Art auction market report: April 2019
In April 2019, ArtSell recorded 6,600 auction lots from 30 auction houses, of which 4,816 sold (73% sell-through). The 4,816 sales with a published price total $52,926,014, with a median of $1,840 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Helmut Newton, “Sie Kommen, Paris (Dressed and Naked)”, at $1,820,000 (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 | Edward Weston American | $1,464,250 | 6 | Circus Tent — $788,000 |
| 2 | Dorothea Lange American | $1,132,125 | 18 | Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California — $337,500 |
| 3 | Roy Lichtenstein American | $988,188 | 14 | Reverie, from 11 Pop Artists, Volume II — $275,000 |
| 4 | Frank Tenney Johnson American | $964,755 | 5 | Smoke of a .45 — $672,750 |
| 5 | Melvin Warren American | $824,238 | 5 | Remnants of the Herd — $497,250 |
| 6 | Andy Warhol American | $691,066 | 23 | Marilyn Monroe — $175,000 |
| 7 | Edward Steichen American | $631,500 | 3 | Heavy Roses, Voulangis, France — $524,000 |
| 8 | Albert Bierstadt American | $527,670 | 3 | Sunset – Salt Lake — $315,900 |
| 9 | Imogen Cunningham American | $450,000 | 2 | Calla — $350,000 |
| 10 | Margaret Bourke-White American | $400,000 | 1 | Flood Refugees, Louisville, Kentucky — $400,000 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tina Modotti Italian | $1,137,000 | 5 | Telephone Wires, Mexico — $692,000 |
| 2 | Pablo Picasso Spanish | $435,829 | 44 | Buste de femme au corsage blanc (Jacqueline de profil) (Bust of a Woman with White Bodice, Jacqueline in Profile) — $52,500 |
| 3 | Arthur Boyd British | $375,446 | 6 | Williamstown Winter (1959) — $226,668 |
| 4 | Damien Hirst British | $370,720 | 12 | Transportation — $212,420 |
| 5 | Wojciech Fangor Polish | $314,232 | 1 | Symetria 2, 2015 — $314,232 |
| 6 | Anish Kapoor British | $294,120 | 1 | Monochrome (Lilac) — $294,120 |
| 7 | Paul Henry Irish | $268,715 | 2 | Evening in Achill (1930-8) — $206,275 |
| 8 | Joan Miró Spanish | $266,628 | 22 | Le Permissionnaire (Soldier on Leave) — $43,750 |
| 9 | Karl Lagerfeld French | $234,975 | 110 | Portfolio — $8,450 |
| 10 | Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller Austrian | $216,518 | 2 | Old invalid with children — $158,780 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helmut Newton | Sie Kommen, Paris (Dressed and Naked) Phillips | $1,820,000 | $983,494 (143 earlier) |
| Edward Weston | Circus Tent Phillips | $788,000 | $149,075 (63 earlier) |
| John Olsen | Seafood Paella 2007 Smith & Singer | $741,030 | $319,898 (191 earlier) |
| Tina Modotti | Telephone Wires, Mexico Phillips | $692,000 | $60,000 (6 earlier) |
| William Dobell | Woman in Restaurant (1934) Smith & Singer | $671,286 | $303,137 (50 earlier) |
| C. F. Goldie | Takahi Atama Paparangi, A Rangatira of high lineage, Rarawa Tribe Art+Object | $568,331 | $273,995 (13 earlier) |
| Edward Steichen | Heavy Roses, Voulangis, France Phillips | $524,000 | $148,574 (26 earlier) |
| Melvin Warren | Remnants of the Herd Scottsdale Art Auction | $497,250 | $62,500 (10 earlier) |
| Margaret Bourke-White | Flood Refugees, Louisville, Kentucky Phillips | $400,000 | $104,500 (31 earlier) |
| Henry Shrady | Elk Buffalo Scottsdale Art Auction | $380,250 | $99,450 (5 earlier) |
| Imogen Cunningham | Calla Phillips | $350,000 | $162,500 (23 earlier) |
| Dorothea Lange | Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California Phillips | $337,500 | $37,500 (13 earlier) |
| Selden Connor Gile | Quiet Cove (Belvedere) Bonhams | $312,575 | $245,000 (86 earlier) |
| G. Harvey | Beginning of a Boomtown Scottsdale Art Auction | $234,000 | $198,900 (22 earlier) |
| Logan Maxwell Hagege | Breaking Through the Storm Scottsdale Art Auction | $234,000 | $95,200 (6 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
León Gallery (1,383)Phillips (834)Bonhams (569)Twents Veilinghuis (411)Lempertz (360)Pananti (356)Scottsdale Art Auction (341)Helmuth Stone Gallery (253)Sworders (242)Levis Fine Art Auctions (237)im Kinsky (227)Wright (177)Morgan O'Driscoll (145)Artmark (135)Palm Beach Modern Auctions (110)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (105)Capitolium Art (97)Smith & Singer (81)SOGA (78)Art+Object (74)Leonard Joel (69)Van Ham (64)Clarke Auction Gallery (62)Toovey's (56)Olympia Auctions (41)HAUS Galerii (40)Agra-Art (37)Polswiss Art (12)Colasanti Casa d'Aste (3)Whyte's (1)