Art auction market report: May 2010
In May 2010, ArtSell recorded 1,993 auction lots from 14 auction houses, of which 1,743 sold (87% sell-through). The 1,743 sales with a published price total $26,474,230, with a median of $2,440 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Sanyu, “Chrysanthemums with Green Leaves”, at $1,847,808 (Ravenel). 15 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.
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 | Childe Hassam American | $512,000 | 1 | Woman with a Parasol in a Park — $512,000 |
| 2 | Randolph Rogers American | $266,000 | 1 | Ruth gleaning — $266,000 |
| 3 | Andrew Wyeth American | $266,000 | 1 | Late Harvest — $266,000 |
| 4 | Andy Warhol American | $217,856 | 9 | Electric Chairs (10) — $147,000 |
| 5 | Jean-Michel Basquiat American | $191,800 | 2 | Untitled — $182,000 |
| 6 | Keith Haring American | $95,272 | 4 | Untitled — $85,400 |
| 7 | Ruth Asawa American | $80,850 | 1 | Untitled (Continuous Form) — $80,850 |
| 8 | Deborah Butterfield American | $73,200 | 1 | Aluminum Horse #2 — $73,200 |
| 9 | Bessie Potter Vonnoh American | $70,150 | 2 | Bird fountain — $57,950 |
| 10 | Phillip Lloyd Powell American | $61,250 | 1 | Bar cabinet — $61,250 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zao Wou-ki French | $862,310 | 2 | Ville Chinoise (Chinese Village) — $461,952 |
| 2 | Karl Friedrich Schinkel German | $569,635 | 1 | Gothic Church on a Rock by the Sea — $569,635 |
| 3 | François-Xavier Lalanne French | $229,687 | 2 | Singes Attentifs SI & SII — $199,062 |
| 4 | Tony O'Malley Irish | $168,544 | 10 | SPECTRAL GARDEN, BAHAMAS — $46,767 |
| 5 | Jakob Becker German | $164,894 | 1 | HOMECOMING OF THE REAPER — $164,894 |
| 6 | Maurice de Vlaminck French | $147,420 | 2 | Le port — $134,000 |
| 7 | Harriet Backer Norwegian | $139,518 | 1 | Andante II — $139,518 |
| 8 | Master of 1456 French | $119,923 | 1 | TWO SCENES FROM THE MARTYRDOM OF ST. URSULA (ARRIVAL IN AND DEPARTURE FROM MAIN) — $119,923 |
| 9 | Charles Leickert Belgian | $116,925 | 1 | DUTCH LANDSCAPE WITH FROZEN RIVER — $116,925 |
| 10 | Damien Hirst British | $109,200 | 2 | Killing Pain, Killing Pain — $106,750 |
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).
| Artist | Work | Price | Previous high |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ju Ming | Single Whip Ravenel | $1,847,808 | $526,872 (44 earlier) |
| Irma Stern | Still Life with Gladioli and Fruit Strauss & Co | $961,369 | $756,462 (9 earlier) |
| Childe Hassam | Woman with a Parasol in a Park Bonhams | $512,000 | $110,500 (5 earlier) |
| Cecil Skotnes | African Figures Strauss & Co | $254,480 | $62,796 (12 earlier) |
| Maud Sumner | Paysage Écossais Strauss & Co | $183,791 | $54,465 (6 earlier) |
| Charles Leickert | DUTCH LANDSCAPE WITH FROZEN RIVER Lempertz | $116,925 | $69,563 (5 earlier) |
| Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef | Barberton Strauss & Co | $98,964 | $92,101 (16 earlier) |
| Xu Bing | Make the Past Serve the Present, Make the Foreign Things Serve China (a pair) Ravenel | $84,691 | $52,231 (3 earlier) |
| Ruth Asawa | Untitled (Continuous Form) Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $80,850 | $60,000 (4 earlier) |
| Deborah Butterfield | Aluminum Horse #2 Bonhams | $73,200 | $69,000 (3 earlier) |
| Phillip Lloyd Powell | Bar cabinet Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $61,250 | $10,800 (4 earlier) |
| Sol LeWitt | Untitled (maquette for Steel Structure) Bonhams | $61,000 | $49,565 (32 earlier) |
| Milan Paštéka | V izbe SOGA | $47,226 | $13,867 (26 earlier) |
| Fiona Pardington | The Quai Branly Suite of Nine Hei Tiki: Art+Object | $45,117 | $9,423 (18 earlier) |
| Rufino Tamayo | El Rebozo Azul Bonhams | $39,650 | $26,888 (10 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Van Sabben Poster Auctions (419)Bonhams (297)Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (290)Strauss & Co (261)Whyte's (218)Lempertz (169)Levis Fine Art Auctions (91)Art+Object (54)Ravenel (51)Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner (48)SOGA (45)Agra-Art (43)Leonard Joel (5)Artmark (2)