Art auction market report: March 2011

In March 2011, ArtSell recorded 2,093 auction lots from 13 auction houses, of which 1,645 sold (79% sell-through). The 1,645 sales with a published price total $19,620,511, with a median of $1,875 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Brett Whiteley, “Washing the Salt Off 1 1985”, at $1,892,178 (Menzies). 15 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.

Lots offered

2,093

13 houses

Sold

1,645

79% sell-through

Total

$20M

1,645 priced sales

Median

$1.9k

priced sales

Top sales

#	Work	Artist	House · date	Price
1	Washing the Salt Off 1 1985, 1985	Brett Whiteley	Menzies · Mar 24, 2011	$1,892,178 (A$1,860,000)
2	Extensive Landscape Northern Transvaal	Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef	Strauss & Co · Mar 7, 2011	$1,542,366 (ZAR 10,583,000)
3	Still Life of Delphiniums	Irma Stern	Strauss & Co · Mar 7, 2011	$1,542,366 (ZAR 10,583,000)
4	Grand Canal, Venice	Irma Stern	Strauss & Co · Mar 7, 2011	$892,949 (ZAR 6,127,000)
5	Diver, Broome 1959, 1959	Russell Drysdale	Menzies · Mar 24, 2011	$869,792 (A$855,000)
6	The Scissors Shop 1963, 1963	John Brack	Menzies · Mar 24, 2011	$610,380 (A$600,000)
7	Death of a Husband 1958, 1958	Arthur Boyd	Menzies · Mar 24, 2011	$610,380 (A$600,000)
8	Still Life with Camellias	Irma Stern	Strauss & Co · Mar 7, 2011	$487,063 (ZAR 3,342,000)
9	Lysterfield Hillside II 1974, 1974	Fred Williams	Menzies · Mar 24, 2011	$463,889 (A$456,000)
10	Revelation (Royal Suite) 1997, 1997	Garry Shead	Menzies · Mar 24, 2011	$317,398 (A$312,000)
11	At Claremont, CP	Pieter Wenning	Strauss & Co · Mar 7, 2011	$259,767 (ZAR 1,782,400)
12	WNĘTRZE, 1929	Tadeusz Makowski	Agra-Art · Mar 20, 2011	$248,217 (PLN 713,000)
13	Three Cows Stacked 2001, 2001	John Kelly	Menzies · Mar 24, 2011	$219,737 (A$216,000)
14	Keerom Street, Cape Town	Pieter Wenning	Strauss & Co · Mar 7, 2011	$211,061 (ZAR 1,448,200)
15	DZIECI Z LAMPIONEM I CHORĄGIEWKĄ	Tadeusz Makowski	Agra-Art · Mar 20, 2011	$188,164 (PLN 540,500)

Top American artists

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

Top American artists, March 2011
#	Artist	Total sold	Priced sales	Top result
1	Andy Warhol American	$119,125	5	Marilyn Monroe — $87,500
2	Harry Bertoia American	$107,500	3	Tonal Sculpture — $63,750
3	Ed Ruscha American	$72,125	6	Vowel O (From Vowels: Paintings on Book Covers) — $21,250
4	Sol LeWitt American	$54,563	5	Wall Piece — $33,750
5	Saul Steinberg American	$53,750	2	Western Harpy — $28,750
6	Vasa Mihich American	$30,250	3	Untitled (#2963) — $22,500
7	Jack Youngerman American	$28,938	2	Blackout — $28,125
8	Clement Meadmore Australian	$28,311	2	Untitled early 1950s — $18,311
9	Alexander Calder American	$25,000	1	Untitled — $25,000
10	Kenny Scharf American	$22,500	1	Pallezion — $22,500

Top European artists

Top European artists, March 2011
#	Artist	Total sold	Priced sales	Top result
1	Arthur Boyd British	$721,469	3	Death of a Husband 1958 — $610,380
2	Tadeusz Makowski Polish	$544,876	4	WNĘTRZE — $248,217
3	Ettore Sottsass Italian	$343,658	33	Entry Table — $75,000
4	John Kelly British	$219,737	1	Three Cows Stacked 2001 — $219,737
5	Reg Butler British	$125,000	1	The Unknown Political Prisoner maquette — $125,000
6	Pablo Picasso Spanish	$98,776	18	Vase with Two High Handles — $23,750
7	Jerzy Nowosielski Polish	$98,267	4	DZIEWCZYNA Z LUSTREM — $50,444
8	Martin Benka Czech	$56,982	2	Mládenec z Bošáce — $34,745
9	Jan Hála Slovak	$56,704	3	Pastier oviec — $36,135
10	Gerard Dillon Irish	$51,259	5	YOUNG COUPLE IN A LANDSCAPE — $41,844

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
Brett Whiteley	Washing the Salt Off 1 1985 Menzies	$1,892,178	$1,372,189 (29 earlier)
Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef	Extensive Landscape Northern Transvaal Strauss & Co	$1,542,366	$1,082,042 (32 earlier)
Garry Shead	Revelation (Royal Suite) 1997 Menzies	$317,398	$80,746 (28 earlier)
Pieter Wenning	At Claremont, CP Strauss & Co	$259,767	$175,036 (10 earlier)
Tadeusz Makowski	WNĘTRZE Agra-Art	$248,217	$117,248 (8 earlier)
John Kelly	Three Cows Stacked 2001 Menzies	$219,737	$63,587 (7 earlier)
Reg Butler	The Unknown Political Prisoner maquette Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA)	$125,000	$260 (5 earlier)
Robert Klippel	No. 448 Birdbath 1982 Menzies	$122,076	$6,205 (3 earlier)
Ettore Sottsass	Entry Table Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA)	$75,000	$15,600 (15 earlier)
Margaret Olley	Still Life with Marigolds and Persimmons 1974 Menzies	$67,142	$50,040 (3 earlier)
Christo Coetzee	Et In Arcadia Ego Strauss & Co	$56,824	$7,761 (7 earlier)
Ray Crooke	The Red Hibiscus Menzies	$47,610	$19,978 (11 earlier)
James Brenan	THE FINISHING TOUCH Whyte's	$30,686	$15,745 (3 earlier)
William 'Billy' Haines	Pair of Brentwood low chairs Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA)	$30,000	$25,725 (4 earlier)
Saul Steinberg	Western Harpy Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA)	$28,750	$27,000 (4 earlier)

Auction houses this month

Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (408)Schmidt Kunstauktionen Dresden (289)Whyte's (275)Art+Object (226)SOGA (196)Agra-Art (165)Strauss & Co (146)Menzies (99)Crocker Farm (93)Lempertz (80)Levis Fine Art Auctions (63)Toovey's (41)Cottone Auctions (12)