London's Impressionist And Modern Sales Records Fall at Christie's and Sotheby's

LONDON

:Strong prices were posted across the boards during the Impressionism and Modern painting auctions that took place at Christie's and Sotheby's during the second week of February. Records fell at a feverish pace with more than $340 million realized between the multiple sessions at the two auction houses. All prices reported include the buyer's premium charged.

Christie's evening sale of Impressionist and Modern Art on February 6 incorporating two dedicated sections, German and Austrian Art and The Art of the Surreal, achieved a total of $108,186,970 with a continuation of the sale the next day, grossing $21,626,955.

The sale was part of a record week for the auction house that had the highest total sales week in the firm's London and European history. Sales from its Impressionist, Modern, Postwar and Contemporary art sales totaled $206 million and 28 auction records were set with 39 works selling for more than $1 million. Bidders from 55 countries registered that week and 2,500-plus telephone bids were transmitted into the salesrooms along with record audiences and written bids.

"The results this week send a very clear message the market is at record levels and Christie's London has never been stronger," said Jussi Pylkkänen, president of Christie's Europe. "Collectors from all over the world congregated in London to break over 25 world records this week and a sold total of $222.5 million confirms that Christie's is the place to sell."

The top lot Monday night was Chaïm Soutine's powerful "Le boeuf écorché," circa 1924, which realized $13,773,240 and set a new world auction record for the artist. A further seven new world auction record prices and five new world auction record prices for the medium were also set during the evening. The top lot in Tuesday's sale was Natalia Goncharova's "Les rameurs," which sold for $2,069,632 to a European collector, setting a world auction record for the artist.

Registered buyer activity in the Impressionist and Modern Art sale including German and Austrian Art and The Art of the Surreal was 74 percent from the UK and Europe, 24 percent from the Americas and 2 percent from Asia. The sale was 74 percent sold by lot and 85 percent sold by value. Twenty-seven works sold for more than $1 million in the Impressionist and Modern Art evening sale.

Claude Monet's "La Seine à Vétheuil," 1881, realized $4,731,480 while Edgar Degas's atmospheric painting, "Les points," 1877-78, sold for $3,748,680. Pierre-Auguste Renoir's early painting of his older brother, "Portrait de Pierre-Henri Renoir," 1870, fetched $3,552,120 and one of the last and most fully developed of Georges Braque's early and cubist landscapes, "L'église de Carrières Saint Denis," 1909, sold for $2,667,600.

Christie's was the first auction house in 1993 to hold a themed sale dedicated to German and Austrian Art and the section this evening reaffirmed Christie's strength in this area, realizing $42.6 million.

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's double-sided canvas, "Frauenbildnis in weissem Kleid (Woman in a white dress)," 1908, considered to be one of his finest early paintings and on the reverse, "Adam und Eva," painted by Kirchner in 1911, was the top lot in the German and Austrian Art section, and selling for $8,662,680 and setting a new world auction record for the artist.

A drawing by Egon Schiele, "Kniender weiblicher Halbakt (Kneeling female half-nude)," 1917, sold for $7,286,760, setting a new auction record for the artist in this medium while a large and colorful painting by Heinrich Campendonk's "Kuh Mit Kalb," 1914, made $2,962,440, and set a new world auction record for the artist.

Art Of The Surreal, Tuesday Day Sale

Christie's commitment and focus to Surrealist art continues. Christie's has held annual sales of The Art of the Surreal since February 2001, establishing current auction records for many major surrealist artists.

The top lot in The Art of the Surreal section that totaled $18.6 million was Salvador Dalí's "Galatée," 1954-1956, which sold for $2,569,320, and portrays Dalí's wife and muse Gala in the guise of a classical Greek beauty Galatea.

Another world auction record was established for André Masson's Vue "emblématique de Tolède," 1933-39, considered one of the most important paintings by the artist to come up at auction, which made $1,783,080. Other notable lots include Giorgio de Chirico early metaphysical painting, "I pesci sacri (The Sacred Fish)," 1919 which realized $2,176,200, and circa 1934 untitled Joan Miró sold for $1,389,960.

A total of seven world auction records were established for works by Chaïm Soutine, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Heinrich Campendonk, Felix Vallotton, André Masson, Georg Kolbe, Oscar Domíinguez, and five world auction records for the medium for works by Egon Schiele, Gino Severini, Kathe Kollwitz, Hans Bellmer and Auguste Macke.

