Art auction market report: August 2013

In August 2013, ArtSell recorded 1,248 auction lots from 10 auction houses, of which 888 sold (71% sell-through). The 888 sales with a published price total $4,739,672, with a median of $972 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Jeffrey Smart, “THE HITCH-HIKER (1972)”, at $328,137 (Smith & Singer). 15 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.

Lots offered

1,248

10 houses

Sold

888

71% sell-through

Total

$4.7M

888 priced sales

Median

$972

priced sales

Top sales

#	Work	Artist	House · date	Price
1	THE HITCH-HIKER (1972), 1972	Jeffrey Smart	Smith & Singer · Aug 27, 2013	$328,137 (A$366,000)
2	HANGING ROCK (1976,1980), 1976	Fred Williams	Smith & Singer · Aug 27, 2013	$240,634 (A$268,400)
3	FAUN ATTACKED BY PARROT 2 1968, 1968	Albert Tucker	Smith & Singer · Aug 27, 2013	$218,758 (A$244,000)
4	ABORIGINES OF VAN DIEMEN'S LAND 1828, 1828	Robert Neill	Smith & Singer · Aug 27, 2013	$196,882 (A$219,600)
5	UNTITLED 1997, 1997	Peter Booth	Smith & Singer · Aug 27, 2013	$164,069 (A$183,000)
6	George Washington	Rembrandt Peale	James D. Julia · Aug 20, 2013	$130,350
7	Wagon team and barn	Selden Connor Gile	Bonhams · Aug 6, 2013	$110,500
8	PORTRAIT OF THOMAS GIBLIN (1846), 1846	Thomas Wainewright	Smith & Singer · Aug 27, 2013	$98,441 (A$109,800)
9	Rocky Point, Laguna	Granville Redmond	Bonhams · Aug 6, 2013	$96,100
10	FACE (1957), 1957	Charles Blackman	Smith & Singer · Aug 27, 2013	$82,034 (A$91,500)
11	SHOALHAVEN RIVER WITH ROSE, BURNING BOOK AND AEROPLANE (1981), 1981	Arthur Boyd	Smith & Singer · Aug 27, 2013	$79,847 (A$89,060)
12	A grove of trees, 1933	William Wendt	Bonhams · Aug 6, 2013	$56,250
13	GIRL #6 2004, 2004	Del Kathryn Barton	Smith & Singer · Aug 27, 2013	$52,502 (A$58,560)
14	Necessary Protection	Colin McCahon	Art+Object · Aug 15, 2013	$52,035 (NZ$64,487)
15	SELF PORTRAIT 1948, 1948	Albert Tucker	Smith & Singer · Aug 27, 2013	$48,127 (A$53,680)

Top American artists

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

Top American artists, August 2013
#	Artist	Total sold	Priced sales	Top result
1	Rembrandt Peale American	$130,350	1	George Washington — $130,350
2	Selden Connor Gile American	$110,500	1	Wagon team and barn — $110,500
3	Granville Redmond American	$96,100	1	Rocky Point, Laguna — $96,100
4	William Wendt American	$72,500	2	A grove of trees — $56,250
5	William Trost Richards American	$58,657	3	Thunderheads Over Beach with Breaking Waves — $44,437
6	Hermann Ottomar Herzog American	$36,142	1	Snoqualmie Falls — $36,142
7	Waldo Peirce American	$33,912	12	Circus at Searsport — $10,072
8	Anthony Thieme American	$32,349	4	Motif #1 — $17,775
9	William Lester Stevens American	$27,285	4	Boats at Anchor — $13,035
10	Charles Herbert Woodbury American	$27,018	3	Monadnock — $21,330

Top European artists

Top European artists, August 2013
#	Artist	Total sold	Priced sales	Top result
1	Arthur Boyd British	$80,754	2	SHOALHAVEN RIVER WITH ROSE, BURNING BOOK AND AEROPLANE (1981) — $79,847
2	Édouard Cortès French	$60,435	2	Flower Vendor on a Paris Street — $35,550
3	Geoffrey Dashwood British	$49,943	12	Cormorant — $11,850
4	Frances Hodgkins British	$41,564	1	BRETON PEASANT (1909-1912) — $41,564
5	Girolamo P. Nerli Italian	$33,113	1	The Ascension — $33,113
6	Eugène Galien-Laloue French	$17,775	1	Paris Street in Front of the Madeleine — $17,775
7	Berthe Morisot French	$17,010	1	Mother and Child in Landscape — $17,010
8	John Kelly British	$16,407	1	MAN AND UPSIDE-DOWN COW 1991 — $16,407
9	Alfred Dubucand French	$13,035	1	Cavalier Et Femme Arabe a La Fontaine — $13,035
10	Joseph Vivien French	$10,665	1	Rene Seguin-Chancelier De France” Under Louis Xiv — $10,665

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
Albert Tucker	FAUN ATTACKED BY PARROT 2 1968 Smith & Singer	$218,758	$139,725 (15 earlier)
Peter Booth	UNTITLED 1997 Smith & Singer	$164,069	$137,042 (14 earlier)
Stephen Bambury	‘And Also Its Constant Equilibrium” (Chakra No. 5) Art+Object	$42,574	$40,023 (20 earlier)
Albert Namatjira	THE VALLEY, MACDONNELL RANGES, NORTHERN TERRITORY (1956) Smith & Singer	$32,814	$15,897 (4 earlier)
Gwyn Hanssen-Pigott	HARBOUR (2002) Smith & Singer	$24,063	$4,883 (5 earlier)
Unsigned	Naples Harbor with Vesuvius in the Background James D. Julia	$23,700	$1,955 (103 earlier)
Theodorus Johannes Schoon	Done up in pins and curlers Art+Object	$23,652	$19,396 (38 earlier)
Charles Herbert Woodbury	Monadnock James D. Julia	$21,330	$16,800 (11 earlier)
Benjamin Champney	Panoramic View of the White Mountains, Nh James D. Julia	$21,330	$6,612 (5 earlier)
Robert Farrington Elwell	Indian Paddling a Canoe James D. Julia	$18,960	$11,163 (7 earlier)
Anthony Thieme	Motif #1 James D. Julia	$17,775	$14,400 (18 earlier)
Berthe Morisot	Mother and Child in Landscape James D. Julia	$17,010	$7,320 (3 earlier)
Anne Noble	In the Presence of Angels Art+Object	$15,138	$3,165 (8 earlier)
Wesley Webber	Busy Shipping with an Evening Sky James D. Julia	$13,627	$3,162 (4 earlier)
William Lester Stevens	Boats at Anchor James D. Julia	$13,035	$9,487 (12 earlier)

Auction houses this month

James D. Julia (538)Bonhams (177)Art+Object (165)Leonard Joel (92)Bolsa de Arte (71)Agra-Art (51)Smith & Singer (48)Toovey's (45)Clarke Auction Gallery (41)Bid & Hammer (20)