auctionhouse

Christie's tried in New York with a 1983 piece by Jean-Michel Basquiat and didn't succeed. The auction house may have been too aggressive in estimating the 16-foot piece at $9 million. That's what's tough about the art market right now. There are signs of recovery, and it can be tempting to push for higher prices. Unfortunately, it's easy to get a bit excited. The painting had the highest estimate at the auction. The piece with the second highest presale estimate, a piece by Andy Warhol, met a similar fate.

The Basquiat piece, "Brother Sausage," was offered anonymously by a buyer later revealed by Bloomberg News to be Peter Brant, an art collector based in Connecticut. The piece may be a casualty of his divorce from model Stephanie Seymour. Well, it won't be financing post-marital discord and could remain a contested asset for a while.

Warhol's "Tunafish Disaster" was projected to move for up to $8 million and, like the Basquiat painting, didn't receive any bids. Art dealer Robert Mnuchin of L&M Arts was stuck taking it home.

Yet, some works beat the odds in an auction that raked in $74.2 million, within the presale range of $61.5 million to $88 million. Nonetheless, this was the lowest result we've seen from a Christie's New York contemporary art effort since May 2003 and down 81 percent from the top of the market two and a half years ago.

A big auction with major pieces actually beat the top-end estimate – when's the last time you heard that? Wednesday night at Sotheby's, the Impressionist sale brought in $181.8 million, thrashing the high estimate of $163 million and almost tripling the Christie's auction from November 3, 2009. It's also around three times the last equivalent sale by Sotheby's, which was back in May.

The Sotheby's auction was packed with notoriety. Conde Nast's top dog, S. I. Newhouse Jr., sent some work under the gavel, as did Louis Reijtenbagh. Artwork by Giacometti, Picasso and Renoir was sold. Sixty-six lots were offered, with only 10 failing to sell.

New York art dealer Helly Nahmad told Bloomberg News, "The art market is back," but that may be premature. Bidders were chasing the high-quality pieces, and it is tempting to believe that what auctioneer Tobias Meyer calls "a year of abstinence" is over. The fact that the Sotheby's auction was so much greater than that at Christie's, though, makes me want to see a few more sales before calling it a trend.

Sotheby's and Christie's are heading east to seek their respective fortunes. The two auction houses are offering more than $26 million of Asian art this week in London. The lots themselves are attracting record numbers of buyers from mainland China, a section of the market that has shown signs of life this year. Chinese buyers were quite active in Hong Kong last month.

Nicholas Chow of Sotheby's told Bloomberg News, ""We've seen a really aggressive push from mainland Chinese collectors during the last season of sales" and that "they're buying things at the very highest level." An Imperial jade seal, for example, moved for GBP3.6 million on Tuesday, six times the high-end presale estimate.

On November 3, Christie's sold an aggregate GBP5.7 million, beating the presale estimate of GBP5.2 million. Of the 319 lots, a third didn't move. The top seller was an eighteenth century enamel model of a Buddhist shrine, which beat its presale range of GBP60,000 to GBP80,000 with a hammer sale of GBP229,250. Nine of the top 10 most expensive items went to buyers from Asia.

Collectors from mainland China are quite eager to repatriate art and other objects from their heritage, particularly the Qing and Ming dynasties ... a fact of which the auction houses are fully aware. Christie's sent 210 invitations to mainland Chinese for its 12th annual Asian Art in London event, which ends November 7, 2009. Sotheby's pursued a similar number of collectors. Bonhams has invited 30 new buyers from mainland China.

In October, the Sotheby's Hong Kong art auction was good for $170 million, with plenty of bidding and buying by mainland Chinese buyers.

November 2008 was pure living hell for the art auction houses. The bottom had just fallen out of the market ... and they were still saddled with pieces for which they'd offer guaranteed minimums. This is exactly what happened with Roy Lichtenstein's "Half Face with Collar."

The 48 square inch painting went under the gavel at Sotheby's almost a year ago, with the seller, Italian art dealer and collector Gian Enzo Sperone, protected by a $15 million minimum by the house. Now, it's on display at FIAC, right next to Andy Warhol's "Green Disaster," in the Projet Moderne section.

