Contemporary Art Keeps on Booming with Christie’s Record-Setting London Sale

Published: March 12, 2017 | By: American Luxury Staff

Christie’s London has proven that the Contemporary art scene has completely bounced back after selling 56 of 59 lots in its recent Tuesday sale. The auction brought in $117.1 million, and set multiple artists’ records in the course of the evening.

The top-earning piece was a Peter Doig canvas, while artists’ records were set for works by the following: Albert Oehlen, Carol Rama, Cecily Brown, Günther Uecker, Henry Taylor, Jean Dubuffet, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Neo Rauch, and Wolfgang Tillmans. A joint piece from Joan Miro and Josep Llorens also set a record.

While the evening sale didn’t quite reach the levels of 2014 and 2015, the high pre-estimate of $123.9 million was up 65 percent from last year’s equivalent sale. The total sale garnered $117.1 million, nearly reaching the high-end of the pre-sale estimate (three pieces short).

The highest estimate belonged to Mark Rothko’s No.1 (1949), valued at $10 to $15 million, much less than the $36 million Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev paid for the work in 2008. The Rothko No. 1 ended up selling for $13 million.

The Peter Doig 8-foot canvas featuring a snowy landscape dubbed Coburg 3+1 (1994) ended up reaching a final gavel price of $15.6 million.

Overall there were bidders from 36 countries for the Christie’s London sale, which also sounds an optimistic note for the Contemporary art market.

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