The Impressionist and Modern Art sale continued Tuesday, February 7. Besides the top lot of Goncharova's "Les rameurs, " standouts included Pablo Picasso's "Buste de mousquetaire," 1968, which took $1,423,571, and his "La pique," 1960, $836,243. Represented in the top ten were Marc Chagall, Georges Braque, Rene Magritte, Maurice de Vlaminck, Renoir and Diego Giacometti.

Beston Collection

On Friday, February 10, the collection of the late Valerie Beston achieved $2,747,013 and was 98.9 percent sold by lot and 99.9 percent sold by value.

"Following the success earlier this week of the six first lots of Miss Beston's collection in the Postwar and Contemporary Art evening sale, we are delighted with the results of today's sale, which celebrate Miss Valerie Beston, and in particular the prices realized for works by Frank Auerbach, Irving Penn and an unknown artist at auction, Michael Clark," said Pilar Ordovas, Christie's specialist in charge of the sale.

Works by Auerbach numbered four among the top ten lots including the top lot, "Head of Julia," 1984, which sold for $404,840.

Francis Bacon scored a hat trick when three separate portraits of him by different artists all set a world record for the artist at auction. The third top selling lot, Penn's "Francis Bacon," 1962, fetched $326,664; Clark's 1984-85 portrait took $87,948 and Stephen Conroy's 1992 work realized $79,572.

Huge crowds flocked to Sotheby's on February 7 to witness what proved to be one of the most exciting London sales of Impressionist and Modern art in recent times. The sale, which incorporated a section dedicated to German and Austrian art, as well as a group of Surrealist works, made a total of $120,212,400 - the highest ever sum for an evening sale of Impressionist works at Sotheby's London - and by far the highest total for a sale at any auction house this year. A total of eight new auction records were set, with 34 works selling for more than $1 million.

The top selling lot of the evening was Paul Gauguin's evocative "Deux Femmes," 1902, a rare Tahitian work, which sold to a private UK buyer for $21,574,000.

Aside from the interest generated by Gauguin's "Deux Femmes," attention was also keenly focused on a group of eight works by Edvard Munch from the Olsen collection. Together, the works made a combined total of nearly $30 million, far outstripping their combined presale estimate of $11.2 million. Chief among the prices realized was that for Munch's "Summer's Day," which sold for $10,794,000 - a record for a work by the artist by a wide margin.

Almost all the works in the collection soared above estimate. Among them, "Self Portrait against two-colored Background" made $6,286,000 - selling after a protracted battle in the room. A second portrait, "Self Portrait with Spanish Flu," made $2,954,000. All the works by Munch were keenly contested in the room, and given that so few works by Munch can be seen outside Norway, it was perhaps appropriate that bidding came from all corners of the globe. Forty-six percent of the works were bought by UK buyers, other European buying represented 43 percent and Asian and Russian represented 11 percent.

Other strong prices included that for Joan Miró's "L'Oiseau au plumage déployé vole vers l'arbre argenté." Employing all the imaginative pictorial vocabulary that characterizes Miró's most celebrated work, the painting made $9,030,000. Pablo Picasso's "Homme à la Pipe" realized $5,502,000, while Maurice de Vlaminck's "Le Pont de Chatou" made $2,856,000.

A total of eight new records were set. Aside from the Munch, further record prices were achieved for works by Nolde, Liebermann, Grosz, Ury, Meidner, Dali (for a work on paper) and Man Ray (for a painting).

Having established the existing records for the majority of important artists in the German and Austrian collecting field, Sotheby's reaffirmed its strength in the area, with the 27 works in this section of the sale realizing a combined total of $28,366,800, well in excess of the presale estimate of $14 million. The highest price achieved in this field was for Max Liebermann's "Blumenstauden vor dem Gärtnerhäuschen nach Norden," which achieved $3.7 million, a record for the artist and more than double the presale high estimate.

Emil Nolde's "Blumengarten: Steifmütterchen" of 1908 made $3.3 million, also establishing a new record for the artist. Ludwig Meidner's rare oil masterpiece, "Apocalyptische Landschaft" of 1913, an icon of German Expressionism, fetched $3.1 million, again a record for the artist. Egon Schiele's "Kniender Halbackt" made $2.7 million.

Surrealist works were also in strong demand. Among the top lots offered were Man Ray's "La Fortune II," which made $1.3 million - a record for a work by the artist - René Magritte's "Golconde," which made $1 million, and Francis Picabia's "Lunis," which brought $1.9 million.

For further information, 20 7293 6000 or www.sothebys.com.