Displaying items by tag: world record

While world media was abuzz with the world-record breaking sale of Picasso’s "Les femmes d’Alger" for $179 million at Christie’s, another anonymous buyer took home the most expensive statue ever auctioned.

That anonymous buyer turned out to be hedge fund billionaire Steven Cohen, Page Six reports.

“175 Masterworks To Celebrate 175 Years of Photography: Property from Joy of Giving Something Foundation" auction held at Sotheby's New York on December 11th and 12th, broke the world record for a photography auction. The sale was drawn from a collection gathered by the late American financier Howard Stein. The auction grossed the grand sum of $21,325,063, or £13,591,629 - beating its presale estimate of $13–20 million, or £8.2 - £12.7 million. The sale greatly surpassed the previous record, set in 2006 by a Sotheby's sale of photographs from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which reached the total of $15 million, or £9.5 million.

The auction also set a number of artist's records. The top lot, an impressionistic view of Venice by Alvin Langdon Coburn ("Shadows and Reflections, Venice," 1905) fetched the staggering sum of $965,000, or £614,726.

A rare 16th-17th century blue-and-white Chinese porcelain “dragon box” and cover has sold for more than 140 times its AU$1000-$2000 presale estimate during the Bonhams Australia June 22 Asian Art sale in Sydney.

The final price of $146,400 (IBP) is an Australian auction record for the category. It could also be a world record, however the high volume of blue-and-white Chinese porcelain sold at auction internationally makes verifying this almost impossible.      

According to Bonhams, the bidding contest came down to two Asian collectors, one in the room and another online. The winning bid was placed by the collector in the room.

A new world auction record price per carat for any sapphire was set tonight at Sotheby’s New York, when an Exceptional Platinum, Kashmir Sapphire and Diamond Ring sold for $5,093,000 / $180,731 per carat (est. $4/5 million). The square emerald-cut Kashmir sapphire weighing 28.18 carats is one of the finest sapphires ever to appear at auction, described by the American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) as “a gem of singular importance.”

On November 12, Christie’s Evening Sale of Post-War and Contemporary Art in New York achieved an unprecedented $691,583,000 – the highest total for any auction in art market history. The top lot was Francis Bacon’s triptych, Three Studies of Lucian Freud, which garnered $142,405,000, a world record for any artwork ever sold at auction.

The highly anticipated painting, which was was expected to sell for $85 million to $95 million, portrays Lucien Freud, Bacon’s friend and fellow artist. Executed in 1969, the work is one of Bacon’s most important paintings and unites two of the most significant figurative artists of the 20^th century.

The sale set ten new world auction record prices for Bacon, Jeff Koons, Christopher Wool, Lucio Fontana, Donald Judd, Wade Guyton, Vija Celmins, Ad Reinhardt, Willem de Kooning and Wayne Thiebaud. Three works sold for over $50 million, 16 went for above $10 million, and 56 works exceeded $1 million. In addition, Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog (Orange) achieved $58,405,000, a new world auction record for a living artist and the most expensive contemporary sculpture ever sold.

Brett Gorvy, Chairman and International Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art at Christie’s, said, “We are thrilled to announce an historic total of $691.6 million for this evening’s sale of Post-War and Contemporary Art. It is the second time this year that Christie’s has broken the highest total in auction history. Collectors from 42 countries registered tonight with strong bidding from American, European and Asian collectors but also from institutions. The sale was heavily focused on icons and masterworks, achieving an astonishing 10 record prices and breaking the record for any work of art ever sold at auction. Beyond the records, 10,000 art lovers flocked to Christie’s galleries in the last week to engage with and enjoy the remarkable selection of artworks on display.”

On November 6, Sotheby’s held an evening sale of Impressionist and modern art in New York, which realized a shocking $290 million. It was the auction house’s most successful sale behind a May 2012 auction, which included a version of Edvard Munch’s The Scream that sold for a record $120 million.

 The sale, which surpassed its low estimate of $212.9 million but fell short of its $307.9 million high estimate, included new world auction records for six artists. Highlights included Alberto Giacometti’s Grande tete mince (Grande tete de Diego), the evening’s top lot, which achieved $50 million; Pablo Picasso’s portrait of Marie-Therese Walter, Tete de feme, which garnered nearly $40 million, exceeding its high estimate of 30 million; and Claude Monet’s Impressionist masterpiece Glacons, effet blanc, which sailed past its high estimate of $14 million and sold for approximately $16 million.

Simon Shaw, head of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art department, said, “Tonight’s results speak for themselves and today’s efficient marketplace – collectors have a remarkable understanding not only of quality, but also of value. The key is matching their discerning taste with the right combination of fresh material and responsible estimates, and we did that this evening.”

On November 12, 2013, Christie’s New York will offer a monumental abstract painting by Mark Rothko during its Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening sale. The last time a Rothko of this magnitude was offered at auction was May 2012 when Orange, Red, Yellow sold for a record $86.6 million at Christie’s.

Untitled (No. 11) has resided in the same collection for two decades. Prior to its acquisition in 1992, the work was featured in a number of retrospectives including exhibitions at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, the Neue National-Galerie in Dusseldorf, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Untitled (No. 11) is expected to garner between $25 million and $35 million.

Brett Gorvy, Chairman and International Head of Post-War & Contemporary Art at Christie’s, said, “After the auction record set in May 2012 for Orange, Red, Yellow, from the Pincus Collection, we are delighted to present Untitled (No. 11) as one of the highlights of Christie’s November evening sale. The demand for masterworks by Rothko is probably the most international amongst all the artists we sell, with strong bidding consistently from the Americas, Europe, Asia, Russia and the Middle-East. Untitled (No. 11) is remarkable for its incredible beauty, intensity of color and inner light - the very hallmarks of Rothko’s prime period. The monumental scale allows viewers to be completely enveloped by the colors and its sensations.”

Untitled (No. 11) will go on view in London before traveling to New York in November.

A “flawless” white diamond the size of a small egg sold for $30.6 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on October 7, setting the world record for a white diamond at auction. The previous auction record was set in May when a white diamond sold at Christie’s in Geneva for $26.7 million.

Mined two years ago in Africa, the 118-carat oval white diamond was the object of two phone bidders’ pleas. After six minutes, one of the bidders dropped out. The stone was estimated to sell for between $28 million and $35 million. The 330-lot auction, which netted $95 million in total, also included a 7.6-carat flawless, round, vivid blue diamond, which carried an estimate of $19 million. Unfortunately, that gem failed to find a buyer.

The world record for a jewel at auction was set in 2010 when London jeweler Laurence Graff paid $46 million for a 24.8-carat “fancy intense pink” diamond. The record could be shattered in November when Sotheby’s is slated to offer a 59.60-carat pink diamond that is expected to sell for over $60 million in Geneva.