Sotheby's and Christie's Show that Art Market Comeback Is Real

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Feb 5th 2010 at 7:02PM

The art market's biggest question turned out to have a $200 million answer at Sotheby's on Wednesday night. Led by Alberto Giacometti's "L'Homme Qui Marche I," which an anonymous bidder picked up for more than $104 million, the auction house realized a total take of $235.7 million on 31 sold lots. Nobody expected this outcome, not even the most optimistic art market spectators, let alone a committed pessimist like me. Of course, my first instinct is to suggest that we wait for the contemporary art sales next week, but it's hard to deny that this week's outcome is both promising and exciting.

The Giacometti set a new record for the artist, sailing past the $27.5 million picked up by "Grand femme debout II" at a Christie's sale in May 2008. In driving nearly half the auction's sales, this piece made it clear that the art market comeback is more than the wishful thinking of collectors who have spent more than a year and a half watching their pieces lose value. A year from now, we'll be looking at "Homme" as the symbol of the art market's recovery, much as we've come to see that final $85 million Francis Bacon sale in May 2008 as the peak before the decline.

Eight lots failed to sell at the Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern evening sale, but this hardly matters when considered against the auction's overall performance. Presale expectations were beat by more than 100 percent, thanks in large part to the fact that 17 of the lots sold for more than £1 million each. Three lots crossed the £10 million threshold. Works by Georges Seurat, Paul Cezanne, Gustav Klimt and Camille Pissarro easily pushed into seven-figure territory.

The cautious bidding of 2009 didn't find its way into the new year. Nancy Whyte, a private art dealer in New York, tried to pay £23 million for the Giacometti, which is where she quit, and trader David Nahmad gave up £1 million later. Four phone bidders brought the price to its final resting place.

The action at Sotheby's follows a strong night at competitor Christie's, which sold lots worth £76.8 million, and impressive result until the action under the gavel at Sotheby's overshadowed it.

Change is in the air. Art collectors and dealers are becoming more comfortable with the market dynamic. Sellers are providing better inventory -- as we can see from the presence of pieces by Klimt, Giacometti and Cezanne at Sotheby's -- and buyers are raising their paddles more. The auction houses are keeping an open mind on guaranteed minimum prices. After a year and a half of brutality, we finally have some relief, and this is just the beginning.

Tags: art market, ArtMarket, auction houses, auction-house, AuctionHouses, auctions, cezanne, Christies, ChristiesAuction, ChristiesAuctionHouse, giacometti, gustav klimt, GustavKlimt, klimt, Sotheby, sothebys