Sales of art pieces fall below hopes
Print Edition
Some of the finest Impressionist and Modern art offered for auction by Christie’s in New York fell short of expectations on Tuesday despite strong interest from buyers in the middle market.
The auction house estimated that 46 lots at its flagship November evening sale would fetch US$188.8 to US$277.7 million, but instead sales peaked at US$144.3 million late on Tuesday.
The most expensive lot, a portrait by Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti of his brother Diego, estimated at US$30-50 million, went for US$32.65 million to an anonymous buyer.
The auction house said the price was a world record for the Swiss artist in that medium. But of the 46 lots, 11 were withheld from sale after bidding fell short of expectations.
A Pablo Picasso canvas of the painter and a model was withheld after offers peaked at US$23 million, well short of its US$25-35 million estimate.
A portrait by Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani of his Polish friend Monsieur Baranowski also fell short of its US$25-35 million estimate when bidding stopped at US$19 million.
It had been earmarked as one of the highlights of the auction offerings, painted in 1918 and in pristine condition.
Christie’s said there had been robust interest from Asian buyers, particularly from China.
A Picasso portrait of his children “Claude and Paloma” sold separately as part of the collection of Holocaust survivor Jan Krugier went for US$28 million to Chinese conglomerate the Dalian Wanda Group, for their corporate collection.
The Krugier collection in total fetched US$113.7 million.
Christie’s said the evening sale on Tuesday showed confidence in the middle market and a healthy appetite among private collectors and dealers.
Brooke Lampley, head of Impressionist and Modern art, hid any possible disappointment about the Picasso and Modigliani not achieving their price.
“We believed in the pictures. We didn’t find the bid in the room tonight but I’m sure we’ll either be receiving good after sale interest or you’ll see them in the future sale venue,” she said.
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