Art auction market report: October 2014
In October 2014, ArtSell recorded 3,420 auction lots from 17 auction houses, of which 2,531 sold (74% sell-through). The 2,531 sales with a published price total $52,822,497, with a median of $2,913 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Christopher Wool, “Untitled”, at $3,340,392 (Phillips). 15 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.
Lots offered
3,420
17 houses
Sold
2,531
74% sell-through
Total
$53M
2,531 priced sales
Median
$2.9k
priced sales
Top sales
| # | Work | Artist | House · date | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Untitled, 1990 | Christopher Wool | Phillips · Oct 15, 2014 | $3,340,392 (£2,098,500) |
| 2 | Untitled (Fold), 2010 | Tauba Auerbach | Phillips · Oct 15, 2014 | $1,818,632 (£1,142,500) |
| 3 | Jim Beam - Observation Car, 1986 | Jeff Koons | Phillips · Oct 15, 2014 | $1,532,108 (£962,500) |
| 4 | Für Paul Celan, 2004 | Anselm Kiefer | Phillips · Oct 15, 2014 | $1,302,888 (£818,500) |
| 5 | Untitled (from the series Krieg Böse/War Wicked), 1991 | Martin Kippenberger | Phillips · Oct 15, 2014 | $1,245,584 (£782,500) |
| 6 | Submerged Phone Booth, 2006 | Banksy | Phillips · Oct 15, 2014 | $1,150,076 (£722,500) |
| 7 | Untitled, 1988 | Keith Haring | Phillips · Oct 15, 2014 | $959,060 (£602,500) |
| 8 | 5-Fluorotryptamine, 2007 | Damien Hirst | Phillips · Oct 15, 2014 | $920,856 (£578,500) |
| 9 | Untitled, 2000 | Anish Kapoor | Phillips · Oct 15, 2014 | $806,247 (£506,500) |
| 10 | Left Handed Drummer, 1997 | Barry Flanagan Ra | Phillips · Oct 15, 2014 | $806,247 (£506,500) |
| 11 | Untitled, 2010 | Rudolf Stingel | Phillips · Oct 15, 2014 | $768,044 (£482,500) |
| 12 | Nazi War Cave #1, 1985 | Mike Kelley | Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · Oct 12, 2014 | $740,000 |
| 13 | SP37, 2008 | Sterling Ruby | Phillips · Oct 15, 2014 | $710,739 (£446,500) |
| 14 | Grey Nude/Purple Cape, 1991 | George Condo | Phillips · Oct 15, 2014 | $691,637 (£434,500) |
| 15 | Too Close, 2001-02 | Richard Prince | Phillips · Oct 15, 2014 | $672,536 (£422,500) |
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 | Christopher Wool American | $3,377,892 | 2 | Untitled — $3,340,392 |
| 2 | Jeff Koons American | $2,267,588 | 9 | Jim Beam - Observation Car — $1,532,108 |
| 3 | Tauba Auerbach American | $2,014,583 | 2 | Untitled (Fold) — $1,818,632 |
| 4 | Andy Warhol American | $1,485,238 | 29 | Dollar Sign — $330,317 |
| 5 | Keith Haring American | $1,438,413 | 7 | Untitled — $959,060 |
| 6 | Richard Prince American | $1,338,647 | 3 | Too Close — $672,536 |
| 7 | George Condo American | $801,210 | 2 | Grey Nude/Purple Cape — $691,637 |
| 8 | Rudolf Stingel American | $768,044 | 1 | Untitled — $768,044 |
| 9 | Roy Lichtenstein American | $730,875 | 10 | Water Lilies with Cloud, from Water Lilies Series — $389,000 |
| 10 | Sterling Ruby German | $710,739 | 1 | SP37 — $710,739 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anselm Kiefer German | $1,302,888 | 1 | Für Paul Celan — $1,302,888 |
| 2 | Martin Kippenberger German | $1,245,584 | 1 | Untitled (from the series Krieg Böse/War Wicked) — $1,245,584 |
| 3 | Franz West Austrian | $1,206,851 | 12 | Larvae — $424,215 |
| 4 | Banksy British | $1,150,076 | 1 | Submerged Phone Booth — $1,150,076 |
| 5 | Damien Hirst British | $986,481 | 5 | 5-Fluorotryptamine — $920,856 |
| 6 | Anish Kapoor British | $816,872 | 2 | Untitled — $806,247 |
| 7 | Pablo Picasso Spanish | $539,377 | 48 | Visage de Marie-Thérèse, with book 'Picasso' by André Level — $50,000 |
| 8 | Georg Baselitz German | $424,215 | 1 | Schwarze Nase — $424,215 |
| 9 | Franz Hagenauer Austrian | $335,406 | 66 | Torso — $129,485 |
| 10 | Danh Vō Danish | $328,707 | 1 | We The People (detail) — $328,707 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tauba Auerbach | Untitled (Fold) Phillips | $1,818,632 | $1,805,000 (12 earlier) |
| Anselm Kiefer | Für Paul Celan Phillips | $1,302,888 | $254,672 (12 earlier) |
| Martin Kippenberger | Untitled (from the series Krieg Böse/War Wicked) Phillips | $1,245,584 | $468,643 (108 earlier) |
| Banksy | Submerged Phone Booth Phillips | $1,150,076 | $830,660 (22 earlier) |
| Keith Haring | Untitled Phillips | $959,060 | $581,124 (120 earlier) |
| Mike Kelley | Nazi War Cave #1 Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $740,000 | $60,000 (11 earlier) |
| Dan Colen | Die by the Sword Phillips | $577,028 | $545,000 (13 earlier) |
| Kaws | Accomplice Phillips | $424,215 | $257,000 (17 earlier) |
| Helmut Newton | Private Property: Suites I, II and III Phillips | $389,000 | $173,000 (55 earlier) |
| Sally Mann | Candy Cigarette Phillips | $257,000 | $134,500 (20 earlier) |
| Manolo Valdés | Anforas Phillips | $234,341 | $30,000 (3 earlier) |
| Agostino Bonalumi | Azzurro Phillips | $176,756 | $162,151 (9 earlier) |
| Maria Pergay | Flying Carpet daybed Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $162,500 | $50,448 (4 earlier) |
| Henri Cartier-Bresson | Córdoba, Spain Phillips | $161,000 | $26,250 (51 earlier) |
| Tracey Emin | For You Phillips | $157,561 | $127,633 (11 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Phillips (937)Art+Object (531)im Kinsky (477)Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (395)Pananti (210)Agra-Art (188)Crocker Farm (106)Levis Fine Art Auctions (101)Bonhams (96)Smith & Singer (78)Twents Veilinghuis (74)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (73)Clarke Auction Gallery (53)Toovey's (53)HAUS Galerii (28)Cottone Auctions (19)Polswiss Art (1)