For many, the question of who owns the Lichtenstein painting has been raised. Is the fact that it's hanging as an entry from the Gagosian Gallery meaningful? A source at FIAC tells Bloomberg News that it is: "Larry owns it and it's definitely for sale."

It would be poetic, of course, for the piece to fetch the $15 million it failed to reach last November, but for now, all we can do is wait for the result (if any).

Christie's is looking for a thrill on November 10, 2009. The auction house is sending an Andy Warhol portrait of Michael Jackson under the gavel, with a presale estimate of between $500,000 and $700,000. The piece, measuring 30 inches by 26 inches, is one of a small collection of silk-screens the King of Pop Art created of the King of Pop in 1984.

The Jackson piece is being sold by an anonymous collector in New York, according to Brett Gorvy, the deputy chairman of Christie's. The current owner purchased it from the Andy Warhol foundation sometime in the 1990s.

Forty-six lots will be auctioned along with the Jackson portrait, and there will be two other paintings by Warhol.

Back in August, a similar Jackson painting by Warhol was sold. The buyer chose to remain anonymous, and nobody will reveal the price ... except to say that it went for more than $1 million.

The three major auction houses were upbeat at the Frieze Art Fair and seem to think an art market recovery is in the works. ArtInfo reports that Sotheby's, Christie's and Phillips de Pury came out of the event feeling positive about the market's direction – even if it is tempered with a dose of reality. The number of pieces sold and the prices at which they moved were still pretty far from what they were in the pre-Lehman days. For now, though, collectors need to think about the early stages of recovery, not hope for a return to the glory days of 2007.

The auction houses did fairly well, though estimates tend to be far lower than a year ago. Damien Hirst's Wallace Collection moved well, with "Two Skulls" selling for $705,244, far more than its presale estimate. Emerging artists had moments in the sun, as well, particularly Hurvin Anderson's "Untitled (Beach Scene)," which sold for $158,304 – more than three times its presale estimate. Farhad Moshiri's "Cowboy and Indian" more than doubled its presale estimate, with a price of $548,976. In general, the auctions posted sufficient results, the first step in a market turn. Sotheby's and Christie's pierced the $20 million mark in recent contemporary auctions, and Phillips de Pury moved 31 of 43 lots to reach $6.7 million in a recent contemporary auction.

Now that the art market is moving from Frieze to FIAC and into the busy fall auction season, we'll get a sense of what 2010 will look like ... and if the market is finally picking up the momentum we all want it to show. The last art market slump, from 1990 to 1992, didn't bring an immediate resolution, with prices not returning to normal until 1995. So, brace yourselves for a slow recovery (or treat it as bargain season!).

It's still possible to set a record in this art market; it just takes an amazing lot from a far-off period in time. On December 8, 2009, a drawing by Italian renaissance artist Raphael will go under the gavel. The piece is expected to pull in a world record $19.7 million. The 12-inch drawing (in black chalk) will be auctioned by Christie's at its Old Masters auction. It was a study used for a muse in Raphael's fresco of Parnassus, which is in the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican. This is the highest quality piece by Raphael to come to auction since the 1980s.

Christie's is selling the Raphael drawing on behalf of an anonymous private collector, though it's been owned in the past by Sir Thomas Lawrence and King William II of Holland. It hasn't shown up at auction in more than 150 years. The history associated with this piece, as well as the piece itself, are what make it a threat to the record of 8.1 million pounds paid for the drawings "The Risen Christ" (Michelangelo) and Leonardo da Vinci's "Horse and Rider." They sold in July 2000 and July 2001, respectively.

The drawing was completed between 1508 and 1511 at the request of Pope Julius the II. The artist died in 1520 at the age of 37.

The sale will feature other major works including a masterpiece by Rembrandt, shown at right. Unseen in public for almost 40 years and offered at auction for the first time since 1930, Portrait of a man, half-length, with his arms akimbo, 1658, is offered from a distinguished private collection and is expected to bring in £18 million to £25 million. One of the most significant Old Masters to be offered in recent years. Saint John the Evangelist by Domenico Zampieri, called Il Domenichino (1581-1641), will be presented for sale for the first time in over 100 years. It is expected to sell for £7 million to £10 million.

