Art auction market report: November 2017
In November 2017, ArtSell recorded 6,523 auction lots from 31 auction houses, of which 5,068 sold (78% sell-through). The 5,068 sales with a published price total $232,413,480, with a median of $3,250 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Peter Doig, “Red House”, at $21,127,500 (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 | Franz Kline American | $10,202,500 | 2 | Sawyer — $9,990,000 |
| 2 | Cy Twombly American | $7,515,000 | 1 | Untitled — $7,515,000 |
| 3 | Joan Mitchell American | $6,630,000 | 2 | Untitled — $3,615,000 |
| 4 | Rudolf Stingel American | $6,602,500 | 3 | Untitled — $6,390,000 |
| 5 | Jean-Michel Basquiat American | $4,765,658 | 2 | Untitled (Halloween) — $4,215,000 |
| 6 | Christopher Wool American | $3,735,000 | 1 | Untitled (S134) — $3,735,000 |
| 7 | Richard Prince American | $3,255,000 | 1 | Mystery Nurse — $3,255,000 |
| 8 | Robert Motherwell American | $2,633,125 | 6 | A Sculptor's Picture, with Blue — $2,249,000 |
| 9 | Andy Warhol American | $2,586,376 | 29 | 1 Colored Marilyn (reversal series) — $1,815,000 |
| 10 | Roy Lichtenstein American | $2,189,210 | 20 | Landscape with Poet (Study) — $1,042,408 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Doig Scottish | $21,263,564 | 2 | Red House — $21,127,500 |
| 2 | Pablo Picasso Spanish | $10,800,960 | 16 | Portrait de femme endormie. III — $9,315,000 |
| 3 | Henri Matisse French | $7,431,940 | 6 | Jeune fille dormant à la blouse roumaine — $4,815,000 |
| 4 | Günther Uecker German | $3,559,645 | 6 | Auktion 401, Los 289 — $3,268,581 |
| 5 | Thomas Schütte German | $3,375,000 | 1 | Großer Geist Nr. 9 — $3,375,000 |
| 6 | Henry Moore British | $2,777,067 | 14 | Two Seated Women — $615,000 |
| 7 | Michelangelo Pistoletto Italian | $2,610,000 | 2 | Corteo — $2,175,000 |
| 8 | Max Beckmann German | $1,746,558 | 2 | Braunes Meer mit Möwen — $1,735,879 |
| 9 | Jan Brueghel the Elder Flemish | $1,717,352 | 1 | River Landscape with Fishers and a Cart — $1,717,352 |
| 10 | Marc Chagall Belarusian | $1,640,412 | 11 | Les fiances sur le coq ou Les amoureux en val — $759,000 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franz Kline | Sawyer Phillips | $9,990,000 | $187,364 (13 earlier) |
| Pablo Picasso | Portrait de femme endormie. III Phillips | $9,315,000 | $2,629,000 (1691 earlier) |
| Rudolf Stingel | Untitled Phillips | $6,390,000 | $4,757,000 (42 earlier) |
| Henri Matisse | Jeune fille dormant à la blouse roumaine Phillips | $4,815,000 | $117,023 (163 earlier) |
| Jean-Michel Basquiat | Untitled (Halloween) Phillips | $4,215,000 | $4,085,000 (69 earlier) |
| Joan Mitchell | Untitled Phillips | $3,615,000 | $1,925,000 (18 earlier) |
| Günther Uecker | Auktion 401, Los 289 Van Ham | $3,268,581 | $1,718,892 (331 earlier) |
| Richard Prince | Mystery Nurse Phillips | $3,255,000 | $1,805,000 (87 earlier) |
| Robert Motherwell | A Sculptor's Picture, with Blue Phillips | $2,249,000 | $81,250 (163 earlier) |
| Helen Frankenthaler | Warming the Wires Phillips | $1,635,000 | $1,145,000 (67 earlier) |
| George Condo | Young Girl with Blue Dress Phillips | $1,549,526 | $1,006,000 (79 earlier) |
| Richard Diebenkorn | Driveway Phillips | $1,515,000 | $341,000 (48 earlier) |
| Charles Blackman | Mad Hatter's Tea Party 1956 Smith & Singer | $1,432,735 | $1,334,707 (269 earlier) |
| Lee Ufan | From line No. 800152 Phillips | $1,395,000 | $749,000 (13 earlier) |
| Carmen Herrera | Untitled (Orange and Black) Phillips | $1,179,000 | $970,000 (4 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Strauss & Co (744)Phillips (541)Lempertz (517)Rago Auctions (497)Artmark (463)Bonhams (455)Brunk Auctions (415)Van Ham (412)Pananti (278)Grisebach (262)Levis Fine Art Auctions (195)Menzies (185)Whyte's (182)Galerie Kodl (142)Sloans & Kenyon (138)Toovey's (128)Maison Bibelot (113)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (111)deVeres (94)Clarke Auction Gallery (88)Smith & Singer (82)Art+Object (76)Leonard Joel (73)Ketterer Kunst (65)Agra-Art (60)Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner (56)SOGA (43)HAUS Galerii (30)Wright (29)Cottone Auctions (27)Palm Beach Modern Auctions (22)