Christie’s Achieves $2 Billion In 8 Days

20th and 21st century evening sale total: $421,976,700.

Christie’s presented two consecutive evening sales. The 20th Century Evening Sale and 21st Century Evening Sale live at Rockefeller Center achieved $421,976,700. In total, the sales were 93% sold by lot and 90% sold by value. Eight new artist records were established, half for female artists. Evening sales beginning with the Paul G. Allen Collection on November 9th and 10th combined with tonight’s results reached an unprecedented $2,044,226,200.

20th Century Evening Sale

The first sale of the night realized a total of $307,945,300. The sale was 96% sold by lot and 88% sold by value. Mark Rothko’s Untitled and Amedeo Modigliani’s Beatrice Hastings led the sale, each selling for $17,565,000. Additional highlights included works by notable female artists. A massive canvas by Joan Mitchell sold for $14,130,000, and a rare self-portrait by Frida Kahlo sold for $8,634,000.

“Building on the excitement of the Paul G. Allen Collection sale one week ago, we were thrilled to provide collectors with another unique opportunity to acquire masterpiece-level objects from the 20th Century. It was exceptionally exciting to see so many women artists achieve remarkable prices—with both Frida Kahlo and Joan Mitchell in our top 10 results.”

Vanessa Fusco, Head of the 20th Century Evening Sale, at Christie’s

21st Century Evening Sale

The second sale achieved $114,031,400. It was 89% sold by lot and 95% sold by value. Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Sugar Ray Robinson was the top lot and sold for $32,679,000. Building on the continued success of the 20/21 platform, female artists and artists of colour shined. Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Minjung Kim, Noah Davis, and Rashid Johnson set new records. The live contemporary art sales will continue tomorrow with the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day sale beginning at 10 AM.

Isabella Lauria, Head of 21st Century Evening Sale, Christie’s, remarks: “Each season, we are elated to have the opportunity to showcase artistic voices of both established and emerging talents from the contemporary art space in our 21st Century Evening Sale. This season has been historic in countless ways, and we could not be prouder of the performance of tonight’s auction, which experienced the phenomenal depth of bidding—on the phone, in the room, and online.

We were thrilled with the outcome of the Basquiat selling for more than $32 million, an outstanding price for a mid-size painting, as well as for the Rashid Johnson, which sold for $3 million, setting a new artist record and simultaneously raising funds for Right of Return USA.”

RECORDS
20th Century Evening Sale

• Eva Gonzales sold for $2,700,000
• Paul Serusier sold for $1,740,000
• Emile Bernard sold for $3,420,000

21st Century Evening Sale

• Jaune Quick-to-See Smith sold for $642,600
• Rashid Johnson sold for $3,000,000
• Noah Davis sold for $1,500,000
• Njideka Akunyili Crosby sold for $4,740,000
• Minjung Kim sold for $189,000

20th and 21st Century Evening Sales
Notable Highlights

Christies

editor

Christie’s, the world's leading art business, had auction sales in the first half of 2019 that totalled £2.2 billion / $2.8 billion. Christie’s is a name and place that speaks of extraordinary art, unparalleled service and international expertise. Christie’s offers around 350 auctions annually in over 80 categories, including all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewellery, photographs, collectables, wine, and more. Prices range from $200 to over $100 million. Christie's also has a long and successful history conducting private sales for its clients in all categories, with emphasis on Post-War & Contemporary, Impressionist & Modern, Old Masters and Jewellery.