On Tuesday, Christie's opened London's spring sale season with a 20th and 21st century evening auction that achieved £106.1m (£128m with fees) from 64 lots. The Art of the Surreal sale,
which immediately followed, took home £31.7m (£38.9m with fees) from 30 lots. While these numbers may seem impressive, they fall short of last year's equivalent evening sale at Christie's London, which brought in £155.8m (£182.6m with fees) from six fewer lots.
According to Keith Gill, Christie's head of Impressionist and Modern art, the lower total is due to a lack of major works in this year's sales. Last year's sale included two lots with estimates in excess of £30m and a further two in excess of £10m, while this year's sales had only one such lot - Picasso's Femme dans un rocking-chair (Jacqueline) (1956) - with an eight-figure estimate of £15m-£20m.
Gill remains optimistic about the market, however, stating that Brexit and other political turmoil in the UK are "not having any real impact on our sales." He credits European, Middle Eastern and African buyers with keeping the market afloat and says that the sales' "internationally attended" preview is a sign that "there is still demand from Europe to buy in London."
Tessa Lord, Christie's interim head of post-war and contemporary evening sales, also weighed in on the sales. She says that the increased number of lots in this year's sales was not an attempt to fill them up to achieve similar totals compared to last year. Instead, it was a decision made following the success of the record-breaking Paul G. Allen sale in New York in November.
The sell-through rate for both sales was 89% by lot, with guaranteed lots making up 28% of the sale. Three works were withdrawn: a bronze sculpture by Rodin, and paintings by Rudolf Stingel and Edgar Degas.
Despite the lower overall total, the Art of the Surreal sale made records for lesser-known figures in the movement such as Wolfgang Paalen and Oscar Dominguez. This indicates that while the market may be lacking major works, there is still demand for more niche pieces.
Overall, while this year's sales may not have been as impressive as last year's, the market remains strong and buyers from around the world continue to be interested in acquiring pieces from London's spring sale season. Photo by Christies1766, Wikimedia commons.