Freud Flops at Sotheby's Surges in Contemporary Art Auction

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Feb 11th 2010 at 6:01PM

It looks like art market watchers (including me) were right for the wrong reasons. At the Sotheby's contemporary art auction last night, $84.5 million in sales were completed, but the highly coveted Lucian Freud didn't hit its low estimate. Lucio Fontana, Yves Klein, Willem de Kooning, Peter Doig and Frank Auerbach, however, led to pitched bidding battles.

The evening's highest price was paid for de Kooning's "Untitled XIV," which fetched 4 million pounds over the phone, beating its high-end estimate by a third. The seller was a collector from Europe who picked up the painting from the artist's estate. Doig's "Saint Anton (Flat Light)," an Alpine scene, was good for 2.8 million, also via phone.

But, Lucian Freud still stole the spotlight, if not the top bid. His self-portrait with a black eye carried a low-end presale estimate of 2.8 million – after having been offered at a lower price in private sale before the auction. The seller, Victor Chandler, is a bookmaker based in Gibraltar with a penchant for secrecy: his press officer refused to be named (according to Bloomberg News).

The Lenz collection, also high-profile, performed very well at Sotheby's. Only one of the 47 lots wasn't able to move, and the entire collection sold for 23.2 million pounds, soundly beating a presale estimate of 11.2 million pounds to 15.2 million pounds. The most expensive piece was Klein's "Fire" painting "F 88," which brought in 3.3 million pounds, just shy of its high estimate of 3.5 million.

The evening's surprise came from Auerbach, who's 1956 drawing was purchased by London art dealer Offer Waterman for 1 million pounds, far above the presale estimate of 50,000 pounds to 80,000 pounds. Interestingly, Sotheby's senior international specialist Oliver Barker noted to Bloomberg News, "The gap between Auerbach and Freud and Bacon is closing." Are we seeing a new evolution in the Francis Bacon supply chain?

Overall, the contemporary art auction beat its high-end presale estimate of 45 million pounds and thrashed the 2009 result for the same auction, a mere 17.9 million pounds for 27 lots.

Tags: art auction, art auctions, art collecting, art collection, art collector, art dealer, art market, ArtAuction, ArtAuctions, ArtCollecting, ArtCollection, ArtCollector, ArtDealer, ArtMarket, auction house, auction houses, AuctionHouse, AuctionHouses, francis bacon, FrancisBacon, london, lucian freud, LucianFreud, peter doig, PeterDoig, Sotheby, sothebys, Willem De Kooning, WillemDeKooning, yves klein, YvesKlein

Filed under: Auctions, Art

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

E wulf Feb 14th 2010 11:46AM

its all about fools and how they spend money, why would anyone want trash like that on their wall, even if it were free.

OBama Sucks Feb 14th 2010 11:54AM

Jealous?

GoldLions Feb 14th 2010 1:53PM

Agree, that thing would give me nightmares.

RedMan Feb 14th 2010 12:24PM

The extraordinary diversity in the range of human expression called "ART" reflects a fundamental quality of the human species as a whole. Human culture and knowledge have vastly outgrown the time and capacity given to any individual human brain to internalize it all. It is impossible for any one person to understand all aspects of any modern discipline (e.g., science, mathematics, history). Similarly, it is impossible for any one individual to be able to accept, identify with or understand the religious or political thinking of every corner of the collective human consciousness. To each life and mind much will be unattainable. Consequentially, each man and woman realize their own unique horizons and ultimate limitations. Simply dismissing any work of art as trash must be regarded in the context of the commenter's experience and Weltanschaunung. Ultimately, the commercial success of any work of art depends on exposure to the right market and what ever demand will support. That last aspect seems by far the most arcane and mysterious factor of all.

martin Mar 11th 2010 4:01PM

That is the most profound thing I have read. It describes the subject best and is unbelievable versed insight. Congratulations.
If you'd allow me, I would like to use that on a possible Modern Art site I have in mind.
Please feel free to email me direct martin@ict-investment.com

Thanks,
Martin

dave Feb 14th 2010 12:51PM

Redman....

you swallow the entire load don't you!

dave Feb 14th 2010 12:53PM

Redman....

You swallow the entire load don't you!

GoldLions Feb 14th 2010 2:15PM

This is one disturbing piece........who would want it?
It would give me nightmares.

RedMan Feb 14th 2010 1:57PM

speak for yourself, Dave

Angela Feb 14th 2010 1:58PM

Who the hell is Lucian Freud, why would he paint himself with a boogie in his left nostril, and who in their right mind would pay nearly $3 million for THAT painting?

Rather than an upsurge in frugality among art collectors, mayhap it suggests a rise in common sense. $3 million for a picture of a cockeyed stranger with a bugger in his nose? Oh Hell No.

SDAKen Feb 14th 2010 2:09PM

Redman is right. I had to look up "Weltanschauung" to find out that it is roughly the German equivalent of "World View," which I understand to basically mean one's motivation and reason along with their resulting actions based on one's perspective and philosophy of everything taken into consideration simultaneously. In other words, it is the total life Gestault—the big picture in which the insights informing the current conclusion are more than the sum of the parts and yet constantly morphing as new information and insights develop the individual's conceptualization and integration of these same facts. Applied to "Art Appreciation," Redman's statement is quite profound. It not only speaks to the wealthy who are able to invest and preserve works found to be credible investment speculations, but also to all who, for reasons of their own, assign value to any work of art. Any painting's real value could be based on aesthetics, historical significance, personal and general recognition of the commentary and expression of the artist's own World View, the popularity of the artist and the volume of their body of work, innovative artistic technique or use of their chosen or mixed medium, or a host of other criterion. However, to paraphrase a old cliché – Artistic and monetary value, personal appeal, and beauty are all in the eye of the beholder – and hopefully also in the eyes of potential future buyers of these same paintings when the time comes to place them once again on the auction block.