Art auction market report: May 2019
In May 2019, ArtSell recorded 6,573 auction lots from 31 auction houses, of which 5,521 sold (84% sell-through). The 5,521 sales with a published price total $239,423,825, with a median of $4,688 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Willem de Kooning, “Untitled XVI”, at $10,268,000 (Phillips). 15 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.
Top sales
| # | Work | Artist | House · date | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Untitled XVI, 1976 | Willem de Kooning | Phillips · May 16, 2019 | $10,268,000 |
| 2 | Self Portrait, 1983 | Jean-Michel Basquiat | Phillips · May 16, 2019 | $9,500,000 |
| 3 | Helter Skelter II, 2007 | Mark Bradford | Phillips · May 16, 2019 | $8,475,250 |
| 4 | Ailleurs, 1955 | Zao Wou-ki | Phillips · May 26, 2019 | $6,630,416 (HK$52,040,000) |
| 5 | Horse and Rider, 1976 | Roy Lichtenstein | Phillips · May 16, 2019 | $5,955,000 |
| 6 | THE WALK HOME, 2012 | Kaws | Phillips · May 16, 2019 | $5,955,000 |
| 7 | Black Gamma, 1966 | Alexander Calder | Phillips · May 16, 2019 | $5,477,500 |
| 8 | Untitled, 1970 | Cy Twombly | Phillips · May 16, 2019 | $4,700,000 |
| 9 | Untitled (Elegy), 1983-1985 | Robert Motherwell | Phillips · May 16, 2019 | $4,580,000 |
| 10 | No title, 1967 | Eva Hesse | Phillips · May 16, 2019 | $3,980,000 |
| 11 | Robot Man, 1983 | Jean-Michel Basquiat | Phillips · May 16, 2019 | $3,860,000 |
| 12 | Plans diagonaux II, 1923 | František Kupka | Galerie Kodl · May 26, 2019 | $3,378,180 (CZK 78,000,000) |
| 13 | Scramble: Descending Blue Values/Ascending Spectrum, 1977 | Frank Stella | Phillips · May 16, 2019 | $3,020,000 |
| 14 | Head, 1986 | Roy Lichtenstein | Phillips · May 26, 2019 | $3,000,506 (HK$23,550,000) |
| 15 | Modern Painting, 1967 | Roy Lichtenstein | Phillips · May 16, 2019 | $2,900,000 |
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 | Jean-Michel Basquiat American | $14,856,813 | 7 | Self Portrait — $9,500,000 |
| 2 | Roy Lichtenstein American | $13,887,573 | 25 | Horse and Rider — $5,955,000 |
| 3 | Kaws American | $12,277,521 | 22 | THE WALK HOME — $5,955,000 |
| 4 | Willem de Kooning American | $10,643,625 | 4 | Untitled XVI — $10,268,000 |
| 5 | Andy Warhol American | $10,278,951 | 60 | 9 Flowers — $2,600,000 |
| 6 | Alexander Calder American | $7,906,292 | 14 | Black Gamma — $5,477,500 |
| 7 | Robert Motherwell American | $6,156,875 | 6 | Untitled (Elegy) — $4,580,000 |
| 8 | Cy Twombly American | $4,700,000 | 1 | Untitled — $4,700,000 |
| 9 | Eva Hesse American | $3,980,000 | 1 | No title — $3,980,000 |
| 10 | Frank Stella American | $3,710,641 | 9 | Scramble: Descending Blue Values/Ascending Spectrum — $3,020,000 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zao Wou-ki French | $8,869,647 | 4 | Ailleurs — $6,630,416 |
| 2 | František Kupka Czech | $3,501,873 | 3 | Plans diagonaux II — $3,378,180 |
| 3 | David Hockney British | $2,715,555 | 9 | Iris with Evian Bottle — $2,204,000 |
| 4 | Jean Dubuffet French | $2,484,375 | 16 | Ciboulot Pistolet — $500,000 |
| 5 | Joan Miró Spanish | $1,489,715 | 14 | Conque — $800,000 |
| 6 | Max Liebermann German | $1,404,075 | 6 | Judengasse in Amsterdam — $954,526 |
| 7 | Ernst Wilhelm Nay German | $1,200,756 | 8 | Rot in tiefem Klang — $487,113 |
| 8 | Emil Filla Czech | $1,140,785 | 8 | Still life with owl — $332,621 |
| 9 | Pablo Picasso Spanish | $1,037,096 | 65 | Femme en buste/ Buste de femme couchée — $375,000 |
| 10 | Kurt Schwitters German | $995,561 | 2 | Das Gustav Finzlerbild — $553,090 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaws | THE WALK HOME Phillips | $5,955,000 | $2,716,500 (169 earlier) |
| Alexander Calder | Black Gamma Phillips | $5,477,500 | $3,973,000 (370 earlier) |
| František Kupka | Plans diagonaux II Galerie Kodl | $3,378,180 | $691,152 (29 earlier) |
| Tomoo Gokita | Be Just Like Family Phillips | $1,076,000 | $807,000 (17 earlier) |
| Keith Haring & La II | Untitled (Two-Panel Mural) Phillips | $1,040,000 | $39,842 (3 earlier) |
| Dana Schutz | Signing Phillips | $980,000 | $618,140 (14 earlier) |
| Jakub Schikaneder | Milkmaid Galerie Kodl | $841,946 | $382,838 (18 earlier) |
| Anton van Wouw | Paul Kruger Strauss & Co | $728,894 | $334,983 (33 earlier) |
| Milton Avery | Girl Rago Auctions | $564,500 | $162,500 (59 earlier) |
| Liu Wei | Purple Air III No. 2 (diptych) Phillips | $554,234 | $400,200 (7 earlier) |
| Rashid Johnson | Color Men Phillips | $500,000 | $319,000 (37 earlier) |
| Richard Serra | Tracks #31 Phillips | $475,000 | $219,409 (120 earlier) |
| Mikuláš Medek | The view onto some saint Galerie Kodl | $462,551 | $421,464 (7 earlier) |
| Elizabeth Peyton | Peconic (Ben) Phillips | $450,000 | $216,096 (27 earlier) |
| Peter Halley | 303 Phillips | $400,000 | $243,750 (38 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Rago Auctions (1,086)Phillips (648)Van Ham (623)Lempertz (498)Grisebach (486)Brunk Auctions (340)Strauss & Co (283)Galerie Kodl (231)Artmark (226)deVeres (220)Morgan O'Driscoll (217)Whyte's (207)Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (206)Bonhams (190)Maison Bibelot (162)Pananti (161)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (134)Levis Fine Art Auctions (127)Agra-Art (85)Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner (74)Ketterer Kunst (72)Polswiss Art (65)Toovey's (54)Bolsa de Arte (50)Clarke Auction Gallery (45)Palm Beach Modern Auctions (34)Sworders (25)Cottone Auctions (20)Leonard Joel (2)Jackson's International Auctioneers (1)Olympia Auctions (1)