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Sotheby’s leads the art market [08/08/2002]
There were more than 2,600 art auctions held round the world in January-July
2002. The most prestigious, held by Sotheby’s and Christie’s, are followed
closely by art experts looking for forward signs of market trends. These exceptional
sales attract so few collectors that it would be too reductionist to try and draw
lessons for the market as a whole. But, they are revealing about the fierce competition
between the market’s leading auction houses.
Sotheby’s did well out of the first season. It hosted the two auctions with
the highest turnovers of January-July 2002 and also the sale which saw a record GBP
45m paid for the famous Massacre of the Innocents Peter Paul RUBENS . But Christie’s excelled in contemporary
art. Its 14 May 2002 sale alone generated over 45 million dollars. The New York
auctions in May—a big draw for the media—usually serve as a benchmark for the market’s
general state of health. This year, despite impressive records set for works by Constantin BRANCUSI , René MAGRITTE and Juan GRIS , they were less lucrative than in 2000.
In May 2002 New York, the most exceptional work did not fetch more than USD 16.5m
while, two years previously, two works had sold for over USD 20m each. That
year, the May stars were Pablo PICASSO ’s Nature Morte aux Tulipes,
auctioned at USD 26m, Claude MONET ’s Portrait and Nymphéas, which
found buyers at USD 22m and USD 19m respectively, and Kasimir
Sevrinovitch MALEVITCH’s Suprematist Composition, which
was snapped up at USD 15.5m.
So far, Sotheby’s can claim the highest turnover
at auction with its sale of impressionist and contemporary artists on 8. May in New
York: USD 114.1m with only 5% unsold. The highest bid of the evening was
USD 15,250,000 for Pichet et Assiettes de Poires by Paul CÉZANNE . The day before, during an auction
with the same theme, Christie’s sold only 72% of its lots for USD 88.5m. Among the
lots bought in at Christie’s were a Claude MONET oil painting with an estimate of USD
4-6m and Le Chapeau Bleu by Kees VAN DONGEN with an estimate of USD 2-3m. Overall,
the huge enthusiasm in May was reserved not for the impressionists but for sculptors
and contemporary artists.
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Top 10 of Fine Art
Auctions from
january to july 2002
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Turnover
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Auctioneer
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Date
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Place
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Theme of sales
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USD 114 115 000
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Sotheby's |
05/08/02 |
New-York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
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USD 106 217 800
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Sotheby's |
07/10/02 |
London |
Old Master Paintings |
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USD 88 485 000
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Christie's |
05/07/02 |
New-York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
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USD 63 327 762
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Christie's |
02/04/02 |
London |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
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USD 56 283 737
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Christie's |
06/25/02 |
London |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
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USD 53 509 589
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Sotheby's |
06/24/02 |
London |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
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USD 45 345 000
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Christie's |
05/14/02 |
New-York |
Contemporary Art |
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USD 42 745 000
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Sotheby's |
05/15/02 |
New-York |
Contemporary Art |
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USD 32 030 485
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Christie's |
07/10/02 |
London |
Old Master Paintings |
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USD 29 644 500
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Sotheby's |
05/22/02 |
New-York |
American Paintings-Latin American Art |
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