Don't call it a comeback ... well, because the bar's been lowered. At the post-war and contemporary art sales last Friday, both Christie's and Sotheby's nearly hit the high end of presale estimates. This marks a distinct turn from earlier this year, when the auction houses couldn't even reach the lowest ends of reduced expectations. Any comparison to last year is made difficult by the fact that both houses combined their auctions with Italian art sales. So, they open with "close to the top end of the range" and can't really be evaluated on anything else.

Values for the pieces are off -- that's pretty well known (especially to anyone trying to sell right now). Sotheby's brought in $32.8 million at the sale -- which also had Arab and Iranian art on top of the contemporary and Italian lots. Christie's picked up $27.7 million, with more U.S. buyers than expected.

We're again seeing an engineered reality that's driven by performance relative to presale estimates -- this is all the hint we nee to know that the art market is still pretty far from recovery. But, as we know, it could have been much worse. Hell, we saw how bad it could be for most of this year.

Christie's International moved $18.3 million in art at its contemporary London auction on Friday. Three pieces sold for more than $1.6 million (including fees), with the top price going for a piece by Martin Kippenberger ($3.76 million); a phone bidder acquired it. Of the 25 lots offered at the art auction, which coincided with the Frieze Art Fair, 24 sold. Half the lots went to bidders from North America.

The equivalent auction held by Christie's last year consisted of 47 lots and brought in revenue of $52 million. But, it missed the low-end estimate of $95 million by a mile. At that auction, 45 percent of the lots didn't sell.

The seemingly better performance this year may provide a warm feeling to a market that's been battered for a while, but it should be balanced against the fact that expectations were much lower than last year, a trend that has developed throughout the art market slump.

Other impressive results include $1.46 million for "Signal Box" by Neo Rauch, $1.57 million for Jean-Michel Basquiat's "Fuego Flores" and $886,000 for Damien Hirst's "Retribution."

Last year, the Russians were buying art just as fast as they could. Now, they're doing the same thing in reverse. Sotheby's and Christie's are bringing $31 million in Russian art to market, thanks to a global recession that has left the country's many billionaires financially crippled and in desperate need of liquidity.

Christie's is hoping to rake in $21.6 million from today's Russian art auction, which includes a porcelain dinner set owned by once-heir to the throne Grand Duke Paul. Sotheby's has approximately $9 million in Russian art, which it plans to send under the gavel on November 2.

If art and economic never intersected, we could just enjoy the aesthetic and be done with it. But, reality forces its way in – especially with the Russian economy 10 percent smaller than it was a year ago. And, the number of Russian billionaires has plummeted from 110 in 2008 to 35 now. Wealthy Russians and Ukrainians, according to William MacDougall, co-director of MacDougall's in London, are responsible for more than 90 percent of the market for Russian art.

So, expect the selling prices to suck, frankly. Even with some strong lots – Alexis de Tiesenhausen, director of Russian art for Christie's calls this auction unique in terms of "quality and historical significance" – the target market is selling rather than buying. The Christie's auction consists of 550 lots. The Sotheby's auction will have 122 – including paintins by Natalia Goncharova and Konstantin Korovin.

Estimates are much lower than they were in 2008, because of supply at auction, the drop in the art market and the absence of buyers in the target market.

The news out of Hong Kong has been solid so far, even if it continues the trend of meeting or beating lowered expectations. After a year of abuse, I think art collectors, gallerists and the artists themselves are eager for any good news they can claim. September was rough, according to ArtPrice, "with no room for over-bidding or risk-taking." There was only one contemporary artist, Andy Warhol, who has met expectations, so far.

But, there's room for hope: Jitish Kallah.

Kallah's only 35 years old. Born in Bombay, his work has been described by ArtPrice as "crisis-immune." The market for contemporary Indian art has been in a hard way, with the Christie's South Asian Modern & Contemporary auction last month bringing in only $5.1 million in sales – where the presale estimate was $5.6 million. Yet, Kallah's work set a new record, with "Dawn Chorus – 7" going for $320,000 and beating its high-end estimate by a factor of three.

