Art auction market report: November 2016
In November 2016, ArtSell recorded 6,794 auction lots from 31 auction houses, of which 5,083 sold (75% sell-through). The 5,083 sales with a published price total $178,544,199, with a median of $3,565 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Roy Lichtenstein, “Nudes in Mirror”, at $21,530,000 (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 | Roy Lichtenstein American | $26,691,694 | 12 | Nudes in Mirror — $21,530,000 |
| 2 | Clyfford Still American | $13,690,000 | 1 | Untitled — $13,690,000 |
| 3 | Jeff Koons American | $3,696,176 | 5 | Italian Woman — $3,610,000 |
| 4 | Vija Celmins American | $2,890,000 | 1 | Untitled — $2,890,000 |
| 5 | Donald Judd American | $2,478,750 | 2 | Untitled (Menziken 88-16) — $2,410,000 |
| 6 | Keith Haring American | $2,222,048 | 8 | Snake and Man; Dogs and Men — $1,102,000 |
| 7 | Alexander Calder American | $2,050,000 | 1 | Two Horizontals and Nine Verticals — $2,050,000 |
| 8 | Wade Guyton American | $1,990,000 | 1 | Untitled — $1,990,000 |
| 9 | George Condo American | $1,730,462 | 3 | Noble Woman — $1,006,000 |
| 10 | Morris Louis American | $1,630,000 | 1 | Tzadik — $1,630,000 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerhard Richter German | $9,294,910 | 6 | Abstraktes Bild (720-2) — $6,410,000 |
| 2 | David Hockney British | $6,990,001 | 5 | The Gate — $6,970,000 |
| 3 | Jean Dubuffet French | $3,324,000 | 3 | Corps de dame, la rose incarnate — $2,290,000 |
| 4 | Anish Kapoor British | $2,210,129 | 5 | Sky Mirror, Wine — $1,238,162 |
| 5 | Sigmar Polke German | $1,790,000 | 3 | Untitled — $1,150,000 |
| 6 | Damien Hirst British | $1,178,125 | 9 | Disintegration - The Crown of Life — $1,150,000 |
| 7 | Josef Šíma French | $1,128,096 | 1 | Atelier — $1,128,096 |
| 8 | Maria Lassnig Austrian | $894,489 | 6 | Herbstbild / Herbst — $416,360 |
| 9 | Thomas Struth German | $866,472 | 3 | Art Institute of Chicago II, Chicago — $792,417 |
| 10 | Adrian Ghenie Romanian | $746,322 | 3 | Elvis — $706,536 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roy Lichtenstein | Nudes in Mirror Phillips | $21,530,000 | $10,805,000 (339 earlier) |
| David Hockney | The Gate Phillips | $6,970,000 | $869,000 (278 earlier) |
| Vija Celmins | Untitled Phillips | $2,890,000 | $2,405,000 (45 earlier) |
| Donald Judd | Untitled (Menziken 88-16) Phillips | $2,410,000 | $2,165,000 (77 earlier) |
| Charles Blackman | The Game of Chess 1956 Smith & Singer | $1,334,707 | $515,209 (237 earlier) |
| Damien Hirst | Disintegration - The Crown of Life Phillips | $1,150,000 | $948,740 (230 earlier) |
| Josef Šíma | Atelier Galerie Kodl | $1,128,096 | $222,089 (5 earlier) |
| Keith Haring | Snake and Man; Dogs and Men Phillips | $1,102,000 | $959,060 (187 earlier) |
| George Condo | Noble Woman Phillips | $1,006,000 | $723,827 (62 earlier) |
| Mira Schendel | Sem titulo (XII) Phillips | $970,000 | $485,000 (10 earlier) |
| Thomas Struth | Art Institute of Chicago II, Chicago Phillips | $792,417 | $215,617 (62 earlier) |
| Paul Manship | Diana Bonhams | $727,500 | $434,000 (8 earlier) |
| Adrian Ghenie | Elvis Phillips | $706,536 | $560,448 (14 earlier) |
| Antonín Slavíček | On a bench Galerie Kodl | $705,060 | $150,336 (6 earlier) |
| Josef Albers | After Nightfall Phillips | $526,000 | $520,681 (144 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
im Kinsky (623)Van Ham (497)Rago Auctions (460)Phillips (454)Bonhams (435)Farsettiarte (406)Lempertz (386)Strauss & Co (283)James D. Julia (273)Jackson's International Auctioneers (255)Sloans & Kenyon (232)Levis Fine Art Auctions (203)Artmark (196)Whyte's (195)Art+Object (169)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (161)Pananti (157)deVeres (143)Leonard Joel (142)Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner (138)Brunk Auctions (133)Toovey's (124)Agra-Art (119)Ketterer Kunst (114)Grisebach (106)Smith & Singer (102)Ravenel (83)Clarke Auction Gallery (78)Galerie Kodl (57)SOGA (44)Cottone Auctions (26)