Art auction market report: August 2010
In August 2010, ArtSell recorded 582 auction lots from 4 auction houses, of which 285 sold (49% sell-through). The 285 sales with a published price total $2,365,807, with a median of $3,050 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Guy Rose, “In the olive orchard (Provençal olive orchard)”, at $200,000 (Bonhams). 5 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.
Lots offered
582
4 houses
Sold
285
49% sell-through
Total
$2.4M
285 priced sales
Median
$3k
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 | William Wendt American | $219,600 | 3 | At the base of the mountains — $97,600 |
| 2 | Guy Rose American | $200,000 | 1 | In the olive orchard (Provençal olive orchard) — $200,000 |
| 3 | Nicolai Fechin Russian | $182,000 | 1 | Head of a girl — $182,000 |
| 4 | Maynard Dixon American | $126,880 | 3 | Approaching storm, Coast Range, California — $67,100 |
| 5 | Percy Gray American | $106,140 | 4 | California wildflowers and rolling hills — $33,550 |
| 6 | Edgar Alwin Payne American | $79,300 | 2 | Surging sea — $51,850 |
| 7 | Thomas Lorraine Hunt American | $64,660 | 2 | Boats along the shore — $42,700 |
| 8 | Granville Redmond American | $51,850 | 1 | Poppy landscape — $51,850 |
| 9 | Grace Hudson American | $43,920 | 2 | Let others worry — $24,400 |
| 10 | Colin Campbell Cooper American | $37,820 | 2 | Santa Barbara — $34,160 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giacomo Guardi Italian | $14,375 | 1 | View of Venice — $14,375 |
| 2 | Jean Mannheim German | $7,320 | 1 | Rocky coastline — $7,320 |
| 3 | Marcel Mouly French | $4,130 | 2 | La Palmeraie — $2,242 |
| 4 | François-Auguste Ravier French | $3,162 | 1 | French Landscape — $3,162 |
| 5 | Jacek Yerka Polish | $2,272 | 3 | Mała Poranna Anihilacja — $1,415 |
| 6 | Wojciech Fangor Polish | $1,639 | 1 | M 74 — $1,639 |
| 7 | Sonia Delaunay French | $1,298 | 1 | Abstract, 1915 — $1,298 |
| 8 | Alfred Jonniaux Belgian | $1,220 | 1 | Portrait of the artist's wife — $1,220 |
| 9 | Henryk Berlewi Polish | $1,155 | 1 | Akt — $1,155 |
| 10 | Clovis-Edmond Masson French | $1,150 | 1 | Buck and Doe — $1,150 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giuseppe Cadenasso | Silent pool near San Leandro, California Bonhams | $15,860 | $7,170 (6 earlier) |
| Thomas Bigelow Craig | A woodland brook near Germantown, Pennsylvania Bonhams | $5,185 | $4,780 (5 earlier) |
| John Levee | October V James D. Julia | $4,025 | $3,186 (3 earlier) |
| Elsie Palmer Payne | Breton fountain Bonhams | $3,965 | $3,355 (4 earlier) |
| Adam Smolana | Akt klęczący, z cyklu Akty Agra-Art | $298 | $282 (3 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Bonhams (203)Bolsa de Arte (201)James D. Julia (139)Agra-Art (39)