Art auction market report: March 2019
In March 2019, ArtSell recorded 4,328 auction lots from 31 auction houses, of which 2,815 sold (65% sell-through). The 2,768 sales with a published price total $63,905,105, with a median of $1,692 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Roy Lichtenstein, “Girl in Mirror”, at $6,299,520 (Phillips). 15 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.
Top sales
| # | Work | Artist | House · date | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Girl in Mirror, 1964 | Roy Lichtenstein | Phillips · Mar 7, 2019 | $6,299,520 (£4,800,000) |
| 2 | Ohne Titel (Meine Lügen sind ehrliche), 1992 | Martin Kippenberger | Phillips · Mar 7, 2019 | $5,006,806 (£3,815,000) |
| 3 | Untitled (Velveeta), 1984 | Jean-Michel Basquiat | Phillips · Mar 7, 2019 | $2,476,499 (£1,887,000) |
| 4 | Armed and Fearless, 2014 | Cecily Brown | Phillips · Mar 7, 2019 | $2,303,262 (£1,755,000) |
| 5 | The Paddock - Late Afternoon 1979, 1979 | Brett Whiteley | Menzies · Mar 28, 2019 | $1,302,922 (A$1,840,909) |
| 6 | Natura morta, 1952 | Giorgio Morandi | Phillips · Mar 7, 2019 | $1,279,590 (£975,000) |
| 7 | Untitled, 2009 | Christopher Wool | Phillips · Mar 7, 2019 | $1,240,218 (£945,000) |
| 8 | MOVING THE MIRROR, 2010 | Kaws | Phillips · Mar 7, 2019 | $1,056,482 (£805,000) |
| 9 | Slushy Landscape (with figures), 1995 | Peter Doig | Phillips · Mar 7, 2019 | $917,368 (£699,000) |
| 10 | Untitled, 1983 | Jean-Michel Basquiat | Phillips · Mar 7, 2019 | $894,073 (£681,250) |
| 11 | Untitled PGD32 (Black and Blue Butterfly #689 melted), 2005 | Mark Grotjahn | Phillips · Mar 7, 2019 | $807,126 (£615,000) |
| 12 | Untitled (Body Print), 1974 | David Hammons | Phillips · Mar 7, 2019 | $728,382 (£555,000) |
| 13 | Untitled, 1997 | George Condo | Phillips · Mar 7, 2019 | $712,633 (£543,000) |
| 14 | May Day V, 2006 | Andreas Gursky | Phillips · Mar 7, 2019 | $649,638 (£495,000) |
| 15 | Untitled | Cy Twombly | Phillips · Mar 7, 2019 | $649,638 (£495,000) |
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 | Roy Lichtenstein American | $6,299,520 | 1 | Girl in Mirror — $6,299,520 |
| 2 | Jean-Michel Basquiat American | $3,370,571 | 2 | Untitled (Velveeta) — $2,476,499 |
| 3 | Kaws American | $1,486,949 | 3 | MOVING THE MIRROR — $1,056,482 |
| 4 | Christopher Wool American | $1,240,218 | 1 | Untitled — $1,240,218 |
| 5 | Mark Grotjahn American | $1,012,189 | 2 | Untitled PGD32 (Black and Blue Butterfly #689 melted) — $807,126 |
| 6 | George Condo American | $712,633 | 1 | Untitled — $712,633 |
| 7 | Cy Twombly American | $649,638 | 1 | Untitled — $649,638 |
| 8 | Sean Scully American | $622,223 | 2 | Dust — $618,140 |
| 9 | Dana Schutz American | $618,140 | 1 | Romance — $618,140 |
| 10 | Rudolf Stingel American | $459,340 | 1 | Untitled — $459,340 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Kippenberger German | $5,006,806 | 1 | Ohne Titel (Meine Lügen sind ehrliche) — $5,006,806 |
| 2 | Cecily Brown British | $2,303,262 | 1 | Armed and Fearless — $2,303,262 |
| 3 | Gio Ponti Italian | $1,785,698 | 40 | Wall light with niche and hand with flowers statuette — $144,551 |
| 4 | Giorgio Morandi Italian | $1,279,590 | 1 | Natura morta — $1,279,590 |
| 5 | Peter Doig Scottish | $1,212,658 | 3 | Slushy Landscape (with figures) — $917,368 |
| 6 | Andreas Gursky German | $1,018,751 | 3 | May Day V — $649,638 |
| 7 | Leon Kossoff British | $702,134 | 2 | Stormy Summer Day, Dalston Lane — $570,894 |
| 8 | Günther Förg German | $542,368 | 3 | Untitled — $539,396 |
| 9 | Marc Chagall Belarusian | $493,169 | 3 | Le violoncelliste — $492,150 |
| 10 | Gerhard Richter German | $486,408 | 6 | Mustangs — $213,265 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cecily Brown | Armed and Fearless Phillips | $2,303,262 | $1,123,405 (23 earlier) |
| Dana Schutz | Romance Phillips | $618,140 | $605,000 (13 earlier) |
| Daniel Buren | Peinture acrylique blanche sur tissu rayé blanc et rouge Phillips | $360,910 | $315,536 (9 earlier) |
| Harold Ancart | Untitled Phillips | $278,885 | $146,081 (12 earlier) |
| Grayson Perry | Sunset through Net Curtains Phillips | $196,860 | $86,985 (19 earlier) |
| Henryk Stażewski | Relief Polswiss Art | $183,575 | $103,245 (168 earlier) |
| Tal R | Last drawing before mars Phillips | $180,455 | $79,440 (30 earlier) |
| Fausto Melotti | Set of 285 tiles Phillips | $131,410 | $73,412 (15 earlier) |
| Richard Long | White Marble Circle Phillips | $131,240 | $97,388 (12 earlier) |
| Hernan Bas | Decorative panel for the foyer of a homosexual's home Phillips | $124,678 | $112,500 (19 earlier) |
| Carlo Bugatti | Rare games table and set of four chairs Phillips | $123,197 | $32,500 (13 earlier) |
| Dennis Oppenheim | Heavy Dog Kiss Phillips | $123,038 | $8,125 (9 earlier) |
| Studio B.B.P.R. | Set of four ceiling lights, designed for the Olivetti showroom, New York Phillips | $106,771 | $55,000 (17 earlier) |
| Ico Parisi | Rare 'Uovo' chair, model no. 813 Phillips | $98,558 | $93,750 (68 earlier) |
| Huma Bhabha | Lecturer Phillips | $98,430 | $58,750 (4 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Schmidt Kunstauktionen Dresden (361)Phillips (333)Pananti (291)Strauss & Co (269)Morgan O'Driscoll (231)Whyte's (210)Lempertz (209)Agra-Art (199)Brunk Auctions (195)Maison Bibelot (195)Artmark (180)Bonhams (176)Helmuth Stone Gallery (146)Menzies (143)deVeres (143)Levis Fine Art Auctions (116)Sloans & Kenyon (113)Crocker Farm (102)Van Ham (93)Polswiss Art (88)Clarke Auction Gallery (88)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (84)Leonard Joel (81)Cottone Auctions (77)Toovey's (59)Art Auction East Africa (50)Smith & Singer (47)Wright (31)Jackson's International Auctioneers (15)Bogotá Auctions (2)Colasanti Casa d'Aste (1)