Art auction market report: January 2020
In January 2020, ArtSell recorded 4,309 auction lots from 20 auction houses, of which 3,654 sold (85% sell-through). The 3,654 sales with a published price total $13,048,533, with a median of $827 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Pablo Picasso, “La Minotauromachie”, at $1,279,785 (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 | Keith Haring American | $916,142 | 6 | Dog — $775,747 |
| 2 | Andy Warhol American | $484,781 | 15 | Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, from Reigning Queens — $123,056 |
| 3 | Kaws American | $156,697 | 5 | NO REPLY — $114,853 |
| 4 | Dale Chihuly American | $155,764 | 22 | large Imperial Blue and Purple Seaform Set — $25,000 |
| 5 | Jonas Wood American | $128,228 | 4 | Untitled — $98,445 |
| 6 | O. Winston Link American | $117,734 | 45 | Ghost Town, Stanley, Virginia — $8,125 |
| 7 | Mel Bochner American | $113,794 | 4 | Wow — $45,941 |
| 8 | Jeff Koons American | $113,212 | 3 | Balloon Animals Collector's Set — $98,445 |
| 9 | Alexander Calder American | $104,422 | 6 | tapestry — $52,500 |
| 10 | Peter Voulkos American | $98,163 | 9 | Untitled Stack — $25,000 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pablo Picasso Spanish | $1,677,436 | 67 | La Minotauromachie — $1,279,785 |
| 2 | David Hockney British | $400,222 | 13 | Pool Made with Paper and Blue Ink for Book, from Paper Pools — $68,912 |
| 3 | Damien Hirst British | $331,305 | 18 | Mickey (Blue Glitter) — $39,378 |
| 4 | Julian Opie British | $315,069 | 17 | Walking in the Rain, Seoul, from Walking in the Rain — $67,271 |
| 5 | Banksy British | $301,898 | 5 | Festival (Destroy Capitalism), from Barely Legal — $78,756 |
| 6 | Salvador Dalí Spanish | $106,026 | 44 | Alice in Wonderland — $42,660 |
| 7 | Joan Miró Spanish | $93,617 | 24 | Exhibition 'XXII Salon de Mai' — $16,408 |
| 8 | Lino Tagliapietra Italian | $87,588 | 9 | Mandara — $23,750 |
| 9 | Howard Hodgkin British | $79,686 | 3 | As Time Goes By (red) — $73,834 |
| 10 | Gerhard Richter German | $76,295 | 2 | Haut II (Skin II) — $62,349 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| D'lisa Creager | Untitled Rago Auctions | $35,000 | $12,500 (4 earlier) |
| Rafał Olbiński | Trzeci wymiar czasu Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny | $25,925 | $23,030 (65 earlier) |
| Kazuko Inoue | Untitled (00110) Wright | $22,500 | $16,250 (20 earlier) |
| Charmion Von Wiegand | Untitled Wright | $21,250 | $4,888 (3 earlier) |
| Paul Stankard | Assemblage A5 Rago Auctions | $20,800 | $8,769 (52 earlier) |
| Pietro Chiesa | table lamps, pair Rago Auctions | $20,800 | $11,250 (7 earlier) |
| Daniel Pawłowski | Babel, 2019 Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny | $17,629 | $13,207 (6 earlier) |
| John Bellany | Sea People Lyon & Turnbull | $16,255 | $7,432 (10 earlier) |
| Wojciech Siudmak | Source D`or, 1982 Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny | $16,074 | $6,703 (3 earlier) |
| John Byrne | Twilight Hunter Lyon & Turnbull | $9,753 | $9,030 (3 earlier) |
| Contemporary | low pile carpet Rago Auctions | $9,100 | $5,313 (21 earlier) |
| Mark Peiser | rare Paperweight Vase with japonesque decoration Rago Auctions | $8,750 | $8,125 (8 earlier) |
| Piero Ruggeri | Luci al mattino di primavera Capitolium Art | $8,338 | $3,990 (4 earlier) |
| Ruth Duckworth | Untitled Rago Auctions | $8,320 | $2,750 (5 earlier) |
| Menashe Kadishman | Triad Wright | $8,125 | $3,500 (6 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Morgan O'Driscoll (652)León Gallery (613)Van Ham (439)Twents Veilinghuis (401)Capitolium Art (381)Wright (336)Rago Auctions (299)Phillips (248)Lyon & Turnbull (189)Helmuth Stone Gallery (141)Agra-Art (109)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (97)Sworders (90)Clarke Auction Gallery (84)Artmark (81)Pandolfini (47)Michaan's Auctions (36)Toovey's (30)Bonhams (29)Pananti (7)