Sotheby's Paris achieves record-breaking $154.6M marquee auction week
Appearing at auction for the first time, Alexander Calder’s Mobile realised €3.4m / $3.8m (est. €2-3m)
PARIS.—
Bringing a remarkable week in Paris to a close, Sotheby's achieved its highest ever total for a series of marquee auctions in the city, with an overall total of €137.7m / $154.6m.
Today's sales of Modernités and Surrealism & Its Legacy realised a combined total of €63.2m / $70.9m. The results follow yesterday's record-breaking auction of The Schlumberger Collection, which realised €74.4m / $83.7m.
Overarching Figures:
• Combined total for the week: €137.7m / $154.6m (est. €97-138m)
• Combined total for Modernités and Surrealism & Its Legacy: €63.2m / $70.9m (est. €59.2-86m)
• Seven artists set new benchmarks for the market: František Kupka, Richard Prince, Mark Grotjahn, Gabriel Orozco, Wolfgang Tillmans, Victor Brauner, Vilhelm Hammershøi
Modernités:
Sale total: €38.6m / $43.4m (est. €32.8-48m)
Key Results:
• František Kupka's Espace non-descriptif sold for €9m / $10.1m (est. €6-8m), establishing a new auction record for the artist in France and the second highest price ever achieved for a work by Kupka at auction.
• The largest work by the artist to be offered at auction in almost 30 years.
• Pursued by eight bidders, Alberto Giacometti's Tête crâne quadrupled its low estimate, selling for €8.7m / $9.7m (est. €2-4m).
• The first appearance at auction of a Tête crâne, the vast majority being held in major museum collections worldwide.
• The sale opened to an extraordinary duo of works from the former Claude et Georges Pompidou Collection:
• Sonia Delaunay's Nature morte portugaise doubled its high estimate, totalling €614,400 / $690,186 (est. €200,000-300,000).
• Nicolas de Staël's Les toits de Paris sold for €563,200 / $632,671 (est. €300,000-500,000).
• A group of six preparatory gouaches for Marc Chagall's seminal series of Le Cirque, coming directly from the estate of the artist, brought in a total €4m / $4.5m, surpassing their combined high estimate (est. €2.6-3.5m).
• Pablo Picasso's Tête d'homme, profil achieved €3.6m / $4.1m (est. €3-4m).
Further New Benchmarks:
• Richard Prince's You No Tell - I No Tell achieved €1.1m / $1.8m (est. €1-1.5m) - a record for a work by the artist sold at auction in France.
• Mark Grotjahn's Untitled (Full Color Butterfly 41.81) achieved a new benchmark for a work on paper by the artist sold at auction in France, at €499,200 / $560,776 (est. €400,000-600,000).
• Gabriel Orozco's Samurai Tree (Invariant 20D) sold for €448,000 / $503,261 (est. €300,000-500,000) - a record for a work by the artist sold at auction in France.
• Wolfgang Tillmans' Greifbar 53 realised €243,200 / $273,100 (est. €150,000-200,000) - a record for a work by the artist sold at auction in France.
• Sovekammer (Bedroom Interior), the first work by Vilhelm Hammershøi to sell at auction in France, sold for €307,200 / $345,093 (est. €250,000-350,000).
Surrealism & Its Legacy:
Sale total: €24.6m / $27.5m (est. €24.6-35.5m)
Key Results:
• Joan Miró's La Tige de la fleur rouge pousse vers la lune, dating from a period of fertile exchange between Miró and the emerging generation of American Abstract Expressionists, achieved €5.7m / $6.4m (est. €4.5-6.5m).
• Victor Brauner's TOT IN TOT et La grande Métamorphose sold for €1m / $1.2m (est. €800,000-1.2m) - a new auction record for the artist.
• A second work by the artist, Sevrage du moi (Mamans barattant le lait pour en extraire les "moi") also surpassed the artist's previous auction record, achieving €896,000 / €1m (est. €800,000-1.2m).
• Appearing at auction for the first time, Alexander Calder's Mobile realised €3.4m / $3.8m (est. €2-3m).
• The auction opened with Max Ernst's Le Torse ailé which realised €1.2m / $1.3m - almost 4 times its high estimate (est. €200,000-300,000).
• Leonor Fini's L'Œil du poisson doubled its low estimate to bring €448,000 / $503,261 (est. €200,000-300,000).
