Picasso, “Musketeer with Pipe,” 1968, sold for $14.64 million
I didn’t stand watch at Christie’s tonight with the rest of the art-scribe tribe, but it seems clear from the results of this evening’s Impressionist/Modern sale that gloating must have occurred at the post-sale press conference: Some 38 of the 48 lots offered found buyers—about the same sold-lot percentage as at the 36-work sale conducted at Sotheby’s the night before.
But unlike Sotheby’s, where some of the highest-estimated lots were left stranded on the block (resulting in a dismal sold percentage, by dollar amount, of only 58.8%), Christie’s hit its marks where it counted, most notably with its top-lot Picasso, above, hammered down at $13 million, against a very broad presale estimate range of $12-18 million. The Picasso’s final price was $14.64 million with buyer’s premium (which is not included in the estimate).
Although both auction houses, stung by the recession, are now largely refraining from offering guarantees to consignors, Christie’s disclosed that it had “a direct financial interest” in the Picasso. The entry for that lot stated:
On occasion, Christie’s has a direct financial interest in lots consigned for sale
which may include guaranteeing a minimum price or making an advance to
the consignor that is secured solely by consigned property. This is
such a lot. This indicates both in cases where Christie’s holds the
financial interest on its own, and in cases where Christie’s has
financed all or a part of such interest through a third party. Such
third parties generally benefit financially if a guaranteed lot is sold
successfully and may incur a loss if the sale is not successful.
Whoever the “third party” (if there was one) may have been, it’s clear that a certain dealer now hosting a major, acclaimed show (to June 6) of Picasso’s “Mosqueteros”, can only benefit from this solid auction showing. In his forward to the voluminous catalogue for that show, its curator, Picasso biographer John Richardson, revealed that Gagosian’s exhibition “consists largely of works belonging to members of the artist’s family.” The allure of whatever works are available for purchase from that show can only be enhanced by today’s swashbuckling musketeer exploit.
Lindsay Pollock and Philip Boroff of Bloomberg report that the buyer of “Musketeer” was Guillaume Vedovi, “a Belgian
dealer, on behalf of a client he declined to name.”
An auction record for Tamara de Lempicka was set when Portrait of Madame M. sold for $6.3 million. Another highly touted work in Christie’s catalogue, a Max Ernst (which was to have been the second highest-estimated lot at $7-9 million) was withdrawn before the sale.
The total hammer price tonight was $89.48 million, within the presale estimate of $87.6-125.2 million. (The sold total was $102.77 million with premium). Sotheby’s sale yesterday fell far short of its $81.5-118.8 million estimate range, fetching only $52.95 million ($61.37 million with premium).
I’m going to be traveling and probably not posting at the time of next week’s evening contemporary sales, so I’ll be reading Bloomberg‘s Pollock/Boroff, the NY Times‘ Carol Vogel and the Wall Street Journal‘s Kelly Crow, along with the rest of you.