STRONG PRICES FOR 70 YEARS OF CONTEMPORARY ART AT SOTHEBY’S $294 Million Sale Sees Works from the 1940s to Today Exceed Their High Estimates Records Set for Barnett Newman, Gerhard Richter, (Also the Record for Any Living Artist), Nate Lowman, Dan Colen, and a Sculpture by Yves Klein Works Sold to Benefit the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Building Project Bring Nearly $12 Million, Double Their High Estimate and with Further Works to be Offered Tomorrow Afternoon
NEW YORK, 14 May 2013: Tonight at Sotheby’s the Contemporary Art Evening sale totaled$293,587,000, and was 82.8% sold-by-lot. There were exceptional prices for works from every decade from the 1940s through today with records set for Barnett Newman and Gerhard Richter, among others. The price achieved for Richter’s masterwork also established a new benchmark for any living artist at auction. The global nature of today’s art market was yet again underlined with collectors from 35 countries registering to bid in the sale, 20% of whom were new to either Sotheby’s or the category.
Tobias Meyer, Worldwide Head of Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s, said: “This evening we are very pleased to have achieved three landmark prices for masterpieces by key post-war artists. Barnett Newman’s Onement VI established a world record for the artist at auction and doubled the world record price achieved just one year ago. Gerhard Richter’s Domplatz, Mailand set a record for a living artist at a price which was a triumph for a photo-painting by the artist, and Yves Klein’s exquisite sculpture set a medium record for the artist.”
Alexander Rotter, Head of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art department in New York, noted: “Tonight we offered important works spanning 70 years, and witnessed strong demand across that impressive range – from early works by Pollock and Calder from the 1940s to works by Currin and Colen made just last year. We are delighted with the results achieved for the works sold to benefit the Whitney Museum of American Art’s new building project, which nearly doubled the high estimate to realize a total of $11.8 million, with 17 more works to be offeredtomorrow.”
The sale was led by Barnett Newman’s Onement VI, which sold for $43,845,000 after competition among five bidders – that price eclipses Newman’s previous auction record by a margin of more than $20 million. The monumental 1953 painting is the most important work by the artist ever to appear at auction and stands as a masterwork not only of Newman’s artistic enterprise, but of the entire Abstract Expressionist movement.
Domplatz, Mailand by Gerhard Richter sold for $37,125,000 - a record both for Richter at auction and for any living artist at auction. The work stands as the epitome of the artist’s celebrated 1960s photo-painting canon and is a masterpiece of 20th century art. The price for the monumental canvas achieved this evening is more than 10 times the then-record price it commanded at Sotheby’s London 15 years ago.
The auction also featured a series of works to benefit the Whitney Museum of American Art’s new building project. All eight works offered this evening sold, bringing a total of $11,806,000, nearly double the high estimate of $6.6 million. The group was led by John Currin’s Lydian, which sold for $2,965,000 ($500/700,000) and Jasper John’s Untitledwhich sold for $2,853,000 (est. $1.5/2m). Seventeen additional works will be offered in tomorrow’s Day sale.
Other highlights of the sale included The Blue Unconscious by Jackson Pollock, painted in the critical year of 1946, which fetched $20,885,000; the monumental Sculpture éponge bleue sans titre, SE 168 by Yves Klein, which set a new record for a sculpture by the artist when it sold for $22,005,000; Richard Diebenkorn’s Ocean Park No. 46 from 1971, which fetched $11,085,000 (est. $6/8 million); and Cy Twombly’s Untitled (Bolsena) from 1969, which made $15,397,000 – the second highest price for the artist at auction (est. $10/15 million).
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