auction record

Michael Crichton's Jasper Johns Flag Painting Sells for Record $28.6 Million

Following the record-breaking $106 million Picasso sale we reported on last week, another world record has been set with the sale of late author Michael Crichton's seminal Jasper Johns Flag painting last night for $28.6 million. Both works were sold by Christie's in New York, fulfilling our prediction in The Classicist last month that the auction house's May art sales would bring in "megabucks". The 1966 flag painting, which had been estimated at up to $15 million, was sold to to New York art adviser Michael Altman before a crowd of VIPs and art collectors including hedge-fund manager Steve Cohen, Hollywood mogul Michael Ovitz, billionaire Eli Broad, author Salman Rushdie and designer Marc Jacobs. The sale's other big cash cow was Andy Warhol, whose 1965 Elizabeth Taylor diptych, "Silver Liz," sold for $18.3 million to New York art dealer Dominique Levy. The Crichton estate's 31 pieces alone sold for $93.3 million, against a $69.6 million high estimate. The sale broke at least five world records for artists including Johns, as predicted by Luxist's Tom Johansmeyer.

All in all Christie's auctioned $232 million of post-war and contemporary art on Tuesday, with around 74% of the offerings going to American buyers. "Within five minutes of opening the rooms for the stunning pre-sale exhibition of the Crichton Collection, we were packed," said Brett Gorvy, International Co-Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art at Christie's. "There was a sense of anticipation. The sale [Tuesday] reaffirms the continued confidence in the art market." Amy Cappellazzo, Christie's International Co-Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art, notes that "This is the most significant Post-War & Contemporary Art collection ever sold at auction. It was a quintessential American sale. We were delighted with the results across the board and also to see the works by Warhol sell well. Warhol is a bellwether for the market. It sends a strong signal across the board."

Gallery: Megabucks May 2010 Art Auctions

Source

Tags: Andy Warhol, art, auction, auction record, contemporary art, flag, Jasper Johns, Michael Crichton, New York, painting, Picasso, world record

$106 Million Picasso Sale Sets New World Record for Most Expensive Work of Art

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Last month The Classicist broke the news that a rarely-seen Picasso was expected to fetch up to $90 million at Christie's landmark Evening Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art, which took place yesterday in New York. Now the results are in and the painting, Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust (above) dated 1932, from the Collection of Mrs. Sidney F. Brody, was sold for a staggering $106.5 million to an unidentified telephone bidder, breaking the previous world record for any work of art sold at auction (set back in February when a Giacometti sculpture brought in $104.3 million). Yesterday's sale achieved a stunning $335.5 million in total. The Evening Sale portion of the Brody Collection also became the highest total for a single-owner sale offered at Christies New York, surpassing the landmark sale of the Collection of Victor and Sally Ganz sale in 1997. The 27 lots from the Brody Collection achieved $224.2 million.

Marc Porter, Chairman of Christie's Americas, commented: "This was a stellar night for Christie's and for the art market. The sale was led by exceptional prices for works by Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti and Henri Matisse from the Brody Collection, one of the greatest private collections to come to market. In addition, we witnessed great depth of bidding and strong results for important works from other American and European collections, including additional paintings by Picasso and works by Giacometti and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. We are honored to have been entrusted with so many remarkable works this season, and we are delighted to have delivered such positive results, including three new world auction records for Picasso, Georges Braque, and Jean-François Raffaelli."

Tags: art market, auction record, Christies, Giacometti, Henri Matisse, modern art, most expensive art, Pablo Picasso, Picasso, world record

Championship-Winning 1965 Shelby Daytona Coupe Sells for a Record $7.25 Million

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

A new record was set this year at Pebble Beach where Mecum Auctions successfully auctioned off the famous Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, chassis number CSX2601 in which iconic racing driver Bob Bondurant clinched the world championship in 1965. The car initially crossed the auction block at Indianapolis back in May, but failed to meet its reserve price, with estimates initially placing its value in excess of $10 million. The historic racing car came back for another attempt, and sold in Monterey for $7.25 million, setting a record in the process for the highest price paid for an American car at auction.

Forty-for years after claiming the World Manufacturers Championship in this very car for Shelby American out from under Ferrari's nose, Bondurant was reunited with the car and drove it onto the stage where the Shelby Daytona made history once again.

Source

Tags: 1965 shelby cobra daytona coupe, 1965ShelbyCobraDaytonaCoupe, auction record, AuctionRecord, daytona, mecum auctions, MecumAuctions, monterey, pebble beach, pebble beach concours delegance, PebbleBeach, PebbleBeachConcoursDelegance, shelby, shelby american, shelby cobra, shelby cobra daytona, shelby cobra daytona coupe, ShelbyAmerican, ShelbyCobra, ShelbyCobraDaytona, ShelbyCobraDaytonaCoupe

Rare 1938 Auto Union D-Type Could Break Records at Bonhams

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

Recession? What recession? You wouldn't know a thing about it if you spent all your time at collector car auctions. Last year a rare 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante Coupe set a new record at $7.9 million, which was subsequently trumped by a $10.9m 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder. Last month that unbelievable record was shattered at the same event, where a rare 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sold for over $12 million. You'd be forgiven for thinking that stratospheric record would stay in place at least until the economy recovered. And it very well might. But if any car stands a chance at breaking the record yet again, this is it: a rare 1938 Auto Union D-Type racer, one of the famous Silver Arrows that dominated motor racing in the years leading up to WWII.

This rare specimen of automotive history was supposed to hit the auction block two years ago, but was withdrawn at the last moment due to questions over its pedigree vis-a-vis its sister cars, most of which were brutally destroyed in the Soviet Union after they were seized by Communist troops liberating East Germany. With suspicions laid to rest and its history verified, Chassis 19 is set to return to the auction block at Bonhams' upcoming Quail Lodge event in August. Although Bonhams lists the car's value at around $8 million, previous estimates placed it closer to $12m, a position from which it stands to make automotive history yet again.

Source

Tags: 1938 auto union d-type, 1938AutoUnionD-type, auction, auction record, AuctionRecord, auto auction, auto union, auto union d-type, auto union silver arrow, AutoAuction, AutoUnion, AutoUnionD-type, AutoUnionSilverArrow, bonhams, silver arrow, SilverArrow