Art auction market report: April 2015

In April 2015, ArtSell recorded 2,919 auction lots from 20 auction houses, of which 2,044 sold (70% sell-through). The 2,044 sales with a published price total $44,607,489, with a median of $3,711 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Marc Newson, “Lockheed Lounge”, at $3,720,646 (Phillips). 15 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.

Lots offered

2,919

20 houses

Sold

2,044

70% sell-through

Total

$45M

2,044 priced sales

Median

$3.7k

priced sales

Top sales

#	Work	Artist	House · date	Price
1	Lockheed Lounge, circa 1990	Marc Newson	Phillips · Apr 28, 2015	$3,720,646 (£2,434,500)
2	Old Coast Road, circa 1916	William Wendt	Bonhams · Apr 28, 2015	$1,565,000
3	Indian Entertainer	Walter Ufer	Bonhams · Apr 28, 2015	$1,025,000
4	'6 x 9' demountable house, 1944-1945	Jean Prouvé	Phillips · Apr 28, 2015	$920,801 (£602,500)
5	Walking Women, Paris, 1981	Helmut Newton	Phillips · Apr 1, 2015	$905,000
6	First Daughter 1955, 1955	John Brack	Smith & Singer · Apr 28, 2015	$702,806 (A$884,500)
7	Bride in a Cup (1959), 1959	Arthur Boyd	Smith & Singer · Apr 28, 2015	$654,337 (A$823,500)
8	Study for Kingfisher 1978, 1978	Brett Whiteley	Smith & Singer · Apr 28, 2015	$533,163 (A$671,000)
9	Three Women (Medium I, II, III), 2005	Christopher Wool	Phillips · Apr 21, 2015	$449,000
10	Trees on a Hillside, Steiglitz (1977), 1977	Fred Williams	Smith & Singer · Apr 28, 2015	$421,684 (A$530,700)
11	‘En souvenir de la lévrette Bucky’ (In memory of the dog Bucky) low table, circa 1978	Diego Giacometti	Phillips · Apr 28, 2015	$407,292 (£266,500)
12	'Miss Blanche' chair, Designed 1988	Shiro Kuramata	Phillips · Apr 28, 2015	$407,292 (£266,500)
13	Frogs on Waterlilies	Lin Onus	Smith & Singer · Apr 28, 2015	$407,143 (A$512,400)
14	The Bicycle Race (Death of Morandi) 1966, 1966	Jeffrey Smart	Smith & Singer · Apr 28, 2015	$407,143 (A$512,400)
15	Pair of 'Tabourets en X', première version, 1960s	Diego Giacometti	Phillips · Apr 28, 2015	$370,613 (£242,500)

Top American artists

Ranked by total of priced sales in the month; region from the artist’s recorded nationality.

Top American artists, April 2015
#	Artist	Total sold	Priced sales	Top result
1	William Wendt American	$1,770,500	3	Old Coast Road — $1,565,000
2	Walter Ufer American	$1,025,000	1	Indian Entertainer — $1,025,000
3	Andy Warhol American	$873,495	14	Camouflage — $197,000
4	Irving Penn American	$525,000	12	Frozen Foods, New York — $106,250
5	Christopher Wool American	$519,000	3	Three Women (Medium I, II, III) — $449,000
6	John Baldessari American	$426,250	3	Green Sunset (with Trouble) — $365,000
7	Edgar Alwin Payne American	$418,000	5	Laguna breakers — $293,000
8	Jean-Michel Basquiat American	$365,000	1	Back of the Neck — $365,000
9	Man Ray American	$355,000	3	Reclining Nude with Satin Sheet — $329,000
10	Diane Arbus American	$319,875	4	A widow in her bedroom on 55th St., NYC — $233,000

Top European artists

Top European artists, April 2015
#	Artist	Total sold	Priced sales	Top result
1	Gio Ponti Italian	$1,289,286	21	Unique and large dining table — $297,254
2	Arthur Boyd British	$925,765	2	Bride in a Cup (1959) — $654,337
3	Diego Giacometti Swiss	$777,905	2	‘En souvenir de la lévrette Bucky’ (In memory of the dog Bucky) low table — $407,292
4	Pablo Picasso Spanish	$361,758	18	La Célestine — $106,250
5	Eugene von Guerard Austrian	$230,714	2	Mount William as seen from Mount Dryden in The Grampians, Victoria 1892 — $213,265
6	Joe Colombo Italian	$223,896	1	Interior, from Casa Zancopé, via San Francesco, Milan — $223,896
7	Florence Fuller British	$222,959	1	Weary 1888 — $222,959
8	Max Ingrand French	$208,804	6	Table lamp — $80,236
9	Jean Dunand Swiss	$180,339	3	Unique and important pair of wall-panels, designed for the smoking room, 'Pavillon d'une Ambassade Française', L'Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, Paris — $123,028
10	Thomas Struth German	$175,000	2	Paradise 26 (Bougainville), Palpa, Peru — $112,500

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
Marc Newson	Lockheed Lounge Phillips	$3,720,646	$384,305 (39 earlier)
William Wendt	Old Coast Road Bonhams	$1,565,000	$233,000 (61 earlier)
Jean Prouvé	'6 x 9' demountable house Phillips	$920,801	$319,352 (75 earlier)
Helmut Newton	Walking Women, Paris Phillips	$905,000	$389,000 (62 earlier)
Diego Giacometti	‘En souvenir de la lévrette Bucky’ (In memory of the dog Bucky) low table Phillips	$407,292	$384,305 (26 earlier)
Shiro Kuramata	'Miss Blanche' chair Phillips	$407,292	$62,500 (38 earlier)
Lin Onus	Frogs on Waterlilies Smith & Singer	$407,143	$378,123 (19 earlier)
Man Ray	Reclining Nude with Satin Sheet Phillips	$329,000	$122,500 (102 earlier)
John Olsen	Captain Dobbin 1973 Smith & Singer	$319,898	$167,717 (86 earlier)
Gio Ponti	Unique and large dining table Phillips	$297,254	$218,500 (124 earlier)
Joe Colombo	Interior, from Casa Zancopé, via San Francesco, Milan Phillips	$223,896	$37,836 (24 earlier)
Henrietta Shore	Waterfall Bonhams	$215,000	$52,875 (4 earlier)
Pierre Jeanneret	Illuminated reading table, model no. PJ-TAT-10-B, designed for the Assembly and the University Library, Chandigarh Phillips	$214,726	$170,500 (33 earlier)
Wendell Castle	Unique 'Phantom Rocker' Phillips	$141,368	$74,500 (13 earlier)
Brice Marden	Suzhou I-IV Phillips	$137,000	$50,000 (14 earlier)

Auction houses this month

Phillips (963)Strauss & Co (337)Bonhams (327)Sloans & Kenyon (221)Levis Fine Art Auctions (189)Morgan O'Driscoll (149)Smith & Singer (105)Pananti (93)Bolsa de Arte (87)Clarke Auction Gallery (69)Twents Veilinghuis (69)Art+Object (63)Agra-Art (59)SOGA (56)Toovey's (44)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (26)Leonard Joel (23)HAUS Galerii (20)Palm Beach Modern Auctions (17)Artmark (2)