LONDON.- ‘A Visual Odyssey: Selections from LAC (Lambert Art Collection)’ achieved £14,975,123 with sell-through rates of 89% by lot and 95% by value. Bidders from 42 countries and five continents showed their strong appreciation for objects across the centuries and demonstrated an appetite for the spirit and flair of cross-category collecting as exemplified by the Lambert Art Collection. Together Christie’s and de Pury brought a completely new approach to the auction combining an exhibition at Ely House, Dover Street, with a radical online presence with specially commissioned content and photography. The success of this bold collaboration has been proven by the stand-out prices throughout the sale and the huge response from over 5,000 visitors to Ely House throughout 10 days of the exhibition.

The highest price achieved during the seven hour sale was for Christopher Wool’s Untitled at £4,898,500, which was recently featured the artist’s Guggenheim retrospective in 2014. The work led a trio of paintings by Wool that were offered in the auction including, East Broadway Rundown (£2,210,500) and King Walk (£1,426,500) and together achieved a figure of £8,535,500. Another highlight was a Louis XV ormolu mounted ebony bureau plat, which sold for £818,500.

Energy was present from the very start of the auction with a particularly lively response to Louise Lawler’s Portrait (1982), which reached a figure of £68,500 - almost seven times its low estimate. More highlights included Donald Judd’s Desk and Two Chairs, which reached £158,500; a set of three political prints, that reached a figure of £5,000 (against an estimate of £300-£500) and Henri Cartier Bresson’s photograph of Salerno, Italy that more than doubled its estimate. Hotly in demand artists included David Hammons, Günter Förg, Claire Rojas, Damien Hirst, Cindy Sherman, Karen Klimnik, Lisa Yuskavage, Mike and Doug Starn, and Thomas Schütte.

Other lots that were highly sought after included furniture throughout the ages, including a Xavier Lust ‘Mountains’ dining table, which sold for £9,375, and an early Louis XV Giltwood Side Table, which achieved £15,000, four 1980s haute couture dresses by Roberto Capucci and a 1953 Topolino car, which achieved a figure of £17,500, doubling its pre-sale estimate.

Francis Outred said: "I am delighted by the outstanding success of this extra special auction. Bidders from all over the world have responded with huge enthusiasm to objects from all eight collecting categories and three centuries, which represent five generations of Lambert family collecting. The response to this completely new approach has been reflected in the fantastic prices throughout the auction, from the very earliest pieces in the collection to some of the most recently acquired, including the trio of Christopher Wool paintings. It has been a great pleasure to work the Lambert family and de Pury on this unique collaboration."

Simon de Pury said: "It has been a privilege to work on such an incredible sale. We have created something new and exciting with 'A Visual Odyssey', introducing never-seen-before elements to the traditional auction format, including an expertly curated exhibition of 306 objects in Ely House by Jacques Grange, and an online platform offering market information and interviews with artists and experts. Our partnership with Christie’s has been a particularly unique and ground-breaking feature of this sale, and brought together an extraordinary pool of talents that was testament to the unparalleled range of 306 objects spread across eight categories and three centuries brought together by the Lambert Art Collection. The Christopher Wool works, in my opinion amongst the best paintings the artist ever produced, have achieved strong prices and found wonderful new homes."

Auctions at Christie’s continue on Friday 16 October with the Post War and Contemporary Evening Auction and Italian Sale, followed by the Post-War and Contemporary Day Auction on Saturday 17 October.