Art auction market report: October 2012
In October 2012, ArtSell recorded 2,836 auction lots from 15 auction houses, of which 1,928 sold (68% sell-through). The 1,928 sales with a published price total $8,773,312, with a median of $1,932 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Gabriele Münter, “Dahlien”, at $206,735 (Ketterer Kunst). 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 | Andy Warhol American | $180,890 | 14 | Mao — $46,875 |
| 2 | Sheila Hicks American | $175,000 | 2 | Tahoe Wall — $93,750 |
| 3 | Richard Pettibone American | $168,750 | 4 | Jasper Johns, Light Bulb, 1958 (red, yellow, blue) — $112,500 |
| 4 | Sam Francis American | $140,805 | 4 | Untitled (SF56-003) — $125,000 |
| 5 | Frederick Hammersley American | $94,688 | 5 | Different Quarters #12 — $36,250 |
| 6 | Richard Diebenkorn American | $89,375 | 2 | Blue Surround — $82,500 |
| 7 | Karl Stanley Benjamin American | $86,875 | 3 | Untitled — $34,375 |
| 8 | DeWain Valentine American | $85,625 | 2 | Curved Waterwall — $81,250 |
| 9 | Patrick Scott American | $71,609 | 14 | MEDITATIONS (SET OF 7) — $11,589 |
| 10 | Roy Lichtenstein American | $70,213 | 5 | Crying Girl — $37,500 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabriele Münter German | $275,169 | 3 | Dahlien — $206,735 |
| 2 | Pablo Picasso Spanish | $232,228 | 31 | Françoise en Soleil — $29,329 |
| 3 | Jack Butler Yeats Irish | $145,742 | 13 | CROSSING THE CITY — $126,195 |
| 4 | Otto Piene German | $79,514 | 1 | Weithin sichtbar — $79,514 |
| 5 | Rainer Fetting German | $68,434 | 4 | Melancholic NY Cop Brian — $26,885 |
| 6 | Gerhard Richter German | $64,360 | 9 | Kerze — $26,070 |
| 7 | Harry Kernoff British | $63,999 | 4 | DAVY BYRNE'S PUB, DUKE STREET, FROM THE BAILEY, DUBLIN — $37,343 |
| 8 | Heinz Mack German | $62,487 | 13 | Rotor — $20,367 |
| 9 | Jan Tarasin Polish | $61,697 | 3 | STRUNY (TRYPTYK) — $32,759 |
| 10 | David Hockney British | $53,781 | 5 | Peter on Bed Seated — $31,250 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Pettibone | Jasper Johns, Light Bulb, 1958 (red, yellow, blue) Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $112,500 | $68,750 (19 earlier) |
| George Nakashima | Rare Early Sled-Base coffee table Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $90,000 | $73,500 (137 earlier) |
| DeWain Valentine | Curved Waterwall Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $81,250 | $31,850 (4 earlier) |
| Greta Grossman | Rare Double cone floor lamp Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $37,500 | $21,600 (38 earlier) |
| Jan Tarasin | STRUNY (TRYPTYK) Agra-Art | $32,759 | $19,112 (163 earlier) |
| Richard Uutmaa | Rannavaade kaluritega HAUS Galerii | $25,816 | $18,248 (43 earlier) |
| Oskar Fischinger | The Wave Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $16,250 | $4,625 (3 earlier) |
| Paul Evans | Midcentury Sculptured Steel Table Clarke Auction Gallery | $16,000 | $14,000 (10 earlier) |
| Arik Brauer | Plastikspeiender Berg Ketterer Kunst | $14,664 | $12,343 (12 earlier) |
| Bernard (Tony) Rosenthal | Untitled (sculpture) (3) Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $12,500 | $10,625 (4 earlier) |
| Kaare Klint | Settee Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $11,875 | $1,850 (3 earlier) |
| Jorge Pardo | Untitled (hanging lamp) Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $10,000 | $3,750 (4 earlier) |
| Malcolm Leland | Group of Earthworks reliefs (3) Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $10,000 | $3,960 (15 earlier) |
| Christian Arnold | Liebespaar (Weg zwischen Bäumen und Häusern) Ketterer Kunst | $9,776 | $9,715 (24 earlier) |
| Preben Fabricius & Jorgen Kastholm | Lounge chairs (2) Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $9,375 | $3,600 (4 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Ketterer Kunst (569)Pananti (464)Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (394)Art+Object (304)Bonhams (269)Whyte's (241)Agra-Art (165)Twents Veilinghuis (121)Leonard Joel (106)Toovey's (54)Bolsa de Arte (54)Clarke Auction Gallery (51)HAUS Galerii (28)Strauss & Co (9)Van Ham (7)