Auction Analysis Spotlight: London’s Old Master Summer Auctions

Victoria Kleiner, Head of Due Diligence and Digital Art Expertise

The London summer season drew to a close at the beginning of July in traditional fashion with Sotheby’s and Christie’s Old Master sales.

Christie’s emerged as the clear victor this season, taking 43.6 million GBP with fees against 24 lots. This was a slight drop on last year which took 53.9 million GBP, but leagues ahead of Sotheby’s which managed 12.4 million GBP with fees.

Most of this came from Titian’s ‘Rest on the flight into Egypt’ from Longleat, which sold on its guarantee for 17.6 million GBP with fees, a record for the artist. This was despite the work not being in great condition following a dramatic back story which included its theft from Longleat in 1995, before being discovered in London seven years later, stuffed in a plastic bag.

Second highest was Quentin Metsys’ ‘Madonna of the Cherries’. Sold as a studio version at Christie’s in 2015 for 254,500 GBP, it was re-offered this time as an original and sold for 10.7 million GBP with fees, going to the Getty Museum in LA. Other strong results were achieved from the start when the first 3 lots sold well above their high estimates, including a striking portrait of Elizabeth I attributed to George Gower which sold for 907,000 GBP premium against an estimate of 300-500,000 GBP and a wonderful portrait of Saint Jerome, rich with symbolic details, by Pieter Coecke van Aelst I which sold for a premium price of 684,000 GBP against an estimate of 150-200,000 GBP.

A surprising BI was a major Stubbs, which hadn’t appeared at auction since 1978. A smaller Stubbs also went unsold at Sotheby’s at 400-600,000 GBP.

Sotheby’s only raised 12.4 million GBP as opposed to 39.4 million GBP the previous year. The relative highlight was a work by Botticelli and studio, ‘Virgin and child, with landscape beyond’, which sold on the guarantee for 3.4 million GBP with fees.

Sotheby’s concurrent online sale did not offer much excitement, aside from a small Willem Van de Velde work on paper which sold for a premium price of 50,400 GBP against an estimate of 3-5,000 GBP and an Arthur William Devis Orientalist oil which sold for 192,000 GBP against an estimate of 40-60,000 GBP. This sale overall made 2,178,440 GBP with fees.

Christie’s took 3,489,444 GBP for its day sale with fees. Of note here was a 16th Century Antwerp School depiction of ‘Adoration of the Magi’ which took 264,400 GBP premium against an estimate of 10-15,000 GBP, suggesting that those bidding may believe the work is a ‘sleeper’, ie, worthy of a definitive and thus more valuable attribution pending further research. Similarly, a bronze pacing horse sculpture attributed to Hubert Le Sueur took a premium price of 126,000 GBP against an estimate of 10-15,000 GBP, suggesting that certain of those competing for the bronze believe the attribution can be proved. The sale ended on rather a low however, when the 5 final lots – small sketches by19th Scottish artist – David Roberts – went unsold.

Overall – aside from the Titian – this was not a season the Houses will look back on with particular fondness, especially Sotheby’s.