Art auction market report: August 2014
In August 2014, ArtSell recorded 880 auction lots from 9 auction houses, of which 634 sold (72% sell-through). The 634 sales with a published price total $10,486,461, with a median of $1,700 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Jeffrey Smart, “The Red Warehouse (2003)”, at $818,528 (Smith & Singer). 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 | William Wendt American | $329,250 | 3 | Vibrant Coast (Dana Point) — $233,000 |
| 2 | Guy Rose American | $275,000 | 1 | A Normandy farm — $275,000 |
| 3 | Selden Connor Gile American | $188,875 | 4 | Tiburon highway along the lagoon — $137,000 |
| 4 | Clement Meadmore Australian | $175,074 | 8 | Hob Nob 1992 — $39,790 |
| 5 | Edgar Alwin Payne American | $165,000 | 5 | Mount Alice — $68,750 |
| 6 | Alson S. Clark American | $150,750 | 2 | The locks at Panama — $137,000 |
| 7 | Willard Nash American | $137,000 | 1 | View of Santa Fe (Landscape) — $137,000 |
| 8 | Albert Bierstadt American | $110,000 | 2 | View through the trees — $75,000 |
| 9 | Maurice Braun American | $88,500 | 4 | California vista — $70,000 |
| 10 | Elmer Wachtel American | $85,625 | 5 | Summer splendor along a stream — $23,750 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arthur Boyd British | $338,780 | 7 | Pond near Flinders, Boneo Road (1957) — $111,411 |
| 2 | Jean Mannheim German | $50,000 | 1 | Arch Beach, Laguna — $50,000 |
| 3 | Grigory Gluckmann Russian | $35,000 | 1 | Girl with a pink dress and a nude — $35,000 |
| 4 | Sali Herman Swiss | $13,642 | 1 | Sunday Afternoon Drive 1967 — $13,642 |
| 5 | Teodor Axentowicz Polish | $9,608 | 1 | W dzień Matki Boskiej Gromnicznej, 1937 r. — $9,608 |
| 6 | Robert Nettleton Field British | $9,434 | 1 | Untitled – The Cottage in Spring — $9,434 |
| 7 | Leopold Till German | $9,375 | 1 | Blind man's bluff — $9,375 |
| 8 | Nicholas Harding British | $9,095 | 1 | Beach Life (Swimming and Magazine) 2006 — $9,095 |
| 9 | Jerzy Kossak Polish | $8,807 | 3 | Modlitwa Beduinów na pustyni, 1942 r. — $3,203 |
| 10 | Jerzy Nowosielski Polish | $7,098 | 2 | Matka Boska Orantka — $5,925 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Wendt | Vibrant Coast (Dana Point) Bonhams | $233,000 | $228,000 (56 earlier) |
| Robert Dickerson | The Bottle (1954) Smith & Singer | $170,527 | $82,733 (56 earlier) |
| Millard Sheets | Beneath the neon glow Bonhams | $52,500 | $51,850 (49 earlier) |
| Jean Mannheim | Arch Beach, Laguna Bonhams | $50,000 | $35,250 (21 earlier) |
| Billy Apple | Sold Art+Object | $49,655 | $36,109 (13 earlier) |
| Paul A. Grimm | Beverly Hills Bonhams | $40,000 | $16,250 (31 earlier) |
| Peter Siddell | View towards Mt Eden from Vicinity of Belle Vue Rd Art+Object | $39,724 | $20,970 (16 earlier) |
| Richard Killeen | Time to change the Greek hero No. 2 Art+Object | $38,234 | $35,558 (50 earlier) |
| Criss Canning | Native Seed Pods (2012) Smith & Singer | $34,105 | $17,819 (5 earlier) |
| Peter McIntyre | Start of the Round Up Art+Object | $31,779 | $16,334 (10 earlier) |
| Rinaldo Cuneo | The city at night Bonhams | $18,750 | $11,250 (15 earlier) |
| Danila Vassilieff | Study in Fitzroy (1938) Smith & Singer | $17,053 | $16,605 (8 earlier) |
| Cornelius Botke | Mountain stream Bonhams | $12,500 | $7,170 (4 earlier) |
| Martin Popplewell | Craptown Salon Style Art+Object | $11,917 | $11,584 (6 earlier) |
| Elizabeth Thomson | Black and Whites XIII Art+Object | $10,427 | $6,806 (3 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Bonhams (279)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (128)Bolsa de Arte (97)Smith & Singer (91)Clarke Auction Gallery (89)Art+Object (85)Agra-Art (58)Toovey's (40)Leonard Joel (13)