Art auction market report: August 2008
In August 2008, ArtSell recorded 632 auction lots from 5 auction houses, of which 458 sold (72% sell-through). The 458 sales with a published price total $5,879,621, with a median of $2,700 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Armin Carl Hansen, “First Feel of Leather”, at $390,000 (Bonhams). 15 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.
Lots offered
632
5 houses
Sold
458
72% sell-through
Total
$5.9M
458 priced sales
Median
$2.7k
priced sales
Top sales
Top American artists
Ranked by total of priced sales in the month; region from the artist’s recorded nationality.
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maynard Dixon American | $756,000 | 4 | Mountains in Sunset Light (No. 368) — $360,000 |
| 2 | Armin Carl Hansen American | $684,000 | 4 | First Feel of Leather — $390,000 |
| 3 | Edgar Alwin Payne American | $422,400 | 5 | Packing in the Sierras — $300,000 |
| 4 | Charles Marion Russell American | $276,000 | 1 | The Battle between the Blackfeet and the Piegans — $276,000 |
| 5 | Granville Redmond American | $253,200 | 6 | Ranch House on a Hill, thought to be La Canada — $96,000 |
| 6 | Maurice Braun American | $168,000 | 3 | California Coast — $108,000 |
| 7 | Percy Gray American | $165,000 | 7 | A Path through Poppies and Oaks, thought to be from Sausalito Hills toward Raccoon Strait — $42,000 |
| 8 | William Frederic Ritschel American | $132,000 | 1 | Land's End — $132,000 |
| 9 | John Marshall Gamble American | $120,000 | 1 | California Wildflowers — $120,000 |
| 10 | Raymond Jonson American | $108,000 | 1 | Composition Eleven - Rain (Opus to Vera) — $108,000 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grigory Gluckmann Russian | $144,000 | 3 | Seated Young Lady in Red — $57,000 |
| 2 | Jean Mannheim German | $7,200 | 1 | Irvine Cove, Laguna — $7,200 |
| 3 | Michel Kikoine French | $4,887 | 1 | Landscape — $4,887 |
| 4 | William Malherbe French | $3,277 | 1 | Forest of Fontainebleau — $3,277 |
| 5 | Jerzy Nowosielski Polish | $3,091 | 2 | Dziewczyny na statku — $2,128 |
| 6 | Jules Dupré French | $3,042 | 1 | Sunset Landscape — $3,042 |
| 7 | Ernest Arthur Chapman English | $2,601 | 1 | Taupo from the Waikato River — $2,601 |
| 8 | Patrick Hayman British | $2,235 | 2 | Self Portrait with Russian Sailor at the Revolt at Kronstadt — $1,544 |
| 9 | Piet Mondrian Dutch | $2,012 | 1 | Didi-The Pierette — $2,012 |
| 10 | Eugène Alluaud French | $1,955 | 1 | Summer Valley Landscape — $1,955 |
New artist records
The artist’s best price this month exceeded every earlier priced result for them in the ArtSell database (artists with at least three earlier priced results).
Auction houses this month
Bonhams (292)James D. Julia (162)Art+Object (138)Agra-Art (39)Bolsa de Arte (1)