Art auction market report: May 2018
In May 2018, ArtSell recorded 4,439 auction lots from 26 auction houses, of which 3,607 sold (81% sell-through). The 3,607 sales with a published price total $243,834,730, with a median of $3,699 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Jean-Michel Basquiat, “Flexible”, at $45,315,000 (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 | Jean-Michel Basquiat American | $46,798,500 | 3 | Flexible — $45,315,000 |
| 2 | Andy Warhol American | $17,738,192 | 40 | Last Supper — $8,232,500 |
| 3 | Robert Motherwell American | $12,854,000 | 8 | At Five in the Afternoon — $12,690,000 |
| 4 | Rudolf Stingel American | $5,940,000 | 1 | Untitled — $5,940,000 |
| 5 | Willem de Kooning American | $4,264,875 | 5 | Untitled 13 — $4,155,000 |
| 6 | Donald Judd American | $3,078,000 | 2 | Untitled — $2,655,000 |
| 7 | George Condo American | $2,816,453 | 3 | Red Head — $1,815,000 |
| 8 | Joan Mitchell American | $2,775,000 | 1 | Hours — $2,775,000 |
| 9 | Pat Steir American | $2,296,300 | 2 | Elective Affinity Waterfall — $2,295,000 |
| 10 | Cady Noland American | $2,207,501 | 1 | Tower of Terror — $2,207,501 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zao Wou-ki French | $8,917,857 | 3 | 04.01.79 — $8,903,780 |
| 2 | Max Beckmann German | $6,469,547 | 1 | Weiblicher Kopf in Blau und Grau (Die Ägypterin) — $6,469,547 |
| 3 | Henry Moore British | $4,900,432 | 5 | Working Model for Draped Reclining Mother and Baby — $4,215,000 |
| 4 | Gerhard Richter German | $4,174,644 | 7 | Italienische Landschaft (Italian Landscape) — $4,095,000 |
| 5 | Lucio Fontana Italian | $3,015,000 | 1 | Concetto spaziale, Attese — $3,015,000 |
| 6 | René Magritte Belgian | $2,295,000 | 1 | La grande table — $2,295,000 |
| 7 | Anselm Kiefer German | $1,365,053 | 2 | Laßt 1000 Blumen blühen (Let 1000 Flowers bloom) — $1,215,000 |
| 8 | Georg Baselitz German | $1,327,500 | 1 | Schwarze Säule (Black Column) — $1,327,500 |
| 9 | Max Liebermann German | $1,254,532 | 3 | Gartenlokal an der Havel unter Bäumen — $793,884 |
| 10 | Toyen Czech | $1,223,370 | 2 | Et maintenant que passe le temps / Let the time pass by — $880,826 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jean-Michel Basquiat | Flexible Phillips | $45,315,000 | $4,215,000 (78 earlier) |
| Robert Motherwell | At Five in the Afternoon Phillips | $12,690,000 | $2,249,000 (179 earlier) |
| Zao Wou-ki | 04.01.79 Phillips | $8,903,780 | $5,686,256 (198 earlier) |
| Max Beckmann | Weiblicher Kopf in Blau und Grau (Die Ägypterin) Grisebach | $6,469,547 | $3,905,532 (360 earlier) |
| Zhang Xiaogang | Bloodline: Big Family No.9 Phillips | $4,888,475 | $1,450,044 (19 earlier) |
| Kerry James Marshall | Untitled (Blanket Couple) Phillips | $4,335,000 | $187,500 (8 earlier) |
| Henry Moore | Working Model for Draped Reclining Mother and Baby Phillips | $4,215,000 | $1,085,000 (201 earlier) |
| Lucio Fontana | Concetto spaziale, Attese Phillips | $3,015,000 | $2,345,000 (117 earlier) |
| Donald Judd | Untitled Phillips | $2,655,000 | $2,410,000 (98 earlier) |
| Pat Steir | Elective Affinity Waterfall Phillips | $2,295,000 | $274,000 (18 earlier) |
| René Magritte | La grande table Phillips | $2,295,000 | $978,921 (46 earlier) |
| Cady Noland | Tower of Terror Phillips | $2,207,501 | $269,000 (4 earlier) |
| Fang Lijun | Series 2 No.10 Phillips | $1,236,459 | $400,296 (9 earlier) |
| Helmut Newton | Panoramic Nude with Gun, Villa d'Este, Como Phillips | $983,494 | $905,000 (109 earlier) |
| Takashi Murakami | MPGMP, 1960->2012 Phillips | $930,531 | $809,172 (328 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Rago Auctions (514)Phillips (501)Lempertz (323)Van Ham (250)Brunk Auctions (245)Galerie Kodl (221)Artmark (217)Morgan O'Driscoll (211)Art+Object (197)Whyte's (195)Maison Bibelot (193)Strauss & Co (186)Grisebach (183)Capitolium Art (171)Smith & Singer (137)Bonhams (126)Clarke Auction Gallery (116)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (106)Polswiss Art (77)Ketterer Kunst (69)Toovey's (53)Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner (47)Cottone Auctions (42)SOGA (42)Pananti (13)Leonard Joel (4)