A Slow Night at Sotheby’s

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

Eight to $10 million dollars for a lesser Lichtenstein? No, thank you, said buyers at last night’s postwar and contemporary art sale at Sotheby’s. The sale came in at the low end of its estimate –– $110,645,000 was the total hammer price –– reflecting a new element of discrimination in the often giddy world of the contemporary art market.

Prime works still went for high prices. One telephone bidder, bidding with Sotheby’s managing director, Daryl Wickstrom, bought the evening’s two highest-priced paintings: Francis Bacon’s “Version No. 2 of Lying Figure With Hypodermic Syringe,” for a hammer price of $13.4 million, and Willem de Kooning’s “Untitled XXX,” for a hammer price of $9.5 million. And some contemporary works inspired great interest. A 1999 Anish Kapoor sculpture estimated at $350,000$–$400,000 sold for $2 million, an auction record for the artist.

But buyers rejected several works by major artists that had inflated estimates: two Warhols, a Brice Marden, a David Smith, a Donald Judd, and that Lichtenstein (“Head – Yellow and Black”). “They weren’t of the highest quality,” the art consultant Avi Spira said. “They weren’t iconic works, and they were given iconic estimates.” Mr. Spira added: “It’s a seller’s market, so some of the sellers probably forced Sotheby’s to put the estimates high.”

The Warhols that didn’t sell were “Avanti Cars” (estimated at $1.8 million–$2.5 million), and “Dolly Parton” (estimated at $1 million–$1.5 million). “Seven hundred thousand? Seven hundred thousand?” Sotheby’s auctioneer, Tobias Meyer, called out repeatedly. “Are we all done? No[ital] ‘Dolly Parton,’ at $700,000?”

Anticipation of Christie’s sale tonight no doubt caused some buyers to hold back. Several major Warhols will go on the block at Christie’s, including a “Mao,” an “Orange Marilyn,” and a “Jackie.” And some Warhols –– a James Cagney and a “Flowers” ––brought good prices last night.

The prices for contemporary artists like Lisa Yuskavage, Barnaby Furnas, and Peter Doig also reflected a new atmosphere of restraint. These artists sold either at the lower end of or below their estimates.”I think you saw a little bit of a pullback, especially on the contemporary,” Mr. Spira said.


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