Every fall and spring, the New York auction houses host multimillion-dollar sales of Impressionist, modern, and contemporary art. Faced with an unstable economy and the aftermath of September 11th, there was a great deal of uncertainty as to how dealers and collectors would respond. Some predicted that the wealthy would have less cash to spend, foreign collectors would be unwilling to travel, and the price fixing scandal between Sotheby’s and Christie’s would deter buyers. Despite the fear that the art market would crash, the overall sales were fairly strong considering the offerings.

Only a year ago, the sale of Picasso’s “Woman with Crossed Arms,” estimated to sell for $25 million, set an auction record for Picasso—$55 million. However, the auctions this fall had no record-breaking sales in this price range. In fact, there were no pieces valued above $12 million. Not only were such stellar paintings by artists like Picasso, Monet, Van Gogh, and Cézanne missing, a number of important works were withdrawn just before the sales. A Modigliani painting valued at $5 to $7 million was withdrawn from Sotheby’s and the Smooke heirs withheld artwork valued at $15 million from Phillips, de Pury, & Luxembourg.

In order to acquire collections in this climate of low expectations, auction houses offered many sellers a guarantee: a payment that is not determined by sale results. Phillips, for example, paid approximately $185 million for the collection of Nathan and Marion Smooke, even though the 20th century French and German art only earned $86.1 million at auction.

Regardless of the skeptical climate that led to an absence of big-ticket artwork and forced auction houses to make guarantees to sellers, the evening auction sales did prove that smart buyers were still willing to pay reasonable prices for quality work this season. To follow is a brief summary of how three major New York auction houses performed this season.

Phillips, de Pury, & Luxembourg:

Phillips did not make a profit, but based on the pre-sale estimates of $80.2 million to $115.3 million, the Impressionist sale was decent. There was a strong energy and renowned collectors such as Ronald S. Lauder and Stephen A. Wynn were present. Bidders recognized the increased value of works that had not been on the market for many years. A 1950 Léger painting, “The Four Builders Against a Yellow Ground” was purchased by the Smookes in 1977 for $250,000 and at this sale, fetched $5.7 million. (Please note that all final prices include the buyer’s premium) One work that did not exceed expectations was a 1922 Degas sculpture, “Little Dancer at 14”, estimated to sell for $8-$12 million. Perhaps buyers were not interested in this piece because similar works have been offered at auction during the past few years.

Even though Phillips’ Contemporary sale was not exceptional, there were some high prices paid for sculpture. Jeff Koons, who created the “Puppy” flower sculpture at Rockefeller Plaza two summers ago, has been a popular artist on the market. “New Hoover Convertibles”, a Koons sculpture of two vacuum cleaners and fluorescent lights surrounded by Plexiglas, sold for $376,500 to the New York dealer, Larry Gagosian. Collectors have also sought out works by the Italian artist, Maurizio Cattelan. His sculpture of taxidermy pigeons, “Turisti”, sold for $107,000, above its high estimate of $90,000. While collectors are still interested in contemporary works that might be considered bizarre by some, there are certain works that are now considered offensive given the present times. One particular installation by Chris Burden representing a building in danger of collapse didn’t sell due to a new association with the World Trade Center.

Christie’s:

Christie’s sales were successful, with the exception of the postwar sale. The Impressionist and modern sale totaled $108.9 million, above its low estimate of $83.6 million. With all proceeds destined for Unicef and the absence of reserves, it is not surprising that the Rene Gaffé collection produced better results than the latter part of the sale. Without a reserve, an undisclosed minimum price established by the seller and the auction house, there are no restrictions on the amount of the highest bid. One highlight of this sale was the Fernand Léger painting, "The Motor" of 1918, that fetched $16.7 million, well above its estimate of $4-$6 million. Until this evening, the highest price paid for a painting by Léger was $14.7 million in 1989. A record price was also set for the artist Joan Miró; the “Portrait of Madame K” sold for $12.6 million, even though the high estimate for this pastel was only $6 million. Some Picassos did well, especially a sculpture of a woman’s head which set a record price of $4.9 million and a 1922 painting of a woman that sold for $6.8 million – twice its estimated value. The largest disappointment of the evening was the Klimt painting, “Farm with Birch Trees,” which never reached its estimate of $5-$7 million and did not sell.

The Post-War sale at Christie’s was poor; with an estimate of $31.6 to $44.2 million, the sale only totaled $25.1 million. Losses were incurred even before the sale when a nude portrait by the German artist Gerhard Richter suffered damages by a forklift while in transport. This unfortunate occurrence resulted in a $5 million dollar insurance claim and Christie’s most expensive work valued at $3-$4 million was withdrawn from the sale. Some have argued that the sale contained too much German art and as a result, almost one third of the works did not find buyers. While quality may not have been commensurate with some of the prices, Carol Vogel points out in her New York Times review that the retirement of Anthony d’Offay, the London dealer, meant that his high bids for artists like Gerhard Richter and Joseph Beuys were missing. According to Christopher Burge, Christie’s auctioneer for this sale, the artwork that did not sell was “either too expensive or too erudite”. As was the case for all the contemporary sales, American Pop artists remained strong. The highest price paid at this sale was $2 million for “Holly”, a painting by Andy Warhol of Holly Solomon, a New York dealer. “Still Life #28”, a painting by Tom Wesselmann, sold for $798,000, just below its high estimate of $800,000. At a time when Americans are staying closer to home and are encouraged to support the nation’s economy, Wesselmann’s depiction of American domesticity and consumerism has added appeal. A television showing a western movie has been placed on a kitchen table covered with a blue striped tablecloth. Surrounded by a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, a star from the American flag, and an image of the White House, Wesselmann reassures his viewers that the American home is a safe haven.

