Sotheby's Contemporary Art Day Auction
Today at Sotheby’s the Contemporary Art Day Auction brought a total of $59,519,375 and was 78.7% sold by lot.
Scott Nussbaum, Head of the Contemporary Art Day sale said: “I am delighted with today’s total of $59,519,375 which was well within the pre-sale estimate and the highest total for a Contemporary Art Day sale in New York since May 2008. Jean-Michel Basquiat was highly sought after by collectors with Untitled (Head), a colorful crayon on paper work from 1982, nearly doubling the high estimate to sell for $1,986,500 (est. $700/1 million) and Untitled (Man with Bow) from the same year fetching $962,500 (est. $400/600,000). These strong results follow the superb price achieved for Basquiat’s Eroica at last night’s evening sale. Garden Party by Jean Dubuffet also soared over the high estimate to sell for $1,034,500 (est. $600/800,000). There were also strong prices for more recent pieces such as Divide, a 2005 stainless steel sculpture by Tony Cragg which set a new record for the artist at auction when it sold for $812,500, doubling the high estimate (est. $300/400,000), and Abductor by Fred Tomaselli which also set a new artist record when it sold for $1,082,500, several times the high estimate (est. $250/350,000).”
