Art auction market report: March 2013
In March 2013, ArtSell recorded 2,210 auction lots from 17 auction houses, of which 1,620 sold (73% sell-through). The 1,620 sales with a published price total $14,261,029, with a median of $1,230 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Andy Warhol, “Knives”, at $2,008,900 (Phillips). 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 | $2,092,650 | 5 | Knives — $2,008,900 |
| 2 | Ed Ruscha American | $550,000 | 1 | Anchor Stuck in Sand — $550,000 |
| 3 | Richard Prince American | $366,375 | 4 | Eden Rock (oil rig and cowboy) — $200,500 |
| 4 | Ken Price American | $314,500 | 1 | Oh Gee — $314,500 |
| 5 | George Condo American | $280,250 | 2 | The Monk at the Brothel — $266,500 |
| 6 | Mark Grotjahn American | $254,500 | 1 | Butterfly (Black, Red, Orange) — $254,500 |
| 7 | Rob Pruitt American | $173,000 | 2 | I Love Bamboo (I hate you) — $98,500 |
| 8 | Dan Colen American | $164,500 | 1 | Oy Vey 3 — $164,500 |
| 9 | Arnaldo Roche-Rabell American | $116,500 | 1 | La Ley: Sin paños ni lágrimas — $116,500 |
| 10 | Kelley Walker American | $110,500 | 1 | Untitled — $110,500 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan Matejko Polish | $368,022 | 2 | NOCNE PRZYGODY JANA OLBRACHTA Z KALLIMACHEM — $362,584 |
| 2 | Albert Oehlen German | $362,500 | 1 | Traurigkeit — $362,500 |
| 3 | Damien Hirst British | $218,500 | 1 | Levorphanol — $218,500 |
| 4 | Gerhard Richter German | $215,000 | 1 | Fuji (839-12) — $215,000 |
| 5 | Ron Arad British | $122,500 | 1 | “Oh-Void 2” chair — $122,500 |
| 6 | Roderic O'Conor Irish | $118,364 | 8 | NATURE MORTE — $39,021 |
| 7 | Andreas Gursky German | $112,500 | 2 | Genoa — $62,500 |
| 8 | Anselm Reyle German | $112,250 | 2 | Untitled — $98,500 |
| 9 | Tony Cragg British | $106,250 | 2 | Leaf — $56,250 |
| 10 | Sylvie Fleury Swiss | $80,500 | 1 | Eternal Wow on Shelf (cyan/purple) — $80,500 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Warhol | Knives Phillips | $2,008,900 | $951,161 (382 earlier) |
| Ed Ruscha | Anchor Stuck in Sand Phillips | $550,000 | $194,250 (105 earlier) |
| Jan Matejko | NOCNE PRZYGODY JANA OLBRACHTA Z KALLIMACHEM Agra-Art | $362,584 | $75,879 (24 earlier) |
| Ken Price | Oh Gee Phillips | $314,500 | $37,200 (11 earlier) |
| George Condo | The Monk at the Brothel Phillips | $266,500 | $42,589 (15 earlier) |
| Richard Prince | Eden Rock (oil rig and cowboy) Phillips | $200,500 | $37,500 (12 earlier) |
| Ron Arad | “Oh-Void 2” chair Phillips | $122,500 | $86,500 (9 earlier) |
| William Copley | That's My Dad Phillips | $92,500 | $48,800 (15 earlier) |
| Wendell Castle | Black Edition “Big Table,” from the “Molar” series Phillips | $74,500 | $35,650 (8 earlier) |
| Helmut Middendorf | Three Women Phillips | $68,500 | $34,409 (39 earlier) |
| Francesco Clemente | Zip Phillips | $68,500 | $50,628 (13 earlier) |
| James Humbert Craig | THE TOPS OF GLENDUN, COUNTY ANTRIM Whyte's | $54,629 | $47,275 (109 earlier) |
| Jan Tarasin | SYTUACJA NIEWYJAŚNIONA (dyptyk) Agra-Art | $50,037 | $32,759 (173 earlier) |
| Shepard Fairey | War By Numbers Phillips | $50,000 | $21,295 (6 earlier) |
| Vik Muniz | For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow (from Pictures of Chocolate) Phillips | $47,500 | $15,300 (3 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Art+Object (345)Phillips (320)Schmidt Kunstauktionen Dresden (304)Whyte's (234)Leonard Joel (163)Agra-Art (154)SOGA (151)Bonhams (137)Crocker Farm (90)Levis Fine Art Auctions (70)Lempertz (63)Cottone Auctions (53)Toovey's (48)Clarke Auction Gallery (45)HAUS Galerii (28)Bid & Hammer (3)Artmark (2)