Art auction market report: November 2018
In November 2018, ArtSell recorded 7,382 auction lots from 36 auction houses, of which 5,913 sold (80% sell-through). The 5,913 sales with a published price total $214,339,352, with a median of $3,426 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Joan Miró, “Femme dans la nuit”, at $22,590,000 (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 | $13,666,125 | 4 | Untitled — $9,000,000 |
| 2 | Andy Warhol American | $10,628,210 | 24 | Gun — $9,540,000 |
| 3 | Kaws American | $7,433,678 | 13 | UNTITLED (FATAL GROUP) — $2,716,500 |
| 4 | Mark Rothko American | $4,215,000 | 1 | Black Blue Painting — $4,215,000 |
| 5 | Bruce Nauman American | $3,323,996 | 8 | Masturbating Man — $2,757,500 |
| 6 | Robert Motherwell American | $2,572,000 | 5 | Open No. 153: In Scarlet with White Line — $2,295,000 |
| 7 | Wayne Thiebaud American | $2,441,888 | 7 | Food Bowls — $1,635,000 |
| 8 | Alexander Calder American | $2,206,612 | 15 | Conique noir — $1,335,000 |
| 9 | George Condo American | $1,600,739 | 5 | Dreaming Nude — $1,095,000 |
| 10 | Sean Scully American | $1,520,454 | 2 | Landline Red Veined — $1,515,000 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joan Miró Spanish | $22,909,912 | 16 | Femme dans la nuit — $22,590,000 |
| 2 | Jean Dubuffet French | $3,517,500 | 4 | Mademoiselle mine orange — $1,755,000 |
| 3 | Gerhard Richter German | $2,606,941 | 11 | Abstraktes Bild (714-1) — $2,295,000 |
| 4 | Henri Laurens French | $2,175,000 | 1 | La Lune — $2,175,000 |
| 5 | Giorgio Morandi Italian | $1,935,000 | 1 | Natura morta — $1,935,000 |
| 6 | Ernst Ludwig Kirchner German | $1,882,549 | 11 | Akte im Wald“ (Fehmarn) — $1,668,196 |
| 7 | Emil Nolde German | $1,718,501 | 13 | Segelboot“ (Hamburger Hafen) — $555,116 |
| 8 | Albert Oehlen German | $1,567,378 | 3 | Untitled — $1,515,000 |
| 9 | Heinz Mack German | $1,418,877 | 4 | Auktion 419, Los 214 — $1,328,127 |
| 10 | Pablo Picasso Spanish | $1,340,492 | 28 | Homme nu couché — $781,499 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joan Miró | Femme dans la nuit Phillips | $22,590,000 | $605,000 (774 earlier) |
| Kaws | UNTITLED (FATAL GROUP) Phillips | $2,716,500 | $1,256,874 (134 earlier) |
| Carmen Herrera | Blanco y Verde Phillips | $2,655,000 | $1,179,000 (7 earlier) |
| Henri Laurens | La Lune Phillips | $2,175,000 | $103,703 (19 earlier) |
| Giorgio Morandi | Natura morta Phillips | $1,935,000 | $965,000 (36 earlier) |
| Heinz Mack | Auktion 419, Los 214 Van Ham | $1,328,127 | $432,724 (328 earlier) |
| Léonard-Tsuguharu Foujita | Fillette aux fruits et au damier Phillips | $1,040,129 | $781,166 (36 earlier) |
| Park Seo-bo | Écriture No.96-75 Phillips | $902,127 | $144,360 (6 earlier) |
| Amy Sillman | U Phillips | $855,000 | $125,000 (10 earlier) |
| Tomoo Gokita | Club Mature Phillips | $807,000 | $349,268 (7 earlier) |
| Liu Ye | Untitled Phillips | $748,791 | $12,741 (4 earlier) |
| Theodore Earl Butler | Flag Day Bonhams | $552,500 | $84,000 (6 earlier) |
| Mark Tobey | Between Black and White Phillips | $531,000 | $46,368 (127 earlier) |
| Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller | Children playing with dolls im Kinsky | $511,155 | $114,842 (12 earlier) |
| David Salle | Nadar's Grey Phillips | $495,000 | $324,970 (35 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Lempertz (899)Phillips (563)Rago Auctions (559)Van Ham (454)Bonhams (430)Brunk Auctions (376)Artmark (343)Grisebach (324)im Kinsky (304)Strauss & Co (297)Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (283)Levis Fine Art Auctions (271)Maison Bibelot (219)Whyte's (172)Jackson's International Auctioneers (147)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (146)Sloans & Kenyon (136)Leonard Joel (134)Crocker Farm (131)Morgan O'Driscoll (130)Menzies (124)deVeres (124)Agra-Art (116)Ketterer Kunst (97)Art+Object (89)Clarke Auction Gallery (88)Smith & Singer (81)Toovey's (62)Colasanti Casa d'Aste (56)Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner (49)SOGA (44)Polswiss Art (42)HAUS Galerii (38)Cottone Auctions (30)Palm Beach Modern Auctions (23)Olympia Auctions (1)