Auction Analysis Spotlight: London’s Modern and Contemporary Summer Auctions

Victoria Kleiner, Head of Due Diligence and Digital Art Expertise

The London Modern and Contemporary auctions which took place at the very end of June were an interesting indicator of overall market temperature. Whilst there were no major ‘firework’ moments - such as the sale of the Klimt which sold at Sotheby’s last June for a premium price of 85.3 million GBP, setting a record for the most expensive artwork every auctioned in Europe – the results overall were arguably better than had been expected, given auction performances to date this year.

Whilst it is true that the overall aggregate value offered by the three main houses declined from last year – 253 million GBP to 117 million GBP – this drop becomes much less precipitous once we take two key factors into account. Firstly, the aforementioned Klimt last June took up a large proportion of the total. Secondly, both Phillips and Christie’s deliberately pared down their sale offerings this year, with both opting for lower value day sales rather than evening sales, and so focussed on consigning lower value lots suitable for day sales rather than ‘statement’ evening sale lots.

This decision on the part of Christie’s and Phillips to scale back their auction involvement in June in London appears to signify a desire to focus primarily on February and October in London and May and November in New York, re-instating London in June as a form of ‘Mid-Season’ sale. Given that there are already four major seasons of Modern and Contemporary Art in London and New York, as well as Hong Kong, coupled with the ‘fatigue’ of a recently held Art Basel, this policy has logical elements. In addition, due to the much-vaunted opening of Christie’s new headquarters in Hong Kong this year, it is understandable that the house would choose to focus its big ‘firepower’ there this year in order to ensure a memorable Asian season in September. (However, in an aside to the above, it is worth noting that this is not the first time Christie’s has scaled back its summer season. In June 2017 and June 2018 the Post-War and Contemporary evening and day auctions were cancelled, only to be quietly returned in June 2019. So, it will be interesting to see if the house chooses to maintain this policy, especially since Sotheby’s reportedly has no plans to cancel its London June evening sales.

There was some discussion regarding the major lot at Sotheby’s, Basquiat’s ‘Portrait of the Artist as a Young Derelict’, which was originally due to be offered at Christie’s New York in May 2022 at an approx. valuation of 30 million USD before being withdrawn prior to sale. However, when it made its reappearance this June, the estimate level at which it had been placed - 15-20 million GBP with a guarantee, selling for a 16 million GBP with premium – was a level far more in keeping with the work’s true value level, which the market confirmed.

Sotheby’s withdrew one of its highlight lots, by Tamara de Lempicka, shortly before the sale, in keeping with the increasingly popular trend for auction houses to withdraw high value works rather than have the risk of them going unsold, and so become ‘tarnished’ at auction.

Works from the Ralph I. Goldenberg collection, which opened Sotheby’s evening sale, saw some strong results for Giacometti, Twombly and Calder in particular, although the Rymans fared less well, perhaps because the presence of three works in quick succession by this somewhat esoteric artist was too much for the market to absorb. Single-owner collections are highly sought after by the houses due to provenance often providing a value boost, although the Goldenberg sale was the only one on offer this season.

Highlights of the Sotheby’s evening sale included an extended bidding battle for the wonderfully fresh-to-market Renoir’s ‘Bouquet de lilas’, which sold for a premium price of 6,880,000 GBP against an estimate of 2-3 million GBP. Lucy Bull also continued her recent ‘bull run’ at auction with a premium price of 900,000 GBP against an estimate of 350-550,000 GBP for ’10.00’. A new artist record was set for Sykora’s ‘Linie Nr. 94’, which sold for a premium price of 900,000 GBP against an estimate of 400-600,000 GBP, continuing the run of very strong prices the artist has seen at auction over the past couple of years. On the flip side, buyers of Klee’s ‘Hitze’ and Caillebotte’s ‘La villa rose, Trouville’ were able to buy these works for excellent value, with both selling below their low estimate. However, the ‘blue-chip’ nature of these works should see their value return in future years, ensuring that these works are good investments.

There were no major excitements at Christie’s, aside from the strong start made to the sale where works by younger artists (born 1990 or later) Daisy Parris, Alia Ahmad and Ben Sledsens performed strongly against their ‘come-get-me’ estimates.

Younger artists also performed well at Phillips, in particular Alfie Caine, Michaela Yearwood-Dan and Flora Yukhonovich. Phillips actually increased its total over last June, achieving a premium total of 13,054,965 GBP as opposed to a premium total of 9,078,745 GBP in June 2023.

Ultimately, whilst this London June sale season will not be remembered for any particularly notable moments, the overall performance indicates a market which, whilst not yet strengthening, is holding.