Art auction market report: June 2020
In June 2020, ArtSell recorded 7,724 auction lots from 35 auction houses, of which 6,129 sold (79% sell-through). The 6,129 sales with a published price total $64,902,315, with a median of $1,750 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Jan Matejko, “Portret prof. dr Karola Gilewskiego”, at $1,498,541 (Polswiss Art). 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 | Maynard Dixon American | $1,425,645 | 12 | Neolithic Afternoon — $526,500 |
| 2 | William Robinson Leigh American | $727,000 | 2 | Pony Express — $680,200 |
| 3 | Charles Marion Russell American | $519,822 | 5 | Where the Best of Riders Quit — $321,750 |
| 4 | Frederic Remington American | $457,980 | 3 | The Cheyenne — $438,750 |
| 5 | Joseph Henry Sharp American | $424,710 | 5 | February Chinook, Crow Reservation — $193,050 |
| 6 | John Clymer American | $321,750 | 1 | Thundering Hoofs — $321,750 |
| 7 | Ernest L. Blumenschein American | $315,900 | 1 | Rock of Fire-Morning, Ghost Ranch — $315,900 |
| 8 | Ernest Martin Hennings American | $269,100 | 2 | Amongst the Aspen — $152,100 |
| 9 | Thomas Moran American | $257,400 | 1 | Castle Rock — $257,400 |
| 10 | Frank Tenney Johnson American | $231,075 | 4 | Tejon – My Palomino — $81,900 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan Matejko Polish | $1,525,284 | 2 | Portret prof. dr Karola Gilewskiego — $1,498,541 |
| 2 | Koloman Moser Austrian | $1,065,883 | 4 | Feldeinsamkeit — $1,052,800 |
| 3 | Jacek Malczewski Polish | $1,044,345 | 6 | Dziesiąta Muza — $457,182 |
| 4 | Gio Ponti Italian | $1,005,743 | 30 | Pair of rare armchairs, model no. 489 — $95,992 |
| 5 | Albert Birkle German | $927,844 | 2 | Der Bahnwärter — $923,704 |
| 6 | Pablo Picasso Spanish | $838,400 | 45 | Deux femmes nues se tenant — $364,325 |
| 7 | August Macke German | $622,155 | 3 | Blumenkasten mit Kaktus — $448,400 |
| 8 | Juan Gris Spanish | $476,425 | 1 | Raisins, carafe et livre — $476,425 |
| 9 | Karel Appel Dutch | $454,201 | 13 | Untitled — $315,281 |
| 10 | Gustav Klimt Austrian | $440,115 | 4 | Woman in profile facing left — $243,712 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan Matejko | Portret prof. dr Karola Gilewskiego Polswiss Art | $1,498,541 | $735,842 (60 earlier) |
| Koloman Moser | Feldeinsamkeit im Kinsky | $1,052,800 | $685,425 (69 earlier) |
| Albert Birkle | Der Bahnwärter Lempertz | $923,704 | $191,846 (73 earlier) |
| Juan Gris | Raisins, carafe et livre Lempertz | $476,425 | $47,191 (3 earlier) |
| Ernest L. Blumenschein | Rock of Fire-Morning, Ghost Ranch Scottsdale Art Auction | $315,900 | $50,575 (8 earlier) |
| Georg Schrimpf | Mädchen am Fenster Van Ham | $286,138 | $221,236 (27 earlier) |
| Mark Justiniani | Spectator León Gallery | $268,237 | $121,671 (41 earlier) |
| Per Kirkeby | Untitled Lempertz | $266,238 | $265,513 (90 earlier) |
| G. Harvey | Street Cars Along the Avenue Scottsdale Art Auction | $257,400 | $234,000 (34 earlier) |
| Ethel Carrick | The Market, Caudebec (1903) Smith & Singer | $189,474 | $88,080 (20 earlier) |
| Edmund de Waal | 'Kamen' Phillips | $185,790 | $43,750 (9 earlier) |
| Deborah Butterfield | Isabel Rago Auctions | $175,000 | $73,200 (9 earlier) |
| Jankel Adler | Dwie postacie Polswiss Art | $165,094 | $125,009 (25 earlier) |
| Allan Houser | Lament Scottsdale Art Auction | $105,300 | $58,500 (15 earlier) |
| Shiryu Morita | Large calligraphy panel with the Chinese character „ki“ (Tree) in cursive script. Aluminum paste on layers of black paper, coated with transparent lacquer. On the reverse the ar... Lempertz | $105,122 | $94,641 (4 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Auktionshaus Mehlis (1,037)im Kinsky (688)Van Ham (587)Lempertz (514)Rago Auctions (445)Scottsdale Art Auction (375)Sworders (333)Artmark (323)Farsettiarte (307)Schmidt Kunstauktionen Dresden (262)Art+Object (260)Capitolium Art (260)Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner (258)Morgan O'Driscoll (192)Pananti (175)Phillips (174)Leonard Joel (157)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (147)Maison Bibelot (128)Agra-Art (122)Bonhams (121)León Gallery (119)Sloans & Kenyon (99)Lyon & Turnbull (96)Jackson's International Auctioneers (96)Polswiss Art (88)Clarke Auction Gallery (73)deVeres (68)SOGA (60)Smith & Singer (59)Cottone Auctions (42)Michaan's Auctions (37)Colasanti Casa d'Aste (12)Brunk Auctions (6)Pandolfini (4)