Art auction market report: August 2012
In August 2012, ArtSell recorded 1,210 auction lots from 8 auction houses, of which 843 sold (70% sell-through). The 843 sales with a published price total $5,533,323, with a median of $1,040 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Arthur Boyd, “BRIDE RUNNING AWAY (1957)”, at $1,769,376 (Smith & Singer). 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 | Guy Rose American | $458,500 | 1 | Matin de Novembre — $458,500 |
| 2 | Edgar Alwin Payne American | $406,500 | 5 | Canyon gateway — $230,500 |
| 3 | Granville Redmond American | $215,625 | 7 | Coastal wildflowers — $122,500 |
| 4 | William Frederic Ritschel American | $105,500 | 2 | Evening tide, California coast — $80,500 |
| 5 | William Wendt American | $103,750 | 2 | A vista towards Mt. Baldy — $56,250 |
| 6 | Percy Gray American | $71,875 | 4 | Oaks and rolling hills under billowing clouds — $31,250 |
| 7 | Hanson Puthuff American | $65,000 | 2 | Home valley — $40,000 |
| 8 | August François Gay American | $48,750 | 1 | View near Monterey — $48,750 |
| 9 | Jack Wilkinson Smith American | $43,750 | 1 | Sierra Landscape — $43,750 |
| 10 | Selden Connor Gile American | $41,250 | 3 | Corinthian bridge, Belvedere — $25,000 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arthur Boyd British | $1,769,376 | 1 | BRIDE RUNNING AWAY (1957) — $1,769,376 |
| 2 | Graham Fransella British | $27,445 | 9 | Track Series — $5,718 |
| 3 | Paul Signac French | $20,700 | 1 | Colorful Harbor — $20,700 |
| 4 | Jörg Schmeisser German | $8,681 | 7 | Second Journey to China — $3,119 |
| 5 | Peter Paul Rubens Flemish | $6,875 | 1 | The Adoration of the Magi — $6,875 |
| 6 | Jean Mannheim German | $6,875 | 1 | The garden at the Mannheim home — $6,875 |
| 7 | Francisco de Zurbarán Spanish | $6,000 | 1 | The young Christ wounded by a thorn — $6,000 |
| 8 | Anshelm Leonard Schultzberg Swedish | $5,625 | 1 | Winter in the forest — $5,625 |
| 9 | Mark Schaller German | $5,458 | 2 | Siren Nude — $4,574 |
| 10 | Nicolas Lancret French | $3,750 | 1 | An elegant garden party; together with a painting of a similar subject (a pair) — $3,750 |
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).
Auction houses this month
Bonhams (459)James D. Julia (280)Art+Object (181)Leonard Joel (171)Agra-Art (61)Clarke Auction Gallery (36)Toovey's (21)Smith & Singer (1)