Art auction market report: August 2015
In August 2015, ArtSell recorded 1,249 auction lots from 10 auction houses, of which 946 sold (76% sell-through). The 946 sales with a published price total $8,466,915, with a median of $1,750 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Jeffrey Smart, “Morning Practice, Baia (1969)”, at $484,442 (Smith & Singer). 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 | William Wendt American | $621,250 | 5 | The silent summer sea — $305,000 |
| 2 | Armin Carl Hansen American | $235,500 | 2 | Lumber carriers — $173,000 |
| 3 | Carl Rungius American | $225,150 | 1 | Big Horn Sheep — $225,150 |
| 4 | Joseph Kleitsch American | $161,000 | 1 | Enchantment — $161,000 |
| 5 | Maurice Braun American | $127,110 | 3 | Oh colorful California! — $112,500 |
| 6 | Granville Redmond American | $77,045 | 2 | Landscape with poppies, lupine and distant lake — $68,750 |
| 7 | Waldo Peirce American | $72,798 | 22 | Feeding the Chickens — $9,480 |
| 8 | Louis Akin American | $62,500 | 1 | Watching the race — $62,500 |
| 9 | John Sloan American | $60,625 | 2 | Los Cerrillos — $50,000 |
| 10 | William Hubacek American | $60,000 | 1 | Relics of the west — $60,000 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arthur Boyd British | $238,246 | 6 | Irrigation Lake, Wimmera (1980) — $110,100 |
| 2 | Wilhelm Kuhnert German | $165,900 | 1 | Der Menschen Frosser (The Man Eater) — $165,900 |
| 3 | Stella Bowen British | $101,292 | 4 | Raymond Postgate (1922) — $48,444 |
| 4 | Maud Earl British | $25,000 | 1 | On leash, the Borzois "Korotai", "Zeneitra" and "Piolla" — $25,000 |
| 5 | Mela Muter French | $21,348 | 1 | Portret rybaka — $21,348 |
| 6 | Jerzy Nowosielski Polish | $21,348 | 1 | Martwa natura — $21,348 |
| 7 | Georg Kolbe German | $11,850 | 1 | Sitzende — $11,850 |
| 8 | Michał Gorstkin-Wywiórski Polish | $11,741 | 1 | Zagroda — $11,741 |
| 9 | Wincenty Wodzinowski Polish | $10,807 | 2 | Portret Wincentego Wodzinowskiego juniora – syna artysty, 1905 r. — $9,340 |
| 10 | Zygmunt Waliszewski Polish | $10,140 | 1 | Krakowski zaułek — $10,140 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilhelm Kuhnert | Der Menschen Frosser (The Man Eater) James D. Julia | $165,900 | $42,177 (37 earlier) |
| Sydney Long | Flamingos 1920 Smith & Singer | $96,888 | $30,108 (15 earlier) |
| Ethel Carrick | A Market in Kairouan (circa 1920) Smith & Singer | $88,080 | $26,312 (6 earlier) |
| Louis Akin | Watching the race Bonhams | $62,500 | $28,060 (8 earlier) |
| William Hubacek | Relics of the west Bonhams | $60,000 | $18,300 (8 earlier) |
| Godfrey Miller | Forest Series Smith & Singer | $52,848 | $10,288 (6 earlier) |
| John Sloan | Los Cerrillos Bonhams | $50,000 | $46,000 (24 earlier) |
| Randall Davey | Portrait of an old man (Candido Rodriguez, Santa Fe) Bonhams | $47,500 | $11,700 (5 earlier) |
| Vũ Cao Đàm | Divinité Bonhams | $30,000 | $7,930 (4 earlier) |
| Bill Owen | Just one more mile Bonhams | $27,500 | $16,380 (5 earlier) |
| Ferdinand Kaufmann | Late afternoon, La Cañada Valley from Flint Ridge Drive, Pasadena Bonhams | $25,000 | $8,400 (16 earlier) |
| Max Kuehne | Boats Off Rockport James D. Julia | $20,145 | $6,875 (11 earlier) |
| Peter Moran | Going to the Hunt, or On the Trail, Idaho Bonhams | $16,250 | $10,000 (4 earlier) |
| William Verplanck Birney | Pueblo still life Bonhams | $16,250 | $6,000 (4 earlier) |
| Ian Scott | Two Worlds Art+Object | $13,019 | $6,018 (17 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
James D. Julia (409)Bonhams (241)Art+Object (126)Smith & Singer (109)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (105)Leonard Joel (69)Agra-Art (65)Toovey's (48)Clarke Auction Gallery (43)Bolsa de Arte (34)