A Jean-Michel Basquiat painting was the star of an evening sale at Philips Hong Kong, selling for $12.6 million.
The 1982 work Native Carrying Some Guns, Bibles, Amorites on Safari had a pre-sale estimate of $12 million. Selling for $12.6 million including fees, the painting barely made over the lower end of the estimate. Despite this, the work was the most expensive work sold not just at the Philips auction but anywhere in Hong Kong this season. Meiling Lee (Head of Modern and Contemporary Arts, Philips Asia) said: “These outstanding results confirm our unwavering dedication to Basquiat’s legacy and truly showed all of which we are capable.”
Jean-Michel Basquiat has been exceptionally lucky for the mega auction house lately. Another 1982 work by Basquiat, Untitled (ELMAR) was sold for $46.5 million at the modern and contemporary art evening sale held at Philips New York earlier in May. The painting was the most expensive work sold in that auction. Another Basquiat painting, Untitled (Portrait of a Famous Ballplayer) (1981) was sold for $7.8 million in the same auction. The three sales in May have re-affirmed Basquiat’s position as one of the most in-demand blue-chip artists.
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The modern and contemporary art evening sale at Philips Hong Kong managed to fetch $26.8 million in sales. Excluding the Basquiat, the rest of the sales were a relatively tame affair. Leopard and Lamb (2016) by Banksy was sold for $4.7 million while two works by Yayoi Kusama were sold for $3.3 million and $1.7 million respectively. The auction had a sell-through rate of 96 percent – a noticeable improvement over last season.
