Art auction market report: November 2021
In November 2021, ArtSell recorded 9,006 auction lots from 41 auction houses, of which 7,073 sold (79% sell-through). The 7,032 sales with a published price total $332,453,158, with a median of $2,021 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Francis Bacon, “'Pope with Owls'”, at $33,000,000 (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 | Joan Mitchell American | $11,870,000 | 1 | Untitled — $11,870,000 |
| 2 | Jean-Michel Basquiat American | $10,999,500 | 2 | Untitled (The Door) — $8,549,500 |
| 3 | Alexander Calder American | $8,346,817 | 7 | White Moon — $4,628,000 |
| 4 | Georgia O'Keeffe American | $7,748,000 | 1 | Crab’s Claw Ginger Hawaii — $7,748,000 |
| 5 | Andy Warhol American | $7,146,761 | 18 | The Last Supper/Be a Somebody with a Body — $6,806,000 |
| 6 | George Condo American | $6,481,438 | 8 | Collision Course — $2,450,000 |
| 7 | Raymond Pettibon American | $5,818,145 | 4 | No Title (Let him come...) — $3,418,000 |
| 8 | Kaws American | $5,741,878 | 10 | THE WAY HE KNOWS — $1,542,500 |
| 9 | Avery Singer American | $4,136,400 | 2 | European Ego Ideal — $4,023,000 |
| 10 | Amy Sherald American | $3,902,000 | 1 | Welfare Queen — $3,902,000 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francis Bacon British | $33,015,000 | 2 | 'Pope with Owls' — $33,000,000 |
| 2 | Gerhard Richter German | $19,139,557 | 5 | Kerzenschein (Candle-light) — $13,077,653 |
| 3 | Cecily Brown British | $6,140,500 | 1 | Untitled — $6,140,500 |
| 4 | Pierre Bonnard French | $4,991,000 | 1 | Panier de fruit — $4,991,000 |
| 5 | Zao Wou-ki French | $4,833,453 | 4 | 20.3.64. — $2,825,348 |
| 6 | Nicolas Party Swiss | $3,928,618 | 2 | Still Life — $2,204,618 |
| 7 | Javier Calleja Spanish | $3,521,005 | 5 | 30 works: Untitled — $1,552,851 |
| 8 | Emil Filla Czech | $2,698,080 | 4 | Head of an Old Man — $1,425,600 |
| 9 | František Kupka Czech | $2,249,280 | 1 | Man and Earth (set of 106 illustrations) — $2,249,280 |
| 10 | Jack Butler Yeats Irish | $1,749,924 | 7 | SHOUTING — $1,578,640 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Francis Bacon | 'Pope with Owls' Phillips | $33,000,000 | $28,165,000 (138 earlier) |
| Gerhard Richter | Kerzenschein (Candle-light) Phillips | $13,077,653 | $12,255,537 (1054 earlier) |
| Joan Mitchell | Untitled Phillips | $11,870,000 | $11,297,500 (51 earlier) |
| Georgia O'Keeffe | Crab’s Claw Ginger Hawaii Phillips | $7,748,000 | $43,750 (4 earlier) |
| Cecily Brown | Untitled Phillips | $6,140,500 | $2,303,262 (34 earlier) |
| Pierre Bonnard | Panier de fruit Phillips | $4,991,000 | $820,720 (68 earlier) |
| Raymond Pettibon | No Title (Let him come...) Phillips | $3,418,000 | $88,200 (164 earlier) |
| Nicolas Party | Still Life Phillips | $2,204,618 | $780,127 (37 earlier) |
| Claude Monet | Pavots dans un vase de Chine Phillips | $1,739,070 | $1,530,187 (6 earlier) |
| Jack Butler Yeats | SHOUTING Whyte's | $1,578,640 | $1,541,120 (543 earlier) |
| Javier Calleja | 30 works: Untitled Phillips | $1,552,851 | $843,264 (31 earlier) |
| Auguste Rodin | Le Baiser, 1ère réduction dite aussi "réduction n°1" Phillips | $1,506,296 | $1,478,074 (74 earlier) |
| Shara Hughes | Inside Outside Phillips | $1,482,000 | $1,195,736 (35 earlier) |
| Michael Parekōwhai | A peak in Darien Art+Object | $1,441,727 | $151,247 (115 earlier) |
| Emil Filla | Head of an Old Man Galerie Kodl | $1,425,600 | $957,235 (96 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Phillips (948)Strauss & Co (830)Auktionshaus Mehlis (530)Van Ham (444)Bonhams (424)Toomey & Co. (411)Pandolfini (385)Lempertz (361)Levis Fine Art Auctions (360)Art+Object (351)Pananti (299)Morgan O'Driscoll (248)Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner (247)Artmark (231)Helmuth Stone Gallery (219)Lyon & Turnbull (217)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (216)Galerie Kodl (195)HAUS Galerii (172)Sworders (164)Leonard Joel (161)Whyte's (154)Brunk Auctions (129)Morton Subastas (126)Sloans & Kenyon (123)Clarke Auction Gallery (120)im Kinsky (89)Cottone Auctions (89)Toovey's (87)Crocker Farm (83)deVeres (81)Rago Auctions (77)Palm Beach Modern Auctions (76)Smith & Singer (68)Michaan's Auctions (61)Agra-Art (60)Art Auction East Africa (53)Wright (48)Olympia Auctions (35)Grisebach (30)Maison Bibelot (4)