We welcomed a significant number of clients to the saleroom in London, with our colleagues from Hong Kong And New York bidding via live stream.
• Registered bidders from 30 countries across 5 continents.
• 50% increase on under the 40s registered to bid compared to 2020.
• Hurvin Anderson’s audition achieved £7,369,000 / $10,073,423 / €8,665,944, a world auction record for the artist, more than double the previous record.
• Cecily Brown’s There’ll Be Bluebirds, offered as part of artists for client earth, an initiative between GCC and Christie’s, and generously donated by the artist and Thomas Dane gallery, sold for £3,502,500 / $4,787,918 / €4,118,940, an example of sustainability featuring at the heart of London’s frieze week.
• Leading the sale and continuing strong results for Jean-Michel Basquiat – because it hurts the lungs – inspired by Da Vinci – sold for £8,227,750 / $11,247,334 / €9,675,834.
• Bridget Riley’s halcyon 2, unseen since it was first exhibited in Milan in 1976, sold for £2,602,500 / $3,557,618 / €3,060,540, continuing strong prices witnessed for Riley’s work at Christie’s in June 2021.
• David Hockney’s guest house garden, offered at auction for the first time, sold for £5,800,000 / $7,928,600 / €6,820,800.
• The work was the top lot of L’art à Fleur de Peau: Parcours d’une Collectionneuse which, following the auction in Paris earlier this week, achieved a combined collection total of £10,621,322 / $14,485,598 / €12,490,675 including the hockey.
• Yayoi Kusama’s infinity-nets (gkt) and infinity-nets (opqr) saw depth of bidding, both realising £1,702,500 / $2,327,318 / €2,002,140.
• The first NFT to be offered by Christie’s in Europe continued market dominance in the category, selling to a bidder in the room for £982,500 / $1,343,078 / €1,155,420.
• George Condo’s Heads and Toes achieved £2,422,500 / $3,311,558 / €2,848,860.
• Strong results for young female artists.
• Julie Curtiss, Hairy Hat: £250,000 / $341,750 / €294,000
• Shara Hughes, me, me, me: £437,500 / $598,063 / €514,500
• Hilary Pecis, Kaba on a chair: £225,000 / $307,575 / €264,600
• Emily Mae Smith, paint while screaming: £118,750 / $162,331 / €139,650
• Banksy’s girl with balloon, a vision of innocence and hope, realised £3,042,500 / $4,159,098 / €3,577,980
Thinking Italian
• Following the successful format of Christie’s internationally-focused evening sales in March and June of 2021, thinking Italian is presented as a key element of the 20th / 21st century: Evening sale, London
• All eight lots offered sold above estimate.
• Having remained in the same collection since 1973, Lucio Fontana’s concetto spaziale, attese sold for £3,712,500 / $5,074,988 / €4,365,900
• Domenico Gnoli’s Sous la Chaussure (under the shoe) drew competition to sell for £2,182,500 / $2,983,478 / €2,566,620. The painting has been requested for inclusion in the upcoming Domenico Gnoli retrospective at the Fondazione Prada, Milan, from October 2021 to February 2022.
• Alighiero Boetti’s mappa sold for £2,302,500 / $3,147,518 / €2,707,740, a highlight of Thinking Italian.
