Art auction market report: June 2018
In June 2018, ArtSell recorded 8,119 auction lots from 31 auction houses, of which 6,389 sold (79% sell-through). The 6,389 sales with a published price total $189,891,556, with a median of $4,551 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Martin Kippenberger, “Ohne Titel (aus der Serie Das Floß der Medusa)”, at $11,127,419 (Phillips). 15 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.
Top sales
| # | Work | Artist | House · date | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohne Titel (aus der Serie Das Floß der Medusa), 1996 | Martin Kippenberger | Phillips · Jun 27, 2018 | $11,127,419 (£8,446,500) |
| 2 | 5.11.62, 1962 | Zao Wou-ki | Ravenel · Jun 3, 2018 | $5,149,422 (NT$153,760,000) |
| 3 | Interior of a room, 1935 | Francis Bacon | Phillips · Jun 27, 2018 | $4,280,233 (£3,249,000) |
| 4 | Champs, 1990 | Joan Mitchell | Phillips · Jun 27, 2018 | $4,201,189 (£3,189,000) |
| 5 | Bird as Buddha, 1984 | Jean-Michel Basquiat | Phillips · Jun 27, 2018 | $3,331,705 (£2,529,000) |
| 6 | Elogio del aire - The Praise of Air - Das Lob der Luft, 1956 | Eduardo Chillida | Kornfeld · Jun 15, 2018 | $3,005,400 (CHF 3,000,000) |
| 7 | Collision Course, 2009 | George Condo | Phillips · Jun 27, 2018 | $2,225,089 (£1,689,000) |
| 8 | Concetto spaziale, Natura, 1959-1960 | Lucio Fontana | Phillips · Jun 27, 2018 | $2,146,045 (£1,629,000) |
| 9 | Rosy's Masks, 2008 | Jonas Wood | Phillips · Jun 27, 2018 | $2,067,001 (£1,569,000) |
| 10 | Library (of Babylon), 1994 | Mark Tansey | Phillips · Jun 27, 2018 | $2,067,001 (£1,569,000) |
| 11 | Stillleben: Kaffee, 1882 | Albert Anker | Kornfeld · Jun 15, 2018 | $1,602,880 (CHF 1,600,000) |
| 12 | Landline Green Sea, 2014 | Sean Scully | Phillips · Jun 27, 2018 | $1,592,737 (£1,209,000) |
| 13 | Effluves de Printemps (Emanations of Spring), 1987 | Chu Teh-chun | Ravenel · Jun 3, 2018 | $1,205,640 (NT$36,000,000) |
| 14 | Teddy Boy and Girl II, 1957 | R.A. Lynn Chadwick | Phillips · Jun 27, 2018 | $1,197,517 (£909,000) |
| 15 | Blumenstauden im Nutzgarten nach Südwesten, 1926 | Max Liebermann | Lempertz · Jun 1, 2018 | $1,068,880 (€916,000) |
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 | Joan Mitchell American | $4,201,189 | 1 | Champs — $4,201,189 |
| 2 | Jean-Michel Basquiat American | $3,896,553 | 5 | Bird as Buddha — $3,331,705 |
| 3 | George Condo American | $2,280,662 | 3 | Collision Course — $2,225,089 |
| 4 | Jonas Wood American | $2,095,541 | 2 | Rosy's Masks — $2,067,001 |
| 5 | Mark Tansey American | $2,067,001 | 1 | Library (of Babylon) — $2,067,001 |
| 6 | Sean Scully American | $1,606,074 | 6 | Landline Green Sea — $1,592,737 |
| 7 | Keith Haring American | $1,407,227 | 10 | Untitled (Knokke #3) — $960,385 |
| 8 | Sam Francis American | $1,380,192 | 25 | Entre deux Mondes – Red, White and Blue — $340,612 |
| 9 | Kaws American | $1,264,417 | 6 | Running Chum - Bus Stop — $710,988 |
