Given the relative paucity of content in the sales this term, there was a general ‘end of term’ sentiment going into the season. Sotheby’s did a commendable job assembling their sales without the hype of the duopoly-driven seasons of previous years, but as in 2024, only one of the big two (Sotheby’s) offered a major series. As such, the atmosphere in London felt noticeably subdued.
Phillip’s did their best to fill the gap, but the quality was certainly lacking on their part. With Christie’s choosing to hold a large Evening Sale in October, during the same week as Frieze London and Frieze Masters, it’s understandable why some potential buyers stayed away from the June previews. For my part, I think it’s a shame. The June sales were always a highlight of the calendar, drawing collectors from across the globe to Ascot, Henley, and Wimbledon. In sync with a little retail therapy, the auctions were a lovely cultural addition. Who knows, if the government relaxes regulation and starts to embrace the art world more fully, it might be possible to regain our place in the international calendar. But for now, I do worry about London’s cachet, especially compared with New York and, whisper it, Paris.
The Sotheby’s Evening Sale (£62,000,000 incl. premium) was quiet but focused, with few bidding battles for Helena Newman to animate. Still, the good pictures sold; and the best examples achieved exceptional prices. There was no hesitation in the market for female artists: Marlow Moss, Tamara de Lempicka, and Jenny Saville were all represented by works that soared well above their estimate ranges.
I find Jenny Saville’s work compelling, though sometimes formulaic, with her work Juncture (£5,400,000) showing a woman’s flesh yet again pressed up against the picture plane: a dominant motif. However, her self-portrait (Mirror) in charcoal, brave, striking, and rich in art historical resonance from Titian to Picasso, was outstanding and deserved every penny of its £2,100,000 result. Marlow Moss, a fascinating artist deeply indebted to de Stijl icon Piet Mondrian (and not, as is sometimes assumed, a follower of Ben Nicholson), was represented by a rare 1944 work executed in Cornwall. White, Black, Blue and Red fetched £609,000; well deserved for such a rare and brilliant piece.
Other highlights included de Lempicka’s sensual tour de force La Belle Rafaëla, which made £7,500,000, and one of the best pictures of the sale, and perhaps the most under-hyped, Picasso’s late Nu assis sur un fauteuil, which realised an impressive £7,100,000. For a small painting of that date, it was a remarkable achievement. The sale also offered strong Impressionist material, including works by Monet, Sisley, and Pissarro, though these mostly sold at or just above their low estimates. In hindsight, NYC might have provided a more competitive platform. Still, it created opportunities, the Sisley of St. Cloud was a terrific buy at under £500,000.
Among the major Contemporary works, a strong Jean-Michel Basquiat Untitled: Indian Head work on paper sold for £6,600,000, a substantial price for such a slight piece. Personally, I think the best way to buy Basquiat is to focus on top-tier works on paper (pastel or oil stick), rather than overpaying for second-rate paintings. Several works by Roy Lichtenstein were also on offer, including a particularly elegant 1975 Purist Still Life with Pitcher, Ozenfant-like in its refinement, which fetched £3,100,000. While Lichtenstein’s cartoonish style is sometimes seen as overexposed or derivative, his significance to the Pop movement is undeniable.
Over at Phillips, the star of the show was a vast collection of Christo’s work, covering nearly every project from his career. Prices reached up to £250,000, and it was a textbook case of low estimates encouraging competition and driving bidding. Other successes included Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s group painting Pearl for a Mackerel, which sold for £350,000, and a strong collage by Basquiat, which made £4,900,000, well above expectations.
A significant frustration shared by many in the trade, and private bidders, was Sotheby’s last-minute decision to split their Modern sale on the morning of the auction. Personally, I found it especially frustrating, as this forced them to delay the sale of a major privately owned collection until this week, 3rd July, reportedly due to a shift in the consignor’s financial position.
While I believe the new sale may still do well given the notably low estimates, I worry that the scheduling disruption will sap momentum. Without the magnetism of a strong single-owner collection, the revised sale didn’t perform badly, and some top lots did well: Henry Moret’s dramatic seascape made £260,000 and Loiseau’s fabulous ‘Frehel’ also fetched £270,000.
The unexpected resurgence of post-Impressionist material caught some by surprise, but as is so often the case, painterly quality shines through. After all, when faced with a Beeple NFT or a Monet seascape, I know which one I’d choose, every time.
As ever, please do use a good art advisor when purchasing expensive works of art as this will help you avoid the pitfalls and make the process fun and, most importantly, stress free.