Art auction market report: May 2014
In May 2014, ArtSell recorded 3,950 auction lots from 23 auction houses, of which 3,311 sold (84% sell-through). The 3,311 sales with a published price total $212,289,635, with a median of $6,474 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Mark Rothko, “Untitled (Red, Blue, Orange)”, at $56,165,000 (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 | Mark Rothko American | $56,165,000 | 1 | Untitled (Red, Blue, Orange) — $56,165,000 |
| 2 | Andy Warhol American | $15,399,024 | 30 | Flowers — $10,245,000 |
| 3 | Jeff Koons American | $4,660,625 | 3 | Popples — $4,645,000 |
| 4 | Donald Judd American | $3,610,000 | 2 | Untitled (88-27 Menziken) — $2,165,000 |
| 5 | Jean-Michel Basquiat American | $3,413,000 | 3 | Rodo — $3,021,000 |
| 6 | Alexander Calder American | $3,303,513 | 7 | Crag with white flower and white discs — $2,965,000 |
| 7 | Wade Guyton American | $3,250,000 | 2 | Untitled — $2,165,000 |
| 8 | Vija Celmins American | $2,405,000 | 1 | Night Sky #3 — $2,405,000 |
| 9 | Tauba Auerbach American | $1,845,000 | 2 | Untitled (Fold) — $1,805,000 |
| 10 | John Chamberlain American | $1,129,205 | 3 | Buoy Crazy — $850,000 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerhard Richter German | $8,493,108 | 14 | Mädchen im Sessel (Lila) — $8,005,000 |
| 2 | Max Liebermann German | $1,348,388 | 6 | Schafherde — $782,460 |
| 3 | Jan van Goyen Dutch | $1,306,572 | 4 | On the Beach at Scheveningen — $1,050,483 |
| 4 | Eduardo Chillida Spanish | $1,161,780 | 5 | Estela a Picasso — $765,675 |
| 5 | Sigmar Polke German | $1,136,835 | 4 | Untitled — $677,000 |
| 6 | Damien Hirst British | $1,086,090 | 5 | Beautiful Ain't That a Kick in the Head Painting — $581,000 |
| 7 | Emil Nolde German | $995,920 | 16 | Sonnenblume und Anemonen — $204,180 |
| 8 | Jean Dubuffet French | $898,938 | 3 | Voie piétonnière — $605,000 |
| 9 | Pablo Picasso Spanish | $841,246 | 18 | Femme au tambourin — $306,270 |
| 10 | Emil Filla Czech | $834,624 | 1 | Man´s head with a pipe — $834,624 |
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 | Mädchen im Sessel (Lila) Phillips | $8,005,000 | $3,902,747 (332 earlier) |
| Jeff Koons | Popples Phillips | $4,645,000 | $4,421,000 (49 earlier) |
| Alexander Calder | Crag with white flower and white discs Phillips | $2,965,000 | $845,000 (161 earlier) |
| Vija Celmins | Night Sky #3 Phillips | $2,405,000 | $587,500 (21 earlier) |
| Donald Judd | Untitled (88-27 Menziken) Phillips | $2,165,000 | $535,460 (44 earlier) |
| Wade Guyton | Untitled Phillips | $2,165,000 | $725,000 (9 earlier) |
| Tauba Auerbach | Untitled (Fold) Phillips | $1,805,000 | $802,352 (8 earlier) |
| Gerrit van Honthorst | The Steadfast Philosopher Lempertz | $1,131,290 | $32,854 (3 earlier) |
| Jan van Goyen | On the Beach at Scheveningen Lempertz | $1,050,483 | $347,417 (11 earlier) |
| Tom Roberts | Miss Minna Simpson (1886) Smith & Singer | $914,473 | $99,725 (10 earlier) |
| Eduardo Chillida | Estela a Picasso Grisebach | $765,675 | $182,376 (150 earlier) |
| Ben Nicholson | White Relief Grisebach | $731,645 | $47,602 (16 earlier) |
| Wilhelm Lehmbruck | Frauenbüste (Büste Frau L.) Grisebach | $680,600 | $142,019 (38 earlier) |
| Dana Schutz | Reformers Phillips | $605,000 | $365,000 (5 earlier) |
| Jean Dubuffet | Voie piétonnière Phillips | $605,000 | $504,365 (41 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Lempertz (602)Grisebach (589)Phillips (514)Levis Fine Art Auctions (314)Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (309)Art+Object (250)Whyte's (223)Bonhams (201)Brunk Auctions (162)Van Ham (159)Ketterer Kunst (135)im Kinsky (123)Smith & Singer (94)Agra-Art (53)Toovey's (48)Bolsa de Arte (37)Ravenel (36)Clarke Auction Gallery (33)Galerie Kodl (27)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (25)Leonard Joel (7)Cottone Auctions (5)Artmark (4)