Art auction market report: May 2015
In May 2015, ArtSell recorded 3,809 auction lots from 22 auction houses, of which 2,786 sold (73% sell-through). The 2,786 sales with a published price total $176,630,818, with a median of $4,072 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Francis Bacon, “Seated Woman”, at $28,165,000 (Phillips). 15 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.
Top sales
| # | Work | Artist | House · date | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seated Woman, 1961 | Francis Bacon | Phillips · May 14, 2015 | $28,165,000 |
| 2 | Elements (Hydra), 1999-2000/2001 | Brice Marden | Phillips · May 14, 2015 | $9,237,000 |
| 3 | Shirt Collar Size 14 1/2, 1969 | Domenico Gnoli | Phillips · May 13, 2015 | $6,885,000 |
| 4 | Hedge, 2011 | Mark Tansey | Phillips · May 14, 2015 | $5,653,000 |
| 5 | Untitled, 2012 | Rudolf Stingel | Phillips · May 14, 2015 | $4,757,000 |
| 6 | Untitled #7, 1984 | Agnes Martin | Phillips · May 14, 2015 | $4,197,000 |
| 7 | Buste de Mousquetaire, 1968 | Pablo Picasso | Phillips · May 14, 2015 | $2,629,000 |
| 8 | Présages, 1947 | Wifredo Lam | Phillips · May 26, 2015 | $2,629,000 |
| 9 | Porch Crop, 2001 | Ed Ruscha | Phillips · May 14, 2015 | $2,165,000 |
| 10 | Double Scramble, 1978 | Frank Stella | Phillips · May 14, 2015 | $2,165,000 |
| 11 | "monument" for V. Tatlin, 1964-65 | Dan Flavin | Phillips · May 14, 2015 | $2,165,000 |
| 12 | Hamburger Counter, 1961 | Wayne Thiebaud | Phillips · May 14, 2015 | $2,165,000 |
| 13 | Mappa, circa 1988 | Alighiero Boetti | Phillips · May 13, 2015 | $1,805,000 |
| 14 | Untitled (S176), 2005 | Christopher Wool | Phillips · May 14, 2015 | $1,685,000 |
| 15 | Untitled, 1996 | Rudolf Stingel | Phillips · May 14, 2015 | $1,685,000 |
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 | Brice Marden American | $9,245,600 | 2 | Elements (Hydra) — $9,237,000 |
| 2 | Rudolf Stingel American | $7,587,000 | 3 | Untitled — $4,757,000 |
| 3 | Mark Tansey American | $5,653,000 | 1 | Hedge — $5,653,000 |
| 4 | Agnes Martin American | $4,197,000 | 1 | Untitled #7 — $4,197,000 |
| 5 | Ed Ruscha American | $4,141,000 | 8 | Porch Crop — $2,165,000 |
| 6 | Frank Stella American | $3,006,250 | 5 | Double Scramble — $2,165,000 |
| 7 | Wayne Thiebaud American | $2,169,688 | 2 | Hamburger Counter — $2,165,000 |
| 8 | Dan Flavin American | $2,165,000 | 1 | "monument" for V. Tatlin — $2,165,000 |
| 9 | Joe Bradley American | $1,930,000 | 2 | Police Painting 2 — $1,205,000 |
| 10 | John Chamberlain American | $1,699,875 | 11 | Untitled — $665,000 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francis Bacon British | $28,165,000 | 1 | Seated Woman — $28,165,000 |
| 2 | Domenico Gnoli Italian | $6,885,000 | 1 | Shirt Collar Size 14 1/2 — $6,885,000 |
| 3 | Pablo Picasso Spanish | $2,990,367 | 20 | Buste de Mousquetaire — $2,629,000 |
| 4 | Alighiero Boetti Italian | $1,805,000 | 1 | Mappa — $1,805,000 |
| 5 | Urs Fischer Swiss | $1,565,000 | 1 | Untitled (Candle) — $1,565,000 |
| 6 | Giuseppe Penone Italian | $1,325,000 | 1 | Idee di pietra — $1,325,000 |
| 7 | Alberto Giacometti Swiss | $1,085,750 | 2 | Tête de Diego au col roulé — $1,085,000 |
| 8 | Anselm Kiefer German | $1,025,000 | 1 | San Loretto — $1,025,000 |
| 9 | Giorgio Morandi Italian | $965,000 | 1 | Natura Morta — $965,000 |
| 10 | Gerhard Richter German | $960,825 | 11 | GRÜN-BLAU-ROT — $462,495 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Francis Bacon | Seated Woman Phillips | $28,165,000 | $60,796 (55 earlier) |
| Brice Marden | Elements (Hydra) Phillips | $9,237,000 | $137,000 (16 earlier) |
| Rudolf Stingel | Untitled Phillips | $4,757,000 | $1,445,730 (20 earlier) |
| Agnes Martin | Untitled #7 Phillips | $4,197,000 | $56,250 (3 earlier) |
| Pablo Picasso | Buste de Mousquetaire Phillips | $2,629,000 | $746,500 (1145 earlier) |
| Wifredo Lam | Présages Phillips | $2,629,000 | $114,418 (16 earlier) |
| Wayne Thiebaud | Hamburger Counter Phillips | $2,165,000 | $893,000 (28 earlier) |
| Dan Flavin | "monument" for V. Tatlin Phillips | $2,165,000 | $461,000 (17 earlier) |
| Alighiero Boetti | Mappa Phillips | $1,805,000 | $323,875 (26 earlier) |
| Urs Fischer | Untitled (Candle) Phillips | $1,565,000 | $378,020 (3 earlier) |
| Tom Wesselmann | Still Life with Blue Jar and Smoking Cigarette (flat) Phillips | $1,385,000 | $965,000 (192 earlier) |
| Giuseppe Penone | Idee di pietra Phillips | $1,325,000 | $22,500 (4 earlier) |
| Joe Bradley | Police Painting 2 Phillips | $1,205,000 | $581,000 (7 earlier) |
| Helen Frankenthaler | Pavillion Phillips | $1,145,000 | $137,000 (42 earlier) |
| Larry Poons | Jessica's Hartford Phillips | $1,109,000 | $18,750 (8 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Lempertz (924)Phillips (666)Sloans & Kenyon (270)Pananti (251)Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (248)Whyte's (179)Ketterer Kunst (169)Van Ham (164)Clarke Auction Gallery (141)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (122)Ravenel (93)Brunk Auctions (91)Levis Fine Art Auctions (86)Bonhams (83)im Kinsky (71)Agra-Art (60)Leonard Joel (58)Galerie Kodl (56)Toovey's (36)Cottone Auctions (33)Artmark (4)Bolsa de Arte (4)