Art auction market report: October 2013
In October 2013, ArtSell recorded 2,442 auction lots from 15 auction houses, of which 1,896 sold (78% sell-through). The 1,896 sales with a published price total $49,852,583, with a median of $4,375 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Gerhard Richter, “Weiß (White)”, at $3,902,747 (Phillips). 15 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.
Lots offered
2,442
15 houses
Sold
1,896
78% sell-through
Total
$50M
1,896 priced sales
Median
$4.4k
priced sales
Top sales
| # | Work | Artist | House · date | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Weiß (White), 1988 | Gerhard Richter | Phillips · Oct 16, 2013 | $3,902,747 (£2,434,500) |
| 2 | My Armchair 1976, 1976 | Brett Whiteley | Menzies · Oct 31, 2013 | $3,041,248 (A$3,200,000) |
| 3 | Untitled, 1981 | Jean-Michel Basquiat | Phillips · Oct 16, 2013 | $3,005,011 (£1,874,500) |
| 4 | Untitled (P430), 2003 | Christopher Wool | Phillips · Oct 16, 2013 | $1,735,356 (£1,082,500) |
| 5 | Sechs Geister (Schwartz), 1995 | Thomas Schütte | Phillips · Oct 16, 2013 | $1,004,342 (£626,500) |
| 6 | Untitled (Orange Butterfly Over Green), 2003 | Mark Grotjahn | Phillips · Oct 16, 2013 | $965,868 (£602,500) |
| 7 | SP83, 2009 | Sterling Ruby | Phillips · Oct 16, 2013 | $965,868 (£602,500) |
| 8 | Floß, 1982-83 | Peter Fischli and David Weiss | Phillips · Oct 16, 2013 | $965,868 (£602,500) |
| 9 | Girl in Front of a Mirror, 1981-82 | Komar & Melamid | Phillips · Oct 16, 2013 | $888,919 (£554,500) |
| 10 | Untitled (Fold), 2011 | Tauba Auerbach | Phillips · Oct 16, 2013 | $802,352 (£500,500) |
| 11 | Untitled, 1984 | Keith Haring | Phillips · Oct 16, 2013 | $581,124 (£362,500) |
| 12 | Adagio 1967-69, 1967-69 | John Brack | Menzies · Oct 31, 2013 | $551,226 (A$580,000) |
| 13 | The Twenty First Very New Painting, 1992 | David Hockney | Phillips · Oct 16, 2013 | $542,649 (£338,500) |
| 14 | Stewardess, 1989 | Peter Fischli and David Weiss | Phillips · Oct 17, 2013 | $468,228 (£290,500) |
| 15 | Ned Kelly and Mounted Trooper 1964, 1964 | Sidney Nolan | Menzies · Oct 31, 2013 | $456,187 (A$480,000) |
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 | Jean-Michel Basquiat American | $3,166,011 | 2 | Untitled — $3,005,011 |
| 2 | Christopher Wool American | $1,865,356 | 6 | Untitled (P430) — $1,735,356 |
| 3 | Andy Warhol American | $1,820,882 | 33 | Flower — $311,803 |
| 4 | Sterling Ruby German | $975,942 | 2 | SP83 — $965,868 |
| 5 | Mark Grotjahn American | $965,868 | 1 | Untitled (Orange Butterfly Over Green) — $965,868 |
| 6 | Komar & Melamid American | $888,919 | 1 | Girl in Front of a Mirror — $888,919 |
| 7 | Tauba Auerbach American | $802,352 | 1 | Untitled (Fold) — $802,352 |
| 8 | Keith Haring American | $646,749 | 5 | Untitled — $581,124 |
| 9 | Ed Ruscha American | $612,127 | 14 | Idea — $388,752 |
| 10 | Richard Avedon American | $556,000 | 9 | The Family — $341,000 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerhard Richter German | $3,921,497 | 2 | Weiß (White) — $3,902,747 |
| 2 | Thomas Schütte German | $1,016,431 | 2 | Sechs Geister (Schwartz) — $1,004,342 |
| 3 | David Hockney British | $788,684 | 10 | The Twenty First Very New Painting — $542,649 |
| 4 | Albert Oehlen German | $585,132 | 2 | Muschel 2 — $388,752 |
| 5 | Arthur Boyd British | $484,339 | 3 | Bride and Bridegroom with Rainbow 1960 — $418,172 |
| 6 | Pablo Picasso Spanish | $447,029 | 45 | Fumeur V (Smoker V) — $25,000 |
| 7 | Maurizio Cattelan Italian | $427,851 | 2 | Turisti — $427,226 |
| 8 | Sigmar Polke German | $369,515 | 1 | Untitled — $369,515 |
| 9 | Thomas Struth German | $364,617 | 2 | Museo del Prado 5, Madrid — $215,617 |
| 10 | Marc Quinn British | $355,441 | 3 | The Antarctic Nurseries of El Dorado (True North) — $215,617 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gerhard Richter | Weiß (White) Phillips | $3,902,747 | $651,470 (298 earlier) |
| Brett Whiteley | My Armchair 1976 Menzies | $3,041,248 | $1,892,178 (84 earlier) |
| Sterling Ruby | SP83 Phillips | $965,868 | $168,800 (9 earlier) |
| Mark Grotjahn | Untitled (Orange Butterfly Over Green) Phillips | $965,868 | $709,058 (6 earlier) |
| Tauba Auerbach | Untitled (Fold) Phillips | $802,352 | $590,417 (4 earlier) |
| Keith Haring | Untitled Phillips | $581,124 | $348,066 (84 earlier) |
| David Hockney | The Twenty First Very New Painting Phillips | $542,649 | $62,500 (161 earlier) |
| Maurizio Cattelan | Turisti Phillips | $427,226 | $56,210 (6 earlier) |
| Albert Oehlen | Muschel 2 Phillips | $388,752 | $382,873 (25 earlier) |
| Dan Colen | Untitled Phillips | $350,277 | $305,000 (4 earlier) |
| Jacek Malczewski | AUTOPORTRET Z KWIATEM OSTU Agra-Art | $342,284 | $281,102 (62 earlier) |
| Richard Avedon | The Family Phillips | $341,000 | $92,500 (21 earlier) |
| Richard Diebenkorn | Green Phillips | $341,000 | $156,000 (11 earlier) |
| Jaume Plensa | Tel Aviv Man XIV Phillips | $313,495 | $48,404 (5 earlier) |
| Thomas Struth | Museo del Prado 5, Madrid Phillips | $215,617 | $211,843 (30 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Phillips (834)Art+Object (491)Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (432)Agra-Art (157)Menzies (103)Twents Veilinghuis (97)Smith & Singer (76)Clarke Auction Gallery (55)Toovey's (55)Leonard Joel (53)HAUS Galerii (41)Cottone Auctions (29)Van Ham (11)im Kinsky (5)Artmark (3)