Christie's Auction Pumped by Yves, Keeps Art Market Recovery Going
The 51 lots that Christie's sent under the gavel last night were chosen carefully. The auction was designed to succeed ... which is what you would have thought of every auction until the middle of 2008, right? Nonetheless, the auction house made some bold moves in an effort to push up prices, but only offered lots that would justify putting the necks of its constituent decision-makers on the chopping block.With a final tally of more than $61 million in line with the high end of the presale estimate, it would appear that Christie's made some smart calls. Forty-six of the lots achieved sale, with one clearing £5 million, nine surpassing £1 million and 16 beating $1 million. Compared to last year's sale, when only 29 lots were offered, the total take surged 3.7X. I tend to be pretty skeptical, but even that sort of result is enough to make me admit that the art market's recovering.
Buyers in Europe and Britain were most active, picking up 41 percent and 33 percent of the sales, respectively. Collectors in the United States followed with 22 percent and Asia at 4 percent.


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