LONDON.- On 18 March 2026, Christie's Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale generated a total of £11,639,000 /$15,421,675 /€13,489,601, and was 99% sold by value and 96% sold by lot.
• The top lot of the evening was Frank Auerbach's Christmas Tree at Mornington Crescent (2004-05), sold for £2,002,000.
• A new world auction record achieved for Peter Phillips with Motorpsycho/Ace (1962) (price realised: £254,000) - from the Collection of highly respected Italian art critic Enrico Crispolti - a defining work in the early history of Pop Art in Britain.
• Continued momentum for British sculpture: Lynn Chadwick's Back to Venice (1988) was sold for £1,636,00, 64% above its low estimate. Other strong prices achieved for Barbara Hepworth's Curved Form (1960), which sold for £1,016,000; Dame Elisabeth Frink's Seated Man II (1986), which realised £406,400; and Barry Flanagan's Virtue (conceived in 1993) achieving £203,200 (69% above its low estimate).
• Continued interest from international collectors was witnessed in this category, with 47% of bidders and buyers from outside the UK.
• Depth of bidding was witnessed for works by Ben Nicholson, including 1938 (white relief).
96% of lots sold within or above estimate.
TOP FIVE LOTS IN THE SALE
• Frank Auerbach, Christmas Tree at Mornington Crescent, 2004-05 £2,002,000 / $2,652,650/ €2,320,318
• Lynn Chadwick, Back to Venice, 1988 £1,636,000 / $2,167,700/ €1,896,124
• Barbara Hepworth, Curved Form, 1960 £1,016,000 / $1,346,200/ €1,177,544
• Bridget Riley, Recollection, 1986 £889,000 / $1,177,925/ €1,030,351
• Ben Nicholson, 1938 (white relief), 1938 £660,400 / $875,030/ €765,404
Christie's Modern British and Irish Art Day Sale will take place tomorrow, 19 March, from 1pm.
Christie's 20/21 sales will then continue in Europe with Paris:
• 14 April – Dans l'intimité de Pierre Bonnard : Collection Claude Terrasse
• 15 April - Radical Genius, Works on Paper from A Distinguished Private Collection
• 15 April - 20/21 Century Art - Evening Sale
• 16 April - Art Contemporain
• 17 April - Art Impressionniste & Moderne
• 8-17 April – Henri Matisse : Tracer le lien, oeuvres sur papier de la Fondation Pierre et Tana Matisse
