Art auction market report: March 2023
In March 2023, ArtSell recorded 7,278 auction lots from 39 auction houses, of which 5,717 sold (79% sell-through). The 5,454 sales with a published price total $122,398,231, with a median of $1,890 (USD at the sale-date rate). The top sale was Yoshitomo Nara, “Lookin' for a Treasure”, at $10,681,652 (Phillips). 15 artists set a new high compared with every earlier result in the database.
Top sales
| # | Work | Artist | House · date | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lookin' for a Treasure, 1995 | Yoshitomo Nara | Phillips · Mar 30, 2023 | $10,681,652 (HK$83,850,000) |
| 2 | [no title], 1984 | Willem de Kooning | Phillips · Mar 2, 2023 | $7,245,240 (£6,065,500) |
| 3 | The Road, 2018 | Matthew Wong | Phillips · Mar 30, 2023 | $4,604,512 (HK$36,145,000) |
| 4 | Reflections on Brushstrokes, 1990 | Roy Lichtenstein | Phillips · Mar 30, 2023 | $2,523,596 (HK$19,810,000) |
| 5 | Home Sweet Home, 2006 | Banksy | Phillips · Mar 2, 2023 | $2,080,819 (£1,742,000) |
| 6 | Flower Parent and Child, 2018-2020 | Takashi Murakami | Phillips · Mar 30, 2023 | $1,783,715 (HK$14,002,000) |
| 7 | Sprayed Myopia, 1988 | John Chamberlain | Phillips · Mar 2, 2023 | $1,647,216 (£1,379,000) |
| 8 | Ascension, 2001 | Albert Oehlen | Phillips · Mar 2, 2023 | $1,285,879 (£1,076,500) |
| 9 | Walhalla, 2016 | Anselm Kiefer | Phillips · Mar 2, 2023 | $1,285,879 (£1,076,500) |
| 10 | Children Reading the Koran | Irma Stern | Strauss & Co · Mar 28, 2023 | $1,227,118 (ZAR 22,303,125) |
| 11 | Paysage à Villez, 1883 | Claude Monet | Phillips · Mar 30, 2023 | $1,132,497 (HK$8,890,000) |
| 12 | Threshold, 2014 | Caroline Walker | Phillips · Mar 2, 2023 | $1,107,421 (£927,100) |
| 13 | The hillsides must not know it, 2011 | Hernan Bas | Phillips · Mar 30, 2023 | $1,051,604 (HK$8,255,000) |
| 14 | Site aléatoire avec 3 personnages | Jean Dubuffet | Phillips · Mar 2, 2023 | $1,001,230 (£838,200) |
| 15 | Flagship No. 1, 1997 | Liu Ye | Phillips · Mar 30, 2023 | $889,819 (HK$6,985,000) |
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 | Willem de Kooning American | $7,245,240 | 1 | [no title] — $7,245,240 |
| 2 | Roy Lichtenstein American | $2,602,256 | 13 | Reflections on Brushstrokes — $2,523,596 |
| 3 | John Chamberlain American | $2,002,816 | 3 | Sprayed Myopia — $1,647,216 |
| 4 | Loie Hollowell American | $1,939,540 | 4 | A Gentle Meeting of Tips — $841,284 |
| 5 | Andy Warhol American | $1,494,686 | 24 | Life Savers from the series Ads — $679,498 |
| 6 | George Condo American | $974,077 | 6 | Black Dots - Playing on a Landscape — $289,319 |
| 7 | Kaws American | $941,590 | 3 | Pinch — $776,569 |
| 8 | Rashid Johnson American | $808,927 | 1 | Untitled Escape Collage — $808,927 |
| 9 | Lucy Bull American | $706,224 | 4 | False Tail — $614,784 |
| 10 | Stanley Whitney American | $691,591 | 2 | The Last Cowboy Song — $647,141 |
Top European artists
| # | Artist | Total sold | Priced sales | Top result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Banksy British | $2,080,819 | 1 | Home Sweet Home — $2,080,819 |
| 2 | Albert Oehlen German | $1,287,967 | 2 | Ascension — $1,285,879 |
| 3 | Anselm Kiefer German | $1,285,879 | 1 | Walhalla — $1,285,879 |
| 4 | Claude Monet French | $1,132,497 | 1 | Paysage à Villez — $1,132,497 |
| 5 | Damien Hirst British | $1,053,589 | 23 | Briareus — $546,125 |
| 6 | Jean Dubuffet French | $1,001,230 | 1 | Site aléatoire avec 3 personnages — $1,001,230 |
| 7 | Gerhard Richter German | $762,015 | 5 | Grün-Blau-Rot — $452,999 |
| 8 | Michaela Yearwood-Dan British | $658,571 | 2 | The Imperfection of Divinity — $335,001 |
| 9 | Heinz Mack German | $518,217 | 5 | Lamellen-Relief — $455,105 |
| 10 | Magdalena Abakanowicz Polish | $489,365 | 6 | Black Balls IV, V, VI — $343,560 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Chamberlain | Sprayed Myopia Phillips | $1,647,216 | $905,000 (84 earlier) |
| Caroline Walker | Threshold Phillips | $1,107,421 | $578,179 (16 earlier) |
| Hernan Bas | The hillsides must not know it Phillips | $1,051,604 | $484,785 (57 earlier) |
| Izumi Katō | Untitled Phillips | $728,034 | $565,406 (34 earlier) |
| Mr. | The Endless Landscape of this Reality Phillips | $647,141 | $552,722 (52 earlier) |
| Chen Ke | Outside the Window Phillips | $647,141 | $138,564 (10 earlier) |
| Joel Mesler | Untitled (Play the Hits) Phillips | $637,146 | $193,914 (15 earlier) |
| Michel Majerus | Express Phillips | $530,955 | $167,742 (31 earlier) |
| Barbara Kruger | Untitled (Time is Money) Phillips | $436,820 | $392,715 (62 earlier) |
| David Johnson | ) View of West Point from Fort Putnam, 18667 Brunk Auctions | $330,000 | $194,500 (24 earlier) |
| Gertrude Abercrombie | Dizzy Gillespie Rago Auctions | $327,600 | $209,000 (18 earlier) |
| Louise Bonnet | The Velour Jumpsuit Phillips | $307,392 | $75,600 (4 earlier) |
| Larry Bell | Cube #14 (Amber) Phillips | $258,864 | $145,275 (84 earlier) |
| Tal R | Adieu Interessant (orange) Phillips | $243,637 | $180,455 (54 earlier) |
| Albert Willem | The Big Brain Freeze 2 Phillips | $228,410 | $215,120 (6 earlier) |
Auction houses this month
Phillips (906)Toomey & Co. (594)Rago Auctions (519)Strauss & Co (363)Pandolfini (327)Bonhams (317)Davidson Auctions (298)Van Ham (284)Schmidt Kunstauktionen Dresden (270)Clarke Auction Gallery (256)Morgan O'Driscoll (254)Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) (223)Pananti (217)Art+Object (211)Agra-Art (206)Levis Fine Art Auctions (206)Brunk Auctions (163)Artmark (152)Menzies (147)deVeres (137)Sopocki Dom Aukcyjny (137)Whyte's (136)Arthouse Hejtmánek (135)Palm Beach Modern Auctions (134)Crocker Farm (117)Billings (87)Morton Subastas (80)Leonard Joel (75)Polswiss Art (72)Cottone Auctions (65)Wright (52)Haynault (48)Maison Bibelot (39)Michaan's Auctions (20)Sworders (18)Olympia Auctions (6)Bid & Hammer (4)Grisebach (2)Lyon & Turnbull (1)