| 10 | Robert Longo American | $896,416 | 12 | Untitled (Backdoor-Pipeline, Hawaii-spring '99) — $488,556 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Kippenberger German | $11,192,372 | 8 | Ohne Titel (aus der Serie Das Floß der Medusa) — $11,127,419 |
| 2 | Zao Wou-ki French | $5,272,459 | 7 | 5.11.62 — $5,149,422 |
| 3 | Francis Bacon British | $4,328,584 | 5 | Interior of a room — $4,280,233 |
| 4 | Eduardo Chillida Spanish | $3,048,649 | 12 | Elogio del aire - The Praise of Air - Das Lob der Luft — $3,005,400 |
| 5 | Lucio Fontana Italian | $2,745,572 | 4 | Concetto spaziale, Natura — $2,146,045 |
| 6 | Marc Chagall Belarusian | $2,643,565 | 53 | Le cirque bleu — $681,224 |
| 7 | Gerhard Richter German | $2,513,107 | 36 | Abstraktes Bild — $450,810 |
| 8 | Pablo Picasso Spanish | $2,348,381 | 122 | Peintre et modèles — $102,848 |
| 9 | Paul Klee Swiss | $2,231,179 | 23 | Kleines Gartenbild mit schwarzen Blüten — $741,332 |
| 10 | Günther Uecker German | $2,219,894 | 28 | Interferenzen — $883,343 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Kippenberger | Ohne Titel (aus der Serie Das Floß der Medusa) Phillips | $11,127,419 | $2,345,000 (146 earlier) |
| Joan Mitchell | Champs Phillips | $4,201,189 | $3,615,000 (21 earlier) |
| Eduardo Chillida | Elogio del aire - The Praise of Air - Das Lob der Luft Kornfeld | $3,005,400 | $765,675 (206 earlier) |
| George Condo | Collision Course Phillips | $2,225,089 | $1,845,184 (91 earlier) |
| Jonas Wood | Rosy's Masks Phillips | $2,067,001 | $473,822 (39 earlier) |
| Albert Anker | Stillleben: Kaffee Kornfeld | $1,602,880 | $1,077,195 (11 earlier) |
| R.A. Lynn Chadwick | Teddy Boy and Girl II Phillips | $1,197,517 | $112,500 (8 earlier) |
| Blinky Palermo | Wooster Street Phillips | $960,385 | $101,424 (85 earlier) |
| Fernando Amorsolo | Mango Gatherers León Gallery | $884,877 | $250,793 (103 earlier) |
| Amedeo Modigliani | Portrait d’une Dame (Renée) Ravenel | $864,042 | $468,979 (17 earlier) |
| Tony Cragg | Point of View Ketterer Kunst | $776,939 | $586,000 (29 earlier) |
| Wilhelm Lehmbruck | Büste der Knienden (Geneigter Frauenkopf) Lempertz | $732,813 | $680,600 (43 earlier) |
| Robert Rauschenberg | County Sweep (Galvanic Suite) Ketterer Kunst | $631,778 | $439,140 (291 earlier) |
| Alfons Walde | Aurach bei Kitzbühel Ketterer Kunst | $617,085 | $554,385 (60 earlier) |
| Jesús Rafael Soto | 36 Cuadrados con banda amarilla Phillips | $565,165 | $445,676 (102 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Lempertz (775)Phillips (674)Kornfeld (608)Ketterer Kunst (582)im Kinsky (567)Bonhams (486)Pananti (477)Van Ham (465)Strauss & Co (414)Grisebach (366)Van Sabben Poster Auctions (268)Artmark (240)Clarke Auction Gallery (234)Morgan O'Driscoll (209)Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (204)Agra-Art (199)Ravenel (183)Sloans & Kenyon (183)León Gallery (144)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (131)Leonard Joel (107)Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner (102)SOGA (100)Art+Object (96)deVeres (85)Capitolium Art (63)Toovey's (57)Schmidt Kunstauktionen Dresden (42)Palm Beach Modern Auctions (40)Sworders (13)Colasanti Casa d'Aste (5)