Art auction market report: March 2015
In March 2015, ArtSell recorded 3,742 auction lots from 24 auction houses, of which 2,749 sold (73% sell-through). The 2,749 sales with a published price total $26,389,066, with a median of $1,875 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Richard Prince, “Untitled (cowboy)”, at $1,145,000 (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 | Richard Prince American | $1,276,875 | 4 | Untitled (cowboy) — $1,145,000 |
| 2 | Ed Ruscha American | $763,752 | 10 | Cherry — $665,000 |
| 3 | Harry Bertoia American | $587,500 | 2 | Untitled — $550,000 |
| 4 | Tom Wesselmann American | $407,125 | 3 | Blue Nude Drawing (12/17/99) — $389,000 |
| 5 | Elaine Sturtevant American | $398,250 | 2 | Study for Stella Bethlehem's Hospital — $317,000 |
| 6 | Keith Haring American | $300,250 | 4 | Pyramid — $245,000 |
| 7 | Marilyn Minter American | $288,000 | 3 | Wave — $269,000 |
| 8 | DeWain Valentine American | $201,250 | 2 | Blue Slab — $175,000 |
| 9 | Mark Flood American | $185,000 | 4 | Not For Sale — $56,250 |
| 10 | Wyatt Kahn American | $137,000 | 1 | Pair — $137,000 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Franz West Austrian | $430,001 | 9 | Divan — $137,000 |
| 2 | Leherb Austrian | $421,939 | 50 | Le roi c'est moi — $65,043 |
| 3 | Pablo Picasso Spanish | $316,474 | 15 | Face in Profile — $93,750 |
| 4 | Luc Tuymans Belgian | $305,000 | 1 | Exhibit #2 — $305,000 |
| 5 | Peter Doig Scottish | $293,000 | 1 | Untitled — $293,000 |
| 6 | Aleksander Gierymski Polish | $270,239 | 1 | OGRÓD SASKI — $270,239 |
| 7 | Fritz Wotruba Austrian | $237,560 | 2 | Large sculpture — $194,198 |
| 8 | Arthur Boyd British | $233,340 | 8 | Stone Crusher, Berwick 1948 — $134,765 |
| 9 | André Butzer German | $229,250 | 3 | Calvin Cohn Pong! — $143,000 |
| 10 | Gerhard Richter German | $181,250 | 3 | 23.2.92 — $65,000 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Bertoia | Untitled Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $550,000 | $521,000 (103 earlier) |
| Luc Tuymans | Exhibit #2 Phillips | $305,000 | $24,632 (17 earlier) |
| Peter Doig | Untitled Phillips | $293,000 | $27,500 (18 earlier) |
| Aleksander Gierymski | OGRÓD SASKI Agra-Art | $270,239 | $174,959 (7 earlier) |
| Marilyn Minter | Wave Phillips | $269,000 | $47,500 (23 earlier) |
| Don Binney | Katoomba Fatbird Art+Object | $228,354 | $164,862 (24 earlier) |
| DeWain Valentine | Blue Slab Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $175,000 | $81,250 (10 earlier) |
| Del Kathryn Barton | In Night Too 2012 Menzies | $154,018 | $52,502 (3 earlier) |
| André Butzer | Calvin Cohn Pong! Phillips | $143,000 | $76,890 (18 earlier) |
| Toss Woollaston | Mapua Art+Object | $133,938 | $38,791 (28 earlier) |
| William Trost Richards | Coast of Cornwall-View of Tintagel Castle Brunk Auctions | $130,000 | $56,250 (17 earlier) |
| Jack Pierson | The Crippled Beggar Knew a Priceless Secret Phillips | $106,250 | $62,500 (11 earlier) |
| Frederick Hammersley | Adjective Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $100,000 | $87,500 (16 earlier) |
| Carl Andre | 32-Part Reciprocal Invention (RS 1971-20) Phillips | $100,000 | $97,500 (5 earlier) |
| Peter Alexander | Wedge with Puff Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) | $68,750 | $6,875 (10 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Rachel Davis Fine Arts (372)Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (348)im Kinsky (262)Menzies (258)Phillips (245)Schmidt Kunstauktionen Dresden (234)Agra-Art (202)Lempertz (185)Art+Object (185)Crocker Farm (172)Leonard Joel (167)Brunk Auctions (162)SOGA (144)Whyte's (138)Clarke Auction Gallery (138)Smith & Singer (131)Levis Fine Art Auctions (95)Toovey's (82)deVeres (70)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (68)Olympia Auctions (40)James D. Julia (35)Artmark (8)Polswiss Art (1)