Art auction market report: June 2021
In June 2021, ArtSell recorded 9,494 auction lots from 39 auction houses, of which 8,071 sold (85% sell-through). The 8,058 sales with a published price total $408,608,740, with a median of $4,282 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Yoshitomo Nara, “Missing in Action”, at $15,944,441 (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 | Andy Warhol American | $12,285,721 | 61 | Mao — $3,000,000 |
| 2 | Wayne Thiebaud American | $10,452,675 | 5 | Winding River — $9,809,000 |
| 3 | Vija Celmins American | $7,753,330 | 2 | Untitled (Ocean) — $7,748,000 |
| 4 | Brice Marden American | $5,233,000 | 1 | Elements III — $5,233,000 |
| 5 | Kaws American | $4,505,042 | 15 | TOGETHER — $1,373,239 |
| 6 | Avery Singer American | $4,144,000 | 1 | Untitled — $4,144,000 |
| 7 | Joan Mitchell American | $3,902,000 | 1 | Untitled — $3,902,000 |
| 8 | Mark Rothko American | $3,700,000 | 1 | Untitled — $3,700,000 |
| 9 | George Condo American | $3,699,217 | 7 | Sketches of Jean Louis — $1,747,477 |
| 10 | Amy Sherald American | $3,539,000 | 1 | It Made Sense...Mostly In Her Mind — $3,539,000 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerhard Richter German | $22,304,413 | 41 | Abstraktes Bild (940-7) — $12,255,537 |
| 2 | David Hockney British | $14,580,371 | 37 | A Neat Lawn — $11,000,000 |
| 3 | Banksy British | $6,245,178 | 24 | Laugh Now Panel A — $3,150,872 |
| 4 | Jean Dunand Swiss | $4,722,139 | 6 | ‘Les Palmiers’ smoking room, from the residence of Mademoiselle Colette Aboucaya, Paris — $4,555,958 |
| 5 | Ernst Wilhelm Nay German | $4,130,465 | 16 | Doppelspindel-Rot — $2,599,713 |
| 6 | Emil Nolde German | $3,062,021 | 24 | Landschaft mit Mutterpferd — $886,401 |
| 7 | Pablo Picasso Spanish | $2,933,810 | 67 | Nu couché et musicien — $1,513,578 |
| 8 | Alexej von Jawlensky Russian | $2,867,679 | 8 | Mystischer Kopf: Galka Fatum - Fate — $1,314,729 |
| 9 | Max Liebermann German | $2,791,671 | 8 | Reiter in der Allee bei Sakrow — $1,783,491 |
| 10 | Jean Dubuffet French | $2,603,720 | 3 | L'homme à la toque — $2,571,000 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yoshitomo Nara | Missing in Action Phillips | $15,944,441 | $13,302,866 (262 earlier) |
| Gerhard Richter | Abstraktes Bild (940-7) Phillips | $12,255,537 | $8,005,000 (994 earlier) |
| Wayne Thiebaud | Winding River Phillips | $9,809,000 | $2,420,000 (121 earlier) |
| Vija Celmins | Untitled (Ocean) Phillips | $7,748,000 | $2,890,000 (79 earlier) |
| Takashi Murakami | Red Demon and Blue Demon with 48 Arhats Phillips | $6,080,000 | $930,531 (542 earlier) |
| Jean Dunand | ‘Les Palmiers’ smoking room, from the residence of Mademoiselle Colette Aboucaya, Paris Phillips | $4,555,958 | $273,414 (23 earlier) |
| Avery Singer | Untitled Phillips | $4,144,000 | $643,263 (9 earlier) |
| Banksy | Laugh Now Panel A Phillips | $3,150,872 | $3,036,250 (211 earlier) |
| Carl Andre | 36 Copper Square Phillips | $2,692,000 | $605,000 (29 earlier) |
| Max Liebermann | Reiter in der Allee bei Sakrow Grisebach | $1,783,491 | $1,231,751 (566 earlier) |
| Ron Arad | Prototype ‘D-Sofa’ Phillips | $1,707,013 | $298,000 (55 earlier) |
| Mickalene Thomas | Portrait of Jessica Phillips | $1,542,500 | $901,200 (29 earlier) |
| Franz Wilhelm Seiwert | Wandbild für einen Fotografen Grisebach | $1,491,315 | $382,784 (27 earlier) |
| Dana Schutz | Swiss Family Traveling Phillips | $1,482,000 | $980,000 (26 earlier) |
| Loie Hollowell | First Contact Phillips | $1,404,425 | $214,200 (3 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Phillips (1,156)Van Ham (905)Lempertz (872)Toomey & Co. (659)Rago Auctions (529)Grisebach (452)Ketterer Kunst (449)Schmidt Kunstauktionen Dresden (331)Whyte's (286)Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner (248)Bonhams (236)Helmuth Stone Gallery (221)Sworders (213)Agra-Art (195)Morgan O'Driscoll (186)León Gallery (166)Pandolfini (165)Maison Bibelot (158)Leonard Joel (148)Polswiss Art (148)Lyon & Turnbull (146)deVeres (145)Sloans & Kenyon (139)Capitolium Art (132)Menzies (125)Artmark (113)Toovey's (113)Levis Fine Art Auctions (111)Arthouse Hejtmánek (108)Brunk Auctions (101)Clarke Auction Gallery (101)Morton Subastas (100)Circle Auction (97)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (96)Piguet Hôtel des Ventes (51)Cottone Auctions (49)Michaan's Auctions (29)Bogotá Auctions (13)Bid & Hammer (2)