PARIS.- The Post-War and Contemporary Art sale held at Christie’s on 3 June achieved a total of €8,179,625/£7,057,485/$9,979,278 selling 85% by lot and 91% by value. The top lot of the sale was a painting by Chu The-Chun, Le 14.8.1978 which sold for an impressive €620,000, more than doubling its presale estimate.

Joséphine Wanecq, Head of the sale: “We saw strong results achieved today, far above their presale estimates such as for Asian contemporary artists like Chu The-Chun with a remarkable result, but also for Zao Wou-Ki which painting from 1962 realised €212,500. French artists also performed very well as seen with the result obtained by Pierre Soulages' Brou de noix, 65 x 50 cm, 1958 sold €500,000, Jean Dubuffet, as well as Christo for whom international collectors paid tribute today. We are pleased to see that a healthy and strong market is back in place in Paris. We are looking forward to our next sales on 30 June which will be part of a series of auctions between Paris and London.”

Further highlights included a beautiful painting by Josef Albers which achieved €375,000, realising the third highest price of today’s sale. Hans Hartung was also well represented with 4 works including the bright and colourful T1950-14 which was sold €312,50. Additional great prices were reached by Augustín Cárdenas with his spectacular wooden sculpture Les amoureux which sold for more than 3 times its high estimate at €243,750, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva whose work Echiquier rouge ou Joueurs d’échecs was sold for €287,500 and A. R. Penck with his very large painting Konzept which realised €250,000.

Finally, the auction also included Street Art with two works by Invader which sold respectively for €20,000 and €18,750 against a presale estimate of 6,000-8,000 for both Invasion Kit and Keith Haring with A ridiculous bird for Debra from 1989 which sold for €25,000.