Meanwhile, Warhol continues to deliver. A piece from his "Flower" series in 1964 went for $895,000 at Christie's in late September and a "Cambell's Soup Can (Tomato Soup)" fetched $310,000 a day later at Sotheby's.

So, we have fear and hope in October. This week, both Sotheby's and Christie's will hold auctions in the photography segment, with Phillips de Pury following next week. And, there are London sales coinciding with the Frieze Art Fair.

Let's see if art collectors are ready to dress their walls again.

What a difference a year makes!

Buyers brought their wallets to the Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong Monday, shelling out plenty of cash for pieces by Chinese masters. Sanyu's "Lotus et Poissons Rouge" fetched $4.7 million – beating the presale estimate soundly. But, the price was still considered low for Sanyu. In fact, the success of the auction is tainted by the fact that estimates aren't reflective of past sales levels. A painting by abstract artist Zao Wou-ki pulled in $2 million for the house.

Of course, there was plenty of optimism, fostered by both the performance relative to estimates and a burning desire to be out of the art market slump. Hua Yuzhou, who owns a gallery in Shanghai, says in Bloomberg News, "Give it a few months and these pieces may run beyond our reach again."

A college project by artist Damien Hirst sold at auction last week for roughly $50,000. The collage, "Red Rubber Ball," sold at the low end of the estimate, which ranged up to $80,000. The piece includes a variety of found objects, such as a toy rabbit, a severed head from a doll and a dried out rose. Originally, Damien Hirst gave the piece to Julie Balmforth, who studied with him at Goldsmiths College.

The collage measures 39.5 inches by 31.5 inches and sold at Duke's of Dorchester, in Dorset. While the buyer's identity was not revealed, auctioneer Guy Schwinge would say that it went to an Irish collector "who is very excited at his purchase."

Whoever picked up the piece did buy something rare: a piece actually created with Hirst's own hands.

Hong Kong will come to life with the sound of a gavel on Tuesday, October 6, 2009. Sotheby's will be holding its Modern and Contemporary Asian Art auction, which will consist of three sessions: 20th Century Chinese Art, Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings and Contemporary Asian Art. More than 380 works by Asian artists will come to auction, and the house expects close to $25 million in sales. Beyond bringing some new cash into Sotheby's, the auction is likely to give a sign as to the strength of the market, particularly with the November sales following shortly. Christie's will be holding its Hong Kong auctions on November 29 and 30.

In a sense, this is the one-year point for the art auction market. It was a year ago – in Hong Kong – that the world saw the effects of the financial crisis unfold in the art market. So, this bit of trivia will be front-of-mind as bidders make tough decisions on which pieces to acquire.

Sotheby's is betting big on the Contemporary Asian Art category, hoping that 190 lots will bring in $12.5 million in sales. High-profile artists are represented, including Guogiang Cai, Minjn Yue and Zhengjie Feng. There will be 130 lots in the Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings auction, including I Nyoman Masriadi's The man from Bantul, The Monster, which is estimated at $100,000. The 20th Century Chinese Art category has a mix of safe and speculative pieces.

All year, I've sifted through story after story in which auctions either miss or barely attain low-end estimates. So, the action at Bukowskis auction house in Stockholm easily caught my attention. The chess set (probably) used in the match against Death in Ingmar Bergman's 1957 film "The Seventh Seal" sold for a whopping 100 times the minimum. So, where bidders are committed, there is still plenty of life in the auction market.

The pieces, made from wood and plaster, went for $143,270 shortly after midnight (local) on Tuesday morning. The low-end for the chess set was between $1,400 and $2,100. In total, 339 lots sold at the Bukowskis auction, resulting in $2.5 million, 8.5 times the minimum aggregate asking price of $285,000. Bergman's writing desk, designed by Carl Malmsten, moved for nearly $23,000, and a pair of night tables adorned with scribbled personal notes by Bergman sold for just over $48,000 – despite the commencement of bidding at $2,800.

Depending on the estate, it seems, the auction market is coming back.