LONDON.- Sotheby’s Made in Britain auction – the fourth sale of its kind, dedicated to celebrating the diversity and creativity of British art from 1900 to the present day – realised a total of 2,115,592, exceeding pre-sale expectations (est. 1,164,150-1,742,550). The artworks presented in this sale illustrated the significant role that Britain played in the development of modernism internationally – across Fine Art, Prints, Sculpture, Photography, Studio Ceramics, and Design.
The sale was led by Patrick Heron’s explosive exploration of colour Violet Painting with Orange, Lemon and Black: 1964, which sold for 87,500 (est. 40,000-60,000) and an intimate painting of Three Children by L.S. Lowry that brought 77,500 (est. 40,000-60,000). An important early vase by Grayson Perry was acquired by the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.
Nine artist records at auction were achieved*, including for painters Ian Davenport and Julian Trevelyan, photographers Mike Figgis and Patrick Lichfield, along with a benchmark for a work by Gary Bunt. Of almost 250 lots offered, 86.5% found buyers and over 72% of lots soared above their pre-sale high estimates. With estimates starting at just 200, the sale attracted more than 400 registrants, with 18% of the buyers new to Sotheby’s.
Works from the previously unseen collection of Michael Goff, the much-loved author and driving force behind the Booker prize, gave an insight to the art and literature of London in the 1950s. The group reached 333,750 (est. 157,400-243,500), led by hitherto unrecorded Garden of Gethsamane painted by David Bomberg in 1926 that brought 75,000 (est. 30,000-50,000).
The selection of photographs in the auction brought to life the glamorous worlds of British film, photography and fashion, selling for 148,125. Mike Figgis’ shot of Kate Moss descending a staircase in 2007 for lingerie brand Agent Provocateur sold for a record 22,500 (est. 8,000-12,000).
Ceramics in the sale achieved a grand total of 148,000 (est. 58,050-86,550), reaffirming the recent insatiable demand in the market for British studio ceramics. These were led by an important early vase by Grayson Perry, the brilliantly witty But What am I Supposed to Wear to the Surface Decoration Ball! (est. 20,000-30,000), and Dame Lucie Rie’s mesmerising Green Bowl with Oxide Decoration (est. 12,000-18,000), both of which soared above estimates to 40,000.
The exciting group of British prints included in the sale were led by Lucian Freud’s Garden in Winter, an intense depiction of nature that sold for 60,000. Two butterfly screenprints with diamond dust by Damien Hirst achieved a strong price at 37,500. The auction also revealed a lesser known side of celebrated sculptor Henry Moore, as one of Britain's greatest draughtsmen. An impressive group of works on paper and prints totalled an above estimate result of 55,256.
