PARIS.- Bringing a remarkable week in Paris to a close, Sotheby's achieved its highest ever total for a series of marquee auctions in the city, with an overall total of 137.7m / $154.6m.
Today's sales of Modernités and Surrealism & Its Legacy realised a combined total of 63.2m / $70.9m. The results follow yesterday's record-breaking auction of The Schlumberger Collection, which realised 74.4m / $83.7m.
Overarching Figures:
Combined total for the week: 137.7m / $154.6m (est. 97-138m)
Combined total for Modernités and Surrealism & Its Legacy: 63.2m / $70.9m (est. 59.2-86m)
Seven artists set new benchmarks for the market: Frantiek Kupka, Richard Prince, Mark Grotjahn, Gabriel Orozco, Wolfgang Tillmans, Victor Brauner, Vilhelm Hammershøi
Modernités:
Sale total: 38.6m / $43.4m (est. 32.8-48m)
Key Results:
Frantiek Kupka's Espace non-descriptif sold for 9m / $10.1m (est. 6-8m), establishing a new auction record for the artist in France and the second highest price ever achieved for a work by Kupka at auction.
The largest work by the artist to be offered at auction in almost 30 years.
Pursued by eight bidders, Alberto Giacometti's Tête crâne quadrupled its low estimate, selling for 8.7m / $9.7m (est. 2-4m).
The first appearance at auction of a Tête crâne, the vast majority being held in major museum collections worldwide.
The sale opened to an extraordinary duo of works from the former Claude et Georges Pompidou Collection:
Sonia Delaunay's Nature morte portugaise doubled its high estimate, totalling 614,400 / $690,186 (est. 200,000-300,000).
Nicolas de Staël's Les toits de Paris sold for 563,200 / $632,671 (est. 300,000-500,000).
A group of six preparatory gouaches for Marc Chagall's seminal series of Le Cirque, coming directly from the estate of the artist, brought in a total 4m / $4.5m, surpassing their combined high estimate (est. 2.6-3.5m).
Pablo Picasso's Tête d'homme, profil achieved 3.6m / $4.1m (est. 3-4m).
Further New Benchmarks:
Richard Prince's You No Tell - I No Tell achieved 1.1m / $1.8m (est. 1-1.5m) - a record for a work by the artist sold at auction in France.
Mark Grotjahn's Untitled (Full Color Butterfly 41.81) achieved a new benchmark for a work on paper by the artist sold at auction in France, at 499,200 / $560,776 (est. 400,000-600,000).
Gabriel Orozco's Samurai Tree (Invariant 20D) sold for 448,000 / $503,261 (est. 300,000-500,000) - a record for a work by the artist sold at auction in France.
Wolfgang Tillmans' Greifbar 53 realised 243,200 / $273,100 (est. 150,000-200,000) - a record for a work by the artist sold at auction in France.
Sovekammer (Bedroom Interior), the first work by Vilhelm Hammershøi to sell at auction in France, sold for 307,200 / $345,093 (est. 250,000-350,000).
Surrealism & Its Legacy:
Sale total: 24.6m / $27.5m (est. 24.6-35.5m)
Key Results:
Joan Miró's La Tige de la fleur rouge pousse vers la lune, dating from a period of fertile exchange between Miró and the emerging generation of American Abstract Expressionists, achieved 5.7m / $6.4m (est. 4.5-6.5m).
Victor Brauner's TOT IN TOT et La grande Métamorphose sold for 1m / $1.2m (est. 800,000-1.2m) - a new auction record for the artist.
A second work by the artist, Sevrage du moi (Mamans barattant le lait pour en extraire les "moi") also surpassed the artist's previous auction record, achieving 896,000 / 1m (est. 800,000-1.2m).
Appearing at auction for the first time, Alexander Calder's Mobile realised 3.4m / $3.8m (est. 2-3m).
The auction opened with Max Ernst's Le Torse ailé which realised 1.2m / $1.3m - almost 4 times its high estimate (est. 200,000-300,000).
Leonor Fini's L'il du poisson doubled its low estimate to bring 448,000 / $503,261 (est. 200,000-300,000).