Art auction market report: November 2020
In November 2020, ArtSell recorded 6,629 auction lots from 34 auction houses, of which 5,531 sold (83% sell-through). The 5,531 sales with a published price total $67,765,855, with a median of $1,426 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was František Kupka, “Divertimento II”, at $4,104,115 (Galerie Kodl). 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 | Wolf Kahn American | $300,000 | 5 | Evening Encampment — $162,813 |
| 2 | Albert Bierstadt American | $250,313 | 1 | Entrance to Golden Gate — $250,313 |
| 3 | Sally Michel Avery American | $160,488 | 7 | Stream Side — $32,500 |
| 4 | Hermann Ottomar Herzog American | $85,000 | 1 | Gainesville Marsh, Florida — $85,000 |
| 5 | Peter Alexander American | $78,750 | 2 | Untitled (Red Puff) — $55,000 |
| 6 | Neil Welliver American | $76,875 | 2 | Woodland Terry — $45,313 |
| 7 | Leon Polk Smith American | $62,500 | 1 | Untitled — $62,500 |
| 8 | Bessie Potter Vonnoh American | $60,313 | 1 | Enthroned — $60,313 |
| 9 | Keith Haring American | $58,491 | 4 | Flowers IV — $23,750 |
| 10 | Joan Mitchell American | $58,380 | 3 | Champs (Fields) from the Carnegie Hall Centennial Fine Art portfolio — $35,000 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | František Kupka Czech | $5,738,666 | 3 | Divertimento II — $4,104,115 |
| 2 | Emil Filla Czech | $1,727,330 | 7 | The Pitcher and a Flute — $567,590 |
| 3 | Theodor Pištěk Czech | $1,429,891 | 3 | Adieu, Guy Moll — $1,157,011 |
| 4 | František Muzika Czech | $1,320,739 | 5 | The Great Elsinor XI — $403,862 |
| 5 | Gio Ponti Italian | $1,184,430 | 22 | Prototype ‘Mariposa’ sofa, designed for the XI Milan Triennale — $331,002 |
| 6 | Mikuláš Medek Czech | $1,146,096 | 5 | The Collapsed Signal — $633,082 |
| 7 | Edvard Munch Norwegian | $979,337 | 19 | Mot skogen II — $338,130 |
| 8 | Josef Šíma French | $672,376 | 3 | Windy Space (Lieu des vents) — $392,947 |
| 9 | Arthur Boyd British | $576,855 | 8 | Rocks in Budgong Creek, New South Wales (1979) — $301,711 |
| 10 | František Janoušek Czech | $454,072 | 5 | Landscape with a Book — $354,744 |
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).
Auction houses this month
Lempertz (588)Levis Fine Art Auctions (581)Auktionshaus Mehlis (562)León Gallery (449)Morgan O'Driscoll (391)Van Ham (390)Rago Auctions (332)Wright (298)Davidson Auctions (274)Galerie Kodl (242)Lyon & Turnbull (217)Helmuth Stone Gallery (216)Sworders (209)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (199)Phillips (168)Menzies (158)Bonhams (141)Pananti (121)Maison Bibelot (117)deVeres (109)Brunk Auctions (104)Clarke Auction Gallery (94)Artmark (93)Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner (86)Art+Object (84)Cottone Auctions (83)Leonard Joel (78)Smith & Singer (74)Agra-Art (50)Grisebach (42)Hessink's Auctions (40)Michaan's Auctions (32)Pandolfini (5)Colasanti Casa d'Aste (2)