Art auction market report: September 2010

In September 2010, ArtSell recorded 1,207 auction lots from 10 auction houses, of which 815 sold (68% sell-through). The 815 sales with a published price total $8,960,454, with a median of $1,500 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Brett Whiteley, “Arkie Under the Shower 1986-87”, at $1,250,990 (Menzies). 15 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.

Lots offered

1,207

10 houses

Sold

815

68% sell-through

Total

$9M

815 priced sales

Median

$1.5k

priced sales

Top sales

#	Work	Artist	House · date	Price
1	Arkie Under the Shower 1986-87, 1986-87	Brett Whiteley	Menzies · Sep 23, 2010	$1,250,990 (A$1,320,000)
2	Landscape in the Kimberleys (also known as Kimberley Landscape) 1958, 1958	Russell Drysdale	Menzies · Sep 23, 2010	$864,321 (A$912,000)
3	Bacchus Marsh Landscape 1978, 1978	Fred Williams	Menzies · Sep 23, 2010	$682,358 (A$720,000)
4	Finale 1973, 1973	John Brack	Menzies · Sep 23, 2010	$483,337 (A$510,000)
5	Taxi Stand, Brisbane Art Gallery 2002, 2002	Jeffrey Smart	Menzies · Sep 23, 2010	$409,415 (A$432,000)
6	Rock Pool 1973, 1973	Charles Blackman	Menzies · Sep 23, 2010	$250,198 (A$264,000)
7	Evening 1995, 1995	Tim Storrier	Menzies · Sep 23, 2010	$221,766 (A$234,000)
8	Woman and Flowers 1959, 1959	Charles Blackman	Menzies · Sep 23, 2010	$170,590 (A$180,000)
9	Study for Autobahn in the Black Forest II 1979, 1979	Jeffrey Smart	Menzies · Sep 23, 2010	$153,531 (A$162,000)
10	Kate Kelly Pursued by Constable Fitzpatrick c1945, c1945	Sidney Nolan	Menzies · Sep 23, 2010	$153,531 (A$162,000)
11	An Economy of Dust and Ashes (Pastoral Domestic) 2005-06, 2005-06	Tim Storrier	Menzies · Sep 23, 2010	$136,472 (A$144,000)
12	Urban Apartments 1999, 1999	Howard Arkley	Menzies · Sep 23, 2010	$125,099 (A$132,000)
13	Untitled 20050901 2005, 2005	Tim Maguire	Menzies · Sep 23, 2010	$113,726 (A$120,000)
14	The Intrusion (DH Lawrence series)	Garry Shead	Menzies · Sep 23, 2010	$80,746 (A$85,200)
15	(Kelly, Blue Sky and Moon) 1960, 1960	Sidney Nolan	Menzies · Sep 23, 2010	$79,608 (A$84,000)

Top American artists

Ranked by total of priced sales in the month; region from the artist’s recorded nationality.

Top American artists, September 2010
#	Artist	Total sold	Priced sales	Top result
1	Jim Dine American	$62,500	1	Venus with Tools and Shell — $62,500
2	Andy Warhol American	$42,113	4	Details of Renaissance Paintings (Leonardo Da Vinci, The Annunciation, 1472) — $12,500
3	Richard Prince American	$41,250	2	untitled (Cowboy) — $37,500
4	Jasper Johns American	$39,375	2	He Was Called the Buffalo's Brother — $31,875
5	Al Held American	$28,750	2	untitled — $15,000
6	Cady Noland American	$23,750	1	Untitled — $23,750
7	Wayne Thiebaud American	$23,750	1	Boston Cremes — $23,750
8	Mel Bochner American	$23,125	3	Counting: Asymptotic Zones (9) — $10,000
9	Marie Laurencin American	$23,000	1	Portrait of Girl with Pink Bow — $23,000
10	Futura 2000 American	$22,500	2	Map — $15,000

Top European artists

Top European artists, September 2010
#	Artist	Total sold	Priced sales	Top result
1	Arthur Boyd British	$90,981	2	Potter's Wife Decorating a Pot 1967-69 — $61,412
2	Eugene von Guerard Austrian	$75,059	2	View of Cape Woolamai c1873-75 — $50,040
3	Franz West Austrian	$52,500	2	Siracusa — $27,500
4	Henry Moore British	$45,491	1	Girl Reading Book (Woman Reading) 1946 (cast into bronze 1973) — $45,491
5	Alberto Burri Italian	$40,000	1	untitled — $40,000
6	John Kelly British	$29,569	1	Cow on Trestles c1995 — $29,569
7	Gerhard Richter German	$22,440	2	Farbfelder 6 Anordnungen von 1260 Farben — $20,400
8	Leopold Graf von Kalckreuth German	$21,291	1	BROTHER AND SISTER PLAYING MUSIC — $21,291
9	August Piepenhagen German	$20,472	2	SUNSET — $10,645
10	Bernhard Heiliger German	$18,750	1	Sun Leaf — $18,750

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
Russell Drysdale	Landscape in the Kimberleys (also known as Kimberley Landscape) 1958 Menzies	$864,321	$830,208 (16 earlier)
Tim Storrier	Evening 1995 Menzies	$221,766	$153,341 (11 earlier)
Tim Maguire	Untitled 20050901 2005 Menzies	$113,726	$48,268 (3 earlier)
Garry Shead	The Intrusion (DH Lawrence series) Menzies	$80,746	$53,720 (21 earlier)
Jim Dine	Venus with Tools and Shell Wright	$62,500	$51,850 (29 earlier)
Norman Lindsay	To the Indies Menzies	$38,667	$38,335 (10 earlier)
Richard Prince	untitled (Cowboy) Wright	$37,500	$25,376 (6 earlier)
Jasper Johns	He Was Called the Buffalo's Brother Wright	$31,875	$26,888 (10 earlier)
Robert Dickerson	Portrait of a Woman c1953-55 Menzies	$29,569	$18,638 (16 earlier)
Michael Zavros	Springfall White 2006 Menzies	$25,020	$18,449 (4 earlier)
Wayne Thiebaud	Boston Cremes Wright	$23,750	$9,000 (7 earlier)
Max Dupain	Sunbaker 1937 [printed 1970s] Menzies	$17,059	$5,037 (12 earlier)
Edward Burtynsky	Nickel Tailings #31, Sudbury, Ontario Wright	$16,250	$5,938 (5 earlier)
Susan Norrie	Goffredo and Guilia Embracing, Partially Hidden Behind the Easel 2003 Menzies	$15,922	$10,963 (4 earlier)
Bill Coleman	Family at the Table Menzies	$15,922	$1,889 (4 earlier)

Auction houses this month

Schmidt Kunstauktionen Dresden (308)Art+Object (216)Wright (197)Sloans & Kenyon (193)Menzies (99)Lempertz (87)Agra-Art (75)Levis Fine Art Auctions (22)Cottone Auctions (9)Artmark (1)