Fortunately Christie's Contemporary sale, which also featured art from the Hans Grothe collection, fared better than postwar. With an estimate of $6.1 million to $8.3 million, the sale totaled $6.9 million. Even though there were numerous photographs being auctioned off, works by the German photographers Bernd & Hilla Becher and Andreas Gursky were hits. Gursky's photograph of “Paris, Montparnasse” sold for $600,000 and set a record price for the artist. One of these prints was exhibited during the Gursky retrospective held recently at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. This exhibition and the strong photography market may account for its increased value but nevertheless, it is still amazing that a photograph from an edition of five would do so well. The Cuban-born minimalist artist, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, also surprised the art world with his installation piece of 325 pounds of candy wrapped in blue cellophane that sold for $666,000.

Sotheby’s:

Unlike Phillips and Christie’s, Sotheby’s did not have an important Impressionist collection to offer the night before the trial of their former chairman, A. Alfred Taubman. He has since been convicted of colluding with Christie’s to fix seller commissions. The legal fees and fines resulting from this case undoubtedly prevented Sotheby’s from offering its clients large guarantees. Although the auction houses deny that their reputation has been tainted, it is also possible that some collectors decided to sell their artwork through dealers instead. With 34 percent of the works failing to sell, the auction only totaled $33.1 million. The star of the evening was a painting by Camille Pissarro, “Rue Saint-Lazare”, which set a record price for the artist at $6.6 million. Another popular work for bidders was a Giacometti sculpture, “Woman of Venice V”, which sold for $2.8 million. During the last few auction seasons, bidders have paid high prices for sculpture; this trend and the current Giacometti retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York most likely influenced the bidders. David Norman, senior vice president and co-chairman of Sotheby’s Impressionist and modern art department in New York, explained last spring that “sculpture has been undervalued in relation to the extraordinary sums that have been achieved by 20th century European masters”.

While Sotheby's Impressionist sale lacked enthusiastic buyers, the Contemporary sale had a $44.8 million total and thus renewed faith in the market. Douglas S. Cramer, a television producer, provided Sotheby's with works from his collection of American Pop artists. The rekindled patriotism following the terrorist attacks has encouraged collectors to pay high prices for works by American blue-chip artists such as Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol. A painting by Ellsworth Kelly, “Red, White, and Blue”, sold for $1.4 million, above its high estimate of $1.2 million. The highlight of the evening, a black and white painting of a ball of twine by Roy Lichtenstein, soared past its high estimate of $2 million and went to a bidder for $4 million.

Collectors purchase art for a variety of reasons; whether it is for a work’s historical, aesthetic, decorative, or sentimental value, a serious collector usually wishes to make a good investment. Jianping Mei and Michael Moses, the founders of an art market price index, point out that “during the armed conflicts of lengthy duration of the last century, art indexes outperformed major stock indexes.” With our nation at war in Afghanistan, investors are turning away from the volatility of stocks and spending money on art that they believe to be a more secure investment. Art, as we have witnessed from these fall sales and the overwhelming response to the current Norman Rockwell retrospective at the Guggenheim, can help us escape, if only for a moment, from our troubled times.

Sources

Adam, Georgina. “No weakening of market for top work”, The Art Newspaper, no. 120, December 2001, pp.57, 60

Barker, Godfrey. “Give ‘Em Shelter”, Forbes Magazine, December 24, 2001

Bevan, Roger. “Contemporary art: racking up new records”, The Art Newspaper.Com

Bevan, Roger. “Racking up new records”, The Art Newspaper, no. 120, December 2001, p.62

Michaud, Christopher. “Auction houses face flagging economy, new world”, biz.yahoo.com

Vogel, Carol. “Art for Sale, but Will Anyone Be Buying?”, The New York Times. September 27, 2001

Vogel, Carol. “Big Hits and Misses at Auction at Christie’s”, The New York Times, November 7, 2001

Vogel, Carol. “Small Sale at Sotheby’s Cools Fever of Bidders”, The New York Times, November 8, 2001

Vogel, Carol. “High Energy and Prices at Contemporary-Art Sale”, The New York Times, November 15, 2001

Vogel, Carol. “Sensible Shoppers Set Tone at Sale of Contemporary Art”, The New York Times, November 13, 2001

Vogel, Carol. “Solid Contemporary Sale Ends 2 Weeks of Auctions”, The New York Times, November 16, 2001

Vogel, Carol. “Postwar Art Fails to Meet Expectations at Christie’s”, The New York Times, November 14, 2001

Vogel, Carol. “First Art Auction of Season Indicates a Healthy Market”, The New York Times, November 6, 2001

Vogel, Carol. “Anxiety Infuses November Art Sales”, The New York Times, November 1, 2001

Vogel, Carol. “Picasso Auction Record: $55 Million”, The New York Times, November 9, 2000

Vogel, Carol. “Art for Sale, but Will Anyone Be Buying?”, The New York Times, September

Vogel, Carol. “An Exile’s Self-Portrait Sells for $22.5 Million”, The New York Times, May 11, 2001