Fall Auction Fever - art auctions; New York

Art in America, Jan, 2000 by David Ebony

The 20th century certainly ended on a high note as far as New York's art auction houses are concerned. Business was booming at both Christie's and Sotheby's, which enjoyed many record-breaking prices in their fall auctions of 19th-century, Impressionist and Post-Impressionist, 20th-century and contemporary art. Christie's garnered a total of $252 million for these sales, well above the spring's $182-million take and close to last year's $276.6-million fall total. Sotheby's fared even better. Inaugurating its new salesroom on the seventh floor of its York Avenue headquarters, it chalked up an impressive $312.8-million total for its sales of Impressionist, modern and contemporary art. The auction house earned $241 million for these sales in the spring and $211.5 million last autumn. (Final prices include the auction house's commission of 15 percent of the first $50,000 and 10 percent on the remainder.)

19th-century, 20th-century, Impressionist and modern:

The season started out with Christie's strong evening sale of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art on Nov. 8. Forty-eight of the 52 lots offered sold and the sale total, $88.2 million, was comfortably above the evening's $79.8-million low estimate. Top lot was Monet's 1906 Waterlilies, which brought $22.6 million, far above the unpublished $15-million presale estimate. Second was van Gogh's Bridge at Trinquetaille (1888). It was expected to bring $20 million, but sold for $15.4 million to an unidentified phone bidder. A new auction record was established for Rodin when his bronze Eve (1897), sold by the heirs of French industrialist Auguste Pellerin, brought $4.8 million (est. $3-$4 million). The Orgy (1870), a large early Cezanne from the same collection, however, failed to sell (est. $7-$10 million).

At Christie's sale of 20th-century art the following evening, only 38 of the 53 works offered sold; however, the sale's $99.9-million total surpassed the evening's $89.2-million presale low estimate, largely thanks to Picasso's Nude on a Black Armchair (1932), the evening's top lot. The stylized portrait of MarieTherese Walter asleep, a work from the estate of San Francisco philanthropist Madeleine Haas Russell, sold to an anonymous telephone bidder for $45.1 million, exceeding the unpublished $40-million presale estimate. Among the evening's other big sellers were Matisse's 1907 bronze Reclining Nude I, which soared above its $3-million high estimate to sell for a spectacular $9.2 million (a record for the artist's sculpture), and Springtime in the Alps, a lush 1897 landscape by Giovanni Segantini, which brought $9.6 million, well above the $6-million high estimate and an auction record for the artist.

The presale buzz was intense for the following evening's single-owner auction at Sotheby's. The works on offer were from the estate of Eleanor and Daniel Saidenberg, owners of the New York gallery that represented Picasso in the U.S. from 1955 until the artist's death in 1973. All but three of the 46 works offered sold, for an evening total of $70.3 million, slightly beyond Sotheby's $70-million high estimate. The star lot was Picasso's Seated Woman in a Garden (1938), an intricate portrait of Dora Maar, which brought $49.5 million, above the $40-million estimate, and the second most expensive work by the artist ever sold at auction. Other successes of the night included Leger's 1927 painting Still Life with Pipe, which garnered $1 million (est. $800,000-1.2 million), and Gris's canvas Guitar and Sheet Music (1926-27), which also brought $1 million (est. $800,000-$1.2 million).

On Thursday evening, Nov. 11, Sotheby's conducted its regular Impressionist and modern art sale. Of the 45 lots offered, 36 sold for a $144.3-million take, which was under the presale $150.3-million low estimate, but enough to make it Sotheby's highest single-session total since spring 1990. Top lot was Modigliani's Nude Sitting on a Divan (1917), being sold by Prince Jefri Bolkiah, brother of the Sultan of Brunei. The work brought $16.8 million, above the $16-million high estimate. Second was Cezanne's still life Earthenware Jug (1893-94), which sold at $16.5 million, under the $18-million low estimate. Among the evening's notable casualties was Picasso's Rose Period gouache Boy in a Circus Costume, 1905 (est. $10-$15 million), which was bought in after a high bid of $9.2 million.

Contemporary: While the fall art season in New York was marked by the mayor's aggressive attack against some controversial contemporary art works, buyers for such items were out in force, as evidenced by record-breaking sales results at both houses. At Christie's Nov. 16 evening auction, many minor pieces sold for several times their estimates, and certain major lots went through the roof. The sale total of $13.2 million was well above the $12.8-million presale estimate. Only 4 of the 60 lots offered failed to sell, and 18 new artist auction records were established.

Top lot was Jeff Koons's Pink Panther (1988), a large ceramic sculpture from an edition of three plus one artist's proof. During a prolonged telephone bidding war punctuated by gasps from a stunned audience, the work climbed far above its $800,000 high estimate to sell for $1.8 million, an auction record for the artist. In second place was Chuck Close's vibrant portrait of artist Cindy Sherman, Cindy II (1988), which brought $1.2 million, far beyond the $800,000 high estimate, and another artist auction record. Sherman's own work fared well at the auction. Her large color photo Untitled #225 (1990), from an edition of six, brought $167,500, surpassing the $120,000 high estimate.