Art auction market report: February 2015
In February 2015, ArtSell recorded 2,740 auction lots from 15 auction houses, of which 1,756 sold (64% sell-through). The 1,756 sales with a published price total $40,946,191, with a median of $1,356 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Ai Weiwei, “Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads”, at $4,426,944 (Phillips). 15 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.
Lots offered
2,740
15 houses
Sold
1,756
64% sell-through
Total
$41M
1,756 priced sales
Median
$1.4k
priced sales
Top sales
| # | Work | Artist | House · date | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads, 2010 | Ai Weiwei | Phillips · Feb 12, 2015 | $4,426,944 (£2,882,500) |
| 2 | Biting the Book, 2013 | Mark Bradford | Phillips · Feb 12, 2015 | $3,910,915 (£2,546,500) |
| 3 | Diamond Dust Shoes, 1980 | Andy Warhol | Phillips · Feb 12, 2015 | $3,566,896 (£2,322,500) |
| 4 | Untitled, 2003 | Christopher Wool | Phillips · Feb 12, 2015 | $2,190,819 (£1,426,500) |
| 5 | Untitled (Fold) X, 2009 | Tauba Auerbach | Phillips · Feb 12, 2015 | $1,846,800 (£1,202,500) |
| 6 | Invisible Sun (algorithm 2), 2013 | Julie Mehretu | Phillips · Feb 12, 2015 | $1,386,060 (£902,500) |
| 7 | Die Argonauten, 2008 | Anselm Kiefer | Phillips · Feb 12, 2015 | $1,017,468 (£662,500) |
| 8 | Sky Backdrop, 2013 | Alex Israel | Phillips · Feb 12, 2015 | $777,883 (£506,500) |
| 9 | Untitled, 1962 | Cy Twombly | Phillips · Feb 12, 2015 | $741,024 (£482,500) |
| 10 | Hare on Pyramid, 1988 | Barry Flanagan Ra | Phillips · Feb 12, 2015 | $741,024 (£482,500) |
| 11 | Garden Window with a Trumpet | Fernando Zóbel de Ayala y Montojo | León Gallery · Feb 6, 2015 | $740,092 (₱32,704,000) |
| 12 | Untitled, 2008 | Anish Kapoor | Phillips · Feb 12, 2015 | $694,950 (£452,500) |
| 13 | Seated Man (Nothing III) | Fernando Zóbel de Ayala y Montojo | León Gallery · Feb 6, 2015 | $687,228 (₱30,368,000) |
| 14 | Trash Landing Marilyn #12, 2011 | Nate Lowman | Phillips · Feb 12, 2015 | $648,876 (£422,500) |
| 15 | Greifen, 2004 | Albert Oehlen | Phillips · Feb 12, 2015 | $612,016 (£398,500) |
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 | Andy Warhol American | $3,609,736 | 7 | Diamond Dust Shoes — $3,566,896 |
| 2 | Christopher Wool American | $2,190,819 | 1 | Untitled — $2,190,819 |
| 3 | Tauba Auerbach American | $1,846,800 | 1 | Untitled (Fold) X — $1,846,800 |
| 4 | Nate Lowman American | $818,581 | 2 | Trash Landing Marilyn #12 — $648,876 |
| 5 | Alex Israel American | $777,883 | 1 | Sky Backdrop — $777,883 |
| 6 | Cy Twombly American | $741,024 | 1 | Untitled — $741,024 |
| 7 | Harry Bertoia American | $571,938 | 9 | Untitled (Bush Form) — $161,000 |
| 8 | Kelley Walker American | $372,432 | 1 | Untitled — $372,432 |
| 9 | Jean-Michel Basquiat American | $372,432 | 1 | Untitled (Dinosaur) — $372,432 |
| 10 | Rashid Johnson American | $221,141 | 3 | We Real Cool — $178,921 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fernando Zóbel de Ayala y Montojo Spanish | $2,071,199 | 69 | Garden Window with a Trumpet — $740,092 |
| 2 | Anish Kapoor British | $1,251,677 | 2 | Untitled — $694,950 |
| 3 | Anselm Kiefer German | $1,017,468 | 1 | Die Argonauten — $1,017,468 |
| 4 | Albert Oehlen German | $612,016 | 1 | Greifen — $612,016 |
| 5 | Allen Jones British | $593,587 | 1 | Sin-Derella — $593,587 |
| 6 | Marc Quinn British | $335,471 | 3 | Maquette for Siren — $173,618 |
| 7 | Banksy British | $317,143 | 1 | Angel — $317,143 |
| 8 | Ugo Rondinone Italian | $246,817 | 2 | Everything gets lighter everyone is light — $169,927 |
| 9 | Danh Vō Danish | $243,424 | 1 | We The People (detail), Element #L1 — $243,424 |
| 10 | Gavin Turk British | $200,298 | 2 | Robert Morris Untitled 1965-72 — $133,020 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ai Weiwei | Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads Phillips | $4,426,944 | $665,000 (10 earlier) |
| Mark Bradford | Biting the Book Phillips | $3,910,915 | $1,205,000 (7 earlier) |
| Julie Mehretu | Invisible Sun (algorithm 2) Phillips | $1,386,060 | $1,205,000 (9 earlier) |
| Alex Israel | Sky Backdrop Phillips | $777,883 | $581,000 (3 earlier) |
| Cy Twombly | Untitled Phillips | $741,024 | $371,494 (44 earlier) |
| Fernando Zóbel de Ayala y Montojo | Garden Window with a Trumpet León Gallery | $740,092 | $116,814 (8 earlier) |
| Albert Oehlen | Greifen Phillips | $612,016 | $388,752 (34 earlier) |
| Allen Jones | Sin-Derella Phillips | $593,587 | $425,000 (36 earlier) |
| Kelley Walker | Untitled Phillips | $372,432 | $352,112 (8 earlier) |
| Hernando R. Ocampo | A Sonata for September León Gallery | $237,887 | $151,476 (7 earlier) |
| Mel Ramos | Chiquita Banana Phillips | $206,834 | $31,170 (27 earlier) |
| Vitaliy and Elena Vasilieva | Project 'Apocalypse in Art' Phillips | $206,834 | $107,483 (7 earlier) |
| Cesar Legaspi | Ritual León Gallery | $145,375 | $14,191 (4 earlier) |
| Gavin Turk | Robert Morris Untitled 1965-72 Phillips | $133,020 | $60,000 (10 earlier) |
| Sarah Morris | 1984 [Rings] Phillips | $88,424 | $87,500 (5 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Pananti (557)Art+Object (372)Wright (261)James D. Julia (241)Sloans & Kenyon (233)León Gallery (214)Bonhams (210)Whyte's (185)Phillips (149)Leonard Joel (69)Agra-Art (67)Clarke Auction Gallery (65)Cottone Auctions (56)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (55)Artmark (6)