Art auction market report: December 2022
In December 2022, ArtSell recorded 7,930 auction lots from 41 auction houses, of which 5,787 sold (73% sell-through). The 5,542 sales with a published price total $180,710,821, with a median of $2,811 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Max Beckmann, “Selbstbildnis gelb-rosa”, at $24,279,415 (Grisebach). 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 | $2,001,450 | 18 | Goethe — $501,553 |
| 2 | Otto Dix American | $1,469,116 | 9 | Katzen (Theodor Däubler gewidmet) — $1,029,719 |
| 3 | Kaws American | $1,133,829 | 4 | HOT SEAT JUNCTION — $1,104,714 |
| 4 | Keith Haring American | $627,644 | 4 | Subway Drawing — $527,950 |
| 5 | Stanley Whitney American | $607,143 | 1 | N. O. 9th Ward — $607,143 |
| 6 | Lucy Bull American | $598,927 | 1 | Giving Tree — $598,927 |
| 7 | Derek Fordjour American | $517,991 | 1 | Single Pivot Turn — $517,991 |
| 8 | Sol LeWitt American | $476,238 | 4 | Cube (A) — $395,963 |
| 9 | Roy Lichtenstein American | $466,405 | 9 | Water Lily Pond with Reflections — $365,890 |
| 10 | Robert Rauschenberg American | $457,093 | 7 | Untitled (Rauschenberg floating in a pool designed by Le Corbusier) — $448,758 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Beckmann German | $25,306,499 | 8 | Selbstbildnis gelb-rosa — $24,279,415 |
| 2 | Gerhard Richter German | $12,088,828 | 8 | Abstraktes Bild (774-1) — $11,482,006 |
| 3 | Karl Schmidt-Rottluff German | $8,368,596 | 20 | Lesende (Else Lasker-Schüler) — $4,286,954 |
| 4 | Ernst Ludwig Kirchner German | $8,182,195 | 43 | Das blaue Mädchen in der Sonne — $5,015,525 |
| 5 | Erich Heckel German | $3,280,390 | 25 | Figuren am Strand — $913,354 |
| 6 | Alberto Giacometti Swiss | $3,109,894 | 3 | Projet pour un monument pour Gabriel Péri. Projet pour une place — $2,819,969 |
| 7 | Max Liebermann German | $3,101,103 | 13 | Reiter am Meer nach rechts — $841,547 |
| 8 | Jan Matejko Polish | $2,838,286 | 2 | Portret córki Heleny z krogulcem, 1882/1883 — $2,830,716 |
| 9 | Emil Nolde German | $2,258,972 | 20 | Meer (D) — $1,040,062 |
| 10 | Wojciech Fangor Polish | $1,935,140 | 6 | M41 — $921,106 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Beckmann | Selbstbildnis gelb-rosa Grisebach | $24,279,415 | $6,469,547 (480 earlier) |
| Ernst Ludwig Kirchner | Das blaue Mädchen in der Sonne Ketterer Kunst | $5,015,525 | $2,307,240 (888 earlier) |
| Karl Schmidt-Rottluff | Lesende (Else Lasker-Schüler) Ketterer Kunst | $4,286,954 | $3,697,024 (604 earlier) |
| Jan Matejko | Portret córki Heleny z krogulcem, 1882/1883 Polswiss Art | $2,830,716 | $1,498,541 (75 earlier) |
| Lynn Chadwick | Sitting Figures Grisebach | $1,029,719 | $205,695 (65 earlier) |
| Ronald Ventura | Blind Mechanism León Gallery | $1,026,742 | $584,070 (76 earlier) |
| Leon Wyczółkowski | Obrazek jakich wiele Polswiss Art | $741,378 | $623,829 (169 earlier) |
| Eduard Gaertner | Blick in die Straße Unter den Linden, Ecke Charlottenstraße, mit dem Hôtel de St. Petersbourg Grisebach | $601,105 | $128,962 (9 earlier) |
| Tadeusz Kantor | Le Portrait Embaile Polswiss Art | $561,650 | $280,357 (147 earlier) |
| Rudolf Wacker | Herbststrauß mit Zitronenfalter im Kinsky | $538,573 | $428,142 (42 earlier) |
| Derek Fordjour | Single Pivot Turn Phillips | $517,991 | $195,078 (10 earlier) |
| Sol LeWitt | Cube (A) Ketterer Kunst | $395,963 | $345,517 (441 earlier) |
| Michaela Yearwood-Dan | What's the Use in Yearning Phillips | $388,493 | $267,936 (3 earlier) |
| Heinrich Hoerle | Arbeiter Lempertz | $371,781 | $223,088 (44 earlier) |
| Olga Wisinger-Florian | Im Schilf im Kinsky | $336,512 | $267,339 (27 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Bonhams (779)im Kinsky (703)Lempertz (522)Davidson Auctions (410)Grisebach (367)Ketterer Kunst (351)Phillips (310)Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (292)Pananti (286)Ravenel (262)Levis Fine Art Auctions (261)Whyte's (260)Schmidt Kunstauktionen Dresden (222)Jackson's International Auctioneers (213)Agra-Art (208)Toomey & Co. (205)Morton Subastas (194)Artmark (187)Rago Auctions (173)Sloans & Kenyon (172)Lyon & Turnbull (156)Helmuth Stone Gallery (154)León Gallery (152)Maison Bibelot (133)Pandolfini (123)Arthouse Hejtmánek (119)Capitolium Art (107)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (96)Palm Beach Modern Auctions (96)Clarke Auction Gallery (92)Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner (84)Anderson & Garland (75)Polswiss Art (71)Haynault (27)Elstob & Elstob (27)Michaan's Auctions (17)Strauss & Co (14)Piguet Hôtel des Ventes (5)Sworders (2)Leonard Joel (2)Farsettiarte (1)