A Historic Night at Christie’s

I am thrilled to share that last night’s Evening Sale of Post-War and Contemporary Art achieved an unprecedented $691,583,000, the highest total for any auction in art market history. Bidders from 42 countries competed for iconic examples from all the major movements of the last six decades, underscoring the strong international demand for masterpieces of the highest levels. Ten new world auction record prices were achieved for Francis Bacon, Jeff Koons, Christopher Wool, Lucio Fontana, Donald Judd, Wade Guyton, Vija Celmins, Ad Reinhardt, Willem de Kooning and Wayne Thiebaud. Three works sold above $50 million, 16 above $10 million, and 56 above $1 million.

The top lot of the sale was Francis Bacon’s triptych, Three Studies of Lucian Freud, which inspired a 10-minute bidding war and saw multiple bidders bring it up to and over the $100 million mark. The crowd burst into applause when the hammer came down at $142,405,000, a world auction record for any work of art ever sold at auction. The work is one of the most important paintings by Bacon, uniting two of the 20th century’s greatest figurative painters at the apex of their relationship.

Spectacular results were also achieved for two masters of Pop. Jeff Koons’s Balloon Dog (Orange) achieved $58,405,000 (estimate: $35,000,000-55,000,000), a new world auction record for a living artist, and the most expensive contemporary sculpture ever sold. Andy Warhol shone throughout the sale with seven works produced at key moments in his career. One of the highlights was his hand-painted Coca-Cola bottle, one of his earliest works which went on to inspire the beginnings of Pop Art in America. The work realized $57,285,000 (estimate: $40,000,000-60,000,000).

The international demand for works by contemporary artists was extremely strong. Among the most anticipated lots of the sale was Apocalypse Now, recognized as the most important painting by Christopher Wool, which sold for $26,485,000 (estimate: $15,000,000-20,000,000), setting a new world auction record for the artist and far exceeding the previous record for the artist of $7.7 million. Executed with a raw power and gritty directness that gave new purpose to the medium of painting in the 1980s, this legendary statement of absolute nihilism makes it one of the most seminal works of contemporary art. The sale started with Wade Guyton’s Untitled, one of the rare examples with the artist’s signature fire motif to be presented at auction, which rocketed to $2,405,000 (estimate: $500,000-700,000), a world auction record for the artist.

The momentum continues today in our Day Sales of Post-War and Contemporary Art, while bidding remains open in our Online auction through November 19. I will be in touch again in the coming days to share further thoughts on this monumental moment in the art world.

Brett Gorvy
Chairman, International Head
Post-War & Contemporary Art