures by Italian modernist Rembrandt Bugatti, all of which offered above estimate—a number of almost doubling expectations—every within the six-figure vary. The sale proceeded at a brisk tempo, fueled by energetic telephone bidding and enthusiasm for each established masters and lesser-known regional names.
A luminous nude portrait by Dutch artist Jan Sluijters climbed to €247,650 from a modest €70,000-90,000 estimate, signaling an lively base of connoisseurs for particular European scenes and setting a brand new file in France for the artist. Likewise, a sunlit water-lilies scene by late French Impressionist Pierre Eugène Montézin fetched €317,500 from its €70,000-100,000 estimate. A bronze by Ukrainian-born French sculptor Chana Orloff, related to the Faculty of Paris, offered effectively past expectations at €104,140 in opposition to a €40,000-60,000 estimate. In the meantime, Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita’s fashionable interpretation of the timeless mother-and-child iconography—executed in oil, gold leaf, pen and India ink on canvas mounted on panel—achieved €165,100 from its €100,000-150,000 estimate after charges. Identified for his distinctive fusion of Jap and Western aesthetics, one other drawing by the Japanese-French painter offered within the previous lot for €6,350.
Extra family names carried out inside expectations: Renoir’s Portrait de femme (1915) offered on the estimate midpoint for €469,900, whereas the quilt lot—Marc Chagall’s shiny, sentimental view of the Eiffel Tower, Violoniste-coq au-dessus des ponts de Paris (1972)—additionally met its midpoint estimate, promoting below assure for €635,000.
Édouard Manet’s first plein-air portray, Ambroise Adam dans le jardin à Pressagny, soared effectively past expectations to almost €1 million, reaching €895,350 from its €100,000-150,000 estimate. The small but outstanding canvas (40.6 x 32.4 cm) portrays an older man within the countryside and distills lots of the defining components of Manet’s fashion as he paved the best way for Impressionism’s seize of the second. Contemporary to market, the portray was initially bought instantly from the artist by Ambroise Adam and had remained in his household ever since.
One other shock adopted when Louis Hayet’s pointillist portray soared to €215,900 in opposition to a €50,000-60,000 estimate, adopted by a floral composition drawing by Odilon Redon, which reached €165,100 from its €100,000-150,000 estimate. Equally sudden was Albert Marquet’s Marine, which achieved €203,200, adopted by one other view of Stockholm’s port that offered for €58,420, whereas different seaside scenes by Eugène Boudin offered inside estimate. General, connoisseurs appeared desirous to hunt for Trendy gems all through these Paris auctions.
That enthusiasm carried over as Christie’s shifted to the Twenty first Century with its Artwork Contemporain sale, which totaled €10,669,270 throughout 97 heaps. The public sale opened with a bang—each lot both met or exceeded its excessive estimate. First up was a cosmic summary composition by Etel Adnan, which doubled its €40,000-60,000 estimate to promote for €107,950. It was adopted by a Serge Poliakoff portray at €60,960 and a gouache by Alexander Calder at €50,800. Barely over estimate got here Miriam Cahn’s existential portrait set in opposition to an acid-green background, whereas Victor Vasarely’s psychedelic Optic offered for €215,900 from its €120,000-180,000 estimate. After years of a quieter market, Vasarely’s work now appears to resonate once more with modern tastes formed by the fluid dialogue between bodily and digital worlds; just some heaps later, his Vonal-Feny reached the identical €215,900 from an estimate of €60,000-80,000.
Later within the sale, a geometrical abstraction by Venezuelan artist Carlos Cruz-Diez fetched €120,650 from its €40,000-50,000 estimate, whereas a prismatic, high-voltage composition by Heinz Mack achieved €53,340 in opposition to an estimate of €20,000-30,000. Persevering with the sturdy outcomes, a piece by A.R. Penck carried out above expectations, promoting over estimate for €92,250 following renewed consideration from latest exhibitions at Michael Werner galleries in New York and London that reignited curiosity within the German painter.
Jean Dubuffet, now a fixture in modern auctions and exhibitions on each side of the Atlantic, delivered sturdy outcomes throughout a number of heaps. His scribbled Mire G 175 (Boléro) offered above estimate for €533,400 (est. €250,000-350,000), whereas his black-and-white sculpture Paysage à l’oiseau fetched €330,200—greater than triple its €80,000-120,000 estimate. Even his extra “artwork brut” Homme et arbre (1949) surpassed expectations, promoting for €38,100 after charges. Momentum additionally remained excessive for Hans Hartung, whose T1963-R30 (1963) achieved €444,500 in opposition to an estimate of €250,000-300,000. Georg Baselitz, a perennial presence in artwork truthful stories, realized €685,800 (est. €300,000-500,000) for a double portrait of his signature upside-down determine suspended within the cosmos. In the meantime, latest exhibitions in Seoul seem to have boosted curiosity in Antony Gormley, whose Ease 21 (MEME) II offered above estimate for €120,650.
The Italian postwar phase additionally carried out solidly. All works by Enrico Castellani offered inside estimate, whereas a extremely informel ceramic by Leoncillo introduced in €40,640 (est. €25,000-35,000). A minimal gouache by Lucio Fontana from 1965 greater than doubled its estimate, promoting for €57,150. Gold-toned geometric bronzes by Arnaldo Pomodoro continued to draw patrons—his small however iconic sphere (20 cm in diameter) reached €107,950 (est. €30,000-50,000), his Tavola dei segni (1958) offered for €41,910, and a spiral tower from 1999, standing 41 inches excessive, doubled its estimate to realize €114,300.
Costs additionally rose for Rome’s Pop Artwork pioneers: Mario Schifano’s Palm offered for €304,800 (est. €80,000-120,000), whereas his Esso Gas Signal went for €53,340 on the shut of the sale. Through the concluding public sale, “Moderne(s): Une Assortment Particulière Européenne,” held on Saturday, October 25, a piece by the enigmatic Italian artist Domenico Gnoli, Le Matelas (1965), offered effectively above its estimate for €2,012,000—additional confirming the revived worldwide urge for food for Italian Trendy and Modern artwork.
