Art auction market report: October 2015
In October 2015, ArtSell recorded 3,207 auction lots from 19 auction houses, of which 2,391 sold (75% sell-through). The 2,391 sales with a published price total $86,622,647, with a median of $4,741 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Cy Twombly, “Untitled”, at $12,186,390 (Phillips). 15 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.
Lots offered
3,207
19 houses
Sold
2,391
75% sell-through
Total
$87M
2,391 priced sales
Median
$4.7k
priced sales
Top sales
| # | Work | Artist | House · date | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Untitled, 2006 | Cy Twombly | Phillips · Oct 14, 2015 | $12,186,390 (£7,922,500) |
| 2 | Constitution IV, 2013 | Mark Bradford | Phillips · Oct 14, 2015 | $5,812,089 (£3,778,500) |
| 3 | Untitled, 1994 | Christopher Wool | Phillips · Oct 14, 2015 | $3,486,330 (£2,266,500) |
| 4 | Missing in Action, 2000 | Yoshitomo Nara | Phillips · Oct 14, 2015 | $3,055,634 (£1,986,500) |
| 5 | Untitled, 1996-97 | Rudolf Stingel | Phillips · Oct 14, 2015 | $2,969,495 (£1,930,500) |
| 6 | Untitled (Fold), 2011 | Tauba Auerbach | Phillips · Oct 14, 2015 | $2,194,242 (£1,426,500) |
| 7 | Untitled (Jazz death), 2003 | Christopher Wool | Phillips · Oct 14, 2015 | $2,021,964 (£1,314,500) |
| 8 | Concetto Spaziale, Attese, 1964 | Lucio Fontana | Phillips · Oct 14, 2015 | $2,021,964 (£1,314,500) |
| 9 | Die Lage, 2006 | Neo Rauch | Phillips · Oct 14, 2015 | $1,332,850 (£866,500) |
| 10 | Untitled (Three-Tiered Perspective), 2000 | Mark Grotjahn | Phillips · Oct 14, 2015 | $1,295,934 (£842,500) |
| 11 | Untitled (Cowboy), 1980-86 | Richard Prince | Phillips · Oct 14, 2015 | $926,766 (£602,500) |
| 12 | VJ Star, 2010 | Danh Vō | Phillips · Oct 14, 2015 | $926,766 (£602,500) |
| 13 | Superficie bianca, 1965 | Enrico Castellani | Wright · Oct 20, 2015 | $917,000 |
| 14 | Unique dining table, designed for the Villa Aubertin, Rosnæs, Nakskov Fjord, 1952 | Peder Moos | Phillips · Oct 1, 2015 | $912,125 (£602,500) |
| 15 | Untitled (Head Stand), 1987-88 | Keith Haring | Phillips · Oct 14, 2015 | $742,182 (£482,500) |
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 | Cy Twombly American | $12,186,390 | 1 | Untitled — $12,186,390 |
| 2 | Christopher Wool American | $5,627,044 | 4 | Untitled — $3,486,330 |
| 3 | Rudolf Stingel American | $2,969,495 | 1 | Untitled — $2,969,495 |
| 4 | Tauba Auerbach American | $2,194,242 | 1 | Untitled (Fold) — $2,194,242 |
| 5 | Mark Grotjahn American | $1,475,134 | 2 | Untitled (Three-Tiered Perspective) — $1,295,934 |
| 6 | Andy Warhol American | $1,428,297 | 32 | Doda Voridis — $226,548 |
| 7 | Richard Prince American | $1,409,504 | 4 | Untitled (Cowboy) — $926,766 |
| 8 | Keith Haring American | $1,129,419 | 5 | Untitled (Head Stand) — $742,182 |
| 9 | Ed Ruscha American | $1,121,306 | 18 | Pneumatic Muscles Hydraulic Smiles — $594,514 |
| 10 | Sterling Ruby German | $742,182 | 1 | SP60 — $742,182 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucio Fontana Italian | $2,089,619 | 2 | Concetto Spaziale, Attese — $2,021,964 |
| 2 | Lucian Freud British | $1,589,506 | 30 | Naked Man on a Sofa — $189,434 |
| 3 | Anselm Kiefer German | $1,405,509 | 3 | The Secret Life of Plants — $557,598 |
| 4 | Neo Rauch German | $1,332,850 | 1 | Die Lage — $1,332,850 |
| 5 | Damien Hirst British | $1,258,215 | 14 | Aminobenzoyl Hydrazide — $557,598 |
| 6 | Danh Vō Danish | $926,766 | 1 | VJ Star — $926,766 |
| 7 | Enrico Castellani Italian | $917,000 | 1 | Superficie bianca — $917,000 |
| 8 | Anish Kapoor British | $705,265 | 1 | Untitled — $705,265 |
| 9 | Urs Fischer Swiss | $557,598 | 1 | Horse Fraud — $557,598 |
| 10 | Gio Ponti Italian | $528,231 | 22 | Monumental chandelier — $130,952 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cy Twombly | Untitled Phillips | $12,186,390 | $741,024 (49 earlier) |
| Mark Bradford | Constitution IV Phillips | $5,812,089 | $3,910,915 (11 earlier) |
| Yoshitomo Nara | Missing in Action Phillips | $3,055,634 | $1,025,000 (43 earlier) |
| Neo Rauch | Die Lage Phillips | $1,332,850 | $437,607 (79 earlier) |
| Danh Vō | VJ Star Phillips | $926,766 | $629,000 (6 earlier) |
| Enrico Castellani | Superficie bianca Wright | $917,000 | $437,000 (13 earlier) |
| Josef Albers | Homage to the Square: Wide Sight (study) Phillips | $520,681 | $442,246 (118 earlier) |
| John Baldessari | Two Dogs and Two Aliens Phillips | $409,930 | $390,000 (65 earlier) |
| Peter Doig | Bird House Phillips | $373,014 | $293,000 (25 earlier) |
| William Eggleston | Memphis Phillips | $365,000 | $197,000 (60 earlier) |
| Antony Gormley | Domain XV Phillips | $336,097 | $313,170 (14 earlier) |
| Cory Arcangel | Photoshop CS: 110 by 72 inches, 300 DPI, RGB, square pixels, default gradient "Russell's Rainbow" (turn transparency off), mousedown y=25300 x=17600, mouse up y=4300 x=17600 Phillips | $243,805 | $81,250 (4 earlier) |
| Lucian Freud | Naked Man on a Sofa Phillips | $189,434 | $36,098 (8 earlier) |
| Elger Esser | Doubt, Frankreich Phillips | $137,000 | $118,750 (24 earlier) |
| Rafał Malczewski | JESIEŃ NA PODHALU Agra-Art | $104,800 | $5,478 (18 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Phillips (1,144)Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (353)im Kinsky (330)Pananti (282)Crocker Farm (192)Agra-Art (161)Artmark (108)Twents Veilinghuis (103)Clarke Auction Gallery (101)Bonhams (96)Leonard Joel (66)Toovey's (65)Smith & Singer (57)deVeres (54)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (46)HAUS Galerii (39)Wright (8)Sworders (1)Polswiss Art (1)