NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s fall 20th Century Week at Rockefeller Center realized USD$1.1 billion, achieved across six days of successful Evening, Day and Online-Only auctions. The results were propelled by market-leading prices for masterpieces and major artworks from the most-coveted artists of the 20th and 21st centuries and were underscored by exceptional provenance and quality. This season, Christie’s was the auction house of choice for eight major private and estate collections, which were offered throughout the week and included both individual masterpieces and entire collections decades in the making.

Among the notable achievements of the week, Christie’s twice surpassed the $90 million mark for individual works of art, setting a new auction record for any work by any living artist with David Hockney’s 1972 masterpiece, which sold for $90.3 million (without a reserve), and a new auction record for the category of American art with Edward Hopper’s 1929 masterpiece Chop Suey, which fetched $91.9 million. In total, more than 30 individual auction records were set for artists of the era, introducing new artist names into the ranks of the world’s top prices at auction, and recalibrating the market for artists still underrepresented in the secondary market

Middle-market Day and Online sessions similarly saw remarkable achievements this week, with perfect 100% sold performances for Christie’s dedicated sales of Picasso Ceramics and Giacometti Design, and a combined $95 million total for the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day sale sessions on Friday that closed a triumphant week.

Christie’s two-day sale of An American Place: The Barney A. Ebsworth Collection achieved $323 million, making it the 4th most valuable private collection ever sold at auction. Presented mid-week, prior to Christie’s traditional category sale of Post-War & Contemporary Art, the Evening Sale portion saw new records achieved for top artists of the post-war period including Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Jasper Johns, Arshile Gorky, Joan Mitchell, Alexander Calder, and Adolph Gottlieb, among others. Christie’s overall total for Post-War and Contemporary Art across the week topped $654.4 million.

Marc Porter, Chairman of Christie’s Americas, remarked: “It was an honor to have been entrusted this season with so many masterworks representing some of the greatest collections ever assembled in the United States. The strong results achieved over this week were a tribute to the passion of these visionary individuals, and we are proud to have represented them so well and so thoroughly to the global marketplace, from Paris to Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, and here in New York. This week was a global success for Christie’s, not just for fine art but also for luxury goods, with an additional $126.3 million achieved by our colleagues at Christie’s Geneva, led by the extraordinary Pink Legacy Diamond sold to Harry Winston for $50.3 million.”

Across the sales, Christie’s drew broad global interest and engagement, recording registered bidders from 65 different countries representing five continents. Over 20,000 visitors toured the public exhibition in Rockefeller Center.

CHRISTIE’S 20TH CENTURY WEEK IN NUMBERS

Christie’s Sales of Post-War and Contemporary Art Totals: $654,377,625 Including Post-War and Contemporary Lots from the Ebsworth Collection

Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale
$279,253,500/ £214,810,385/ € 246,172,701 | Sold 85% by lot

Impressionist and Modern Art Day and Works on Paper Sales
$38,216,500/ £29,694,251/ € 33,851,444 Sold 67% by lot

Alberto and Diego Giacometti: Masters of Design Sale
$11,467,250/ £8,910,062/ 10,157,471 | Sold 100% by lot

Picasso Ceramics: Including Property from the Collection of Joan A. Mendell Online Only Sale
$1,924,625/ £1,464,707/ € 1,675,625 | Sold 100% by lot

An American Place: The Ebsworth Collection Evening Sale
$317,801,250/ £247,123,834/ €282,215,418 | Sold 88% by lot

An American Place: The Ebsworth Collection Day Sale
$5,302,250/ £4,081,794/ €4,689,981 | Sold 98% by lot

Selections from the Israel Museum, Jerusalem Sold to Benefit the Acquisitions Fund Online Only Sale
$217,500/ £169,295 / €190,774 | Sold 100% by lot

Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale
$357,622,500/ £278,089,036/ €315,631,056 | Sold 85% by lot

Post-War and Contemporary Art Morning and Day Sales
$95,091,750/ £74,348,514/ € 83,716,427 | Sold 85% by lot

Collection Totals:

Ebsworth Collection: $323,103,500, 4th highest private collection total at auction

Stafford Collection: $94,689,250 Achieved over the course of 2018

Anderson Collection: $48,059,250 Running Total

DeMenil Collection: $43,967,500

Klapper Collection: $41,143,500 Running Total

Rose Collection: $20,737,500

Jerrold Perenchio Collection: $18,629,125 Running Total