: Sotheby's Holdings, Inc, the parent company of Sotheby's
worldwide live auction business, art-related financial services
and real estate brokerage activities, reported on August 7 that
for the second quarter ended June 30, the aggregate hammer price
of property sold at auction by the company, which includes
buyer's premium, decreased $103.9 million, or 15 percent,
compared to the same period in 2002.
The company said, however, that auction revenues over the same
period decreased only a fraction of that amount by $4.9 million,
or four percent, primarily as a result of the buyer's premium
rate increase that became effective in January 2003, as well as
improved consignor commission rates.
The company reported total revenues of $119 million for the
second quarter of 2003, compared to total revenues of $127
million for the same period of 2002.
"We had a profitable second quarter with expenses very well
controlled, and we are satisfied with the outcome of the second
quarter and first half, given the difficult circumstances that
prevailed during the period," said William F. Ruprecht, president
and chief executive officer. "The buildup to the war in Iraq
occurred at the prime property gathering period for our major
spring sales in New York and directly affected New York
consignments.
"While we saw a sizable decline in auction sales in the second
quarter of 2003, auction and related revenues over the same
period decreased only a fraction of that, which demonstrates our
ability to effectively withstand an unpredictable environment.
"Our spring Impressionist and Modern art sales in New York and
London performed well and Sotheby's led in this important auction
category with a combined total of $155.1 million. The resilience
of the art market was also evident in a number of other sales,
most notably in our American paintings sale in New York, which
brought $31.9 million, close to the high estimate, and our July
Old Masters sales in London, which brought $38.7 million, well
exceeding the high estimate. The demand for works of art that are
fresh to the market and of high quality was as strong as ever,
despite the challenges of the current global economic and
political environment," said Ruprecht.
The company reviewed highlights from the spring and summer
season.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Dans les Roses (Portrait de Madame Léon
Clapisson)" sold for $23.5 million in New York and was the
highest individual price achieved among all the Impressionist and
Modern works sold in the New York and London spring sales. The
highlight of the June London Impressionist sale was Egon
Schiele's landscape painting, "Krumauer Landschaft (Stadt und
Fluss)," which brought $21.1 million, more than doubling its
presale low estimate. This price set a world auction record for
the artist and became the highest priced restituted work of art
ever auctioned.
At Sotheby's sale of American paintings, drawings and sculpture
in New York, which totaled $31.9 million, the collection of Meyer
and Vivian Potamkin brought in $15.3 million, more than $2
million above its high estimate. The highest price achieved at
the sale was $3 million for John Sloan's "Easter Eve," a painting
depicting a nighttime New York scene, setting a record for the
artist at auction.
The July Old Masters sales in London achieved $38.7 million,
surpassing its high estimate of $31.5 million by $7.2 million, or
23 percent. The most notable lot of the sale was Rembrandt's
rediscovered "Self-Portrait with Shaded Eyes," which sold for
$11.3 million, setting an auction record for a Rembrandt
self-portrait.
The working manuscript of Ludwig von Beethoven's Ninth
Symphony brought $3.5 million on May 22, setting the auction
record for a single musical work as well as for a Beethoven
manuscript.
Karl Lagerfeld's collection of Art Deco and Works of Art, which
was sold in Paris on May 15, achieved $8 million in sales, almost
tripling its low estimate of $3 million.
Sotheby's Asia experienced an excellent spring season, according
to the company, despite the on-going, widespread concern
surrounding the SARS viral epidemic that limited travel by many
of its international clients. Sales results in Asia totaled $48
million for the second quarter of 2003, as compared to $47.7
million in second quarter 2002, with particular strength in the
Chinese ceramics market in Hong Kong and the paintings market in
Australia.
In looking to the second half of the year, Ruprecht noted, "We
are encouraged by the level of consignments, which appears to be
due in part to the offering in the fall of property withheld from
the spring auctions as a result of economic uncertainties related
to the buildup to the war in Iraq. We are also seeing an
improvement in the real estate market, with properties under
contract at the end of the second quarter of 2003 at a 13-month
high for this segment of our business."
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