The Modern evening sale at Sotheby’s managed to end on a better note, bringing $235 million in sales.
The star of the show was Meules à Giverny (1893) by Claude Monet. The painting was sold for $34.8 million, including fees. Reportedly, this was in line with the unrevealed presale estimate of $30million+. Another breakout star was Leonora Carrington, who Les Distractions de Dragobert (1945) unexpectedly found itself as a center of attraction. It ended up being sold for $28.5 million – far surpassing the previous record of $3.25 million for the artist. It also passed the presale estimate of $12 million -$18 million by a huge margin. The buyer was identified as Eduardo Constantini, an Argentinian businessman.
However, for the most part during the sale, things didn’t look as cheerful. Out of the 50 works being offered in the lots, 32 came with guarantees or irrevocable bids. Two works, by Georges Braque and Sam Francis, were withdrawn before the auction began. Many blue-chip works, including two paintings by Picasso, ended up fetching lower prices than their presale estimates.
Also Read: Australian Billionaire Urges Removal Of Unflattering Portrait From National Gallery
But despite all the hiccups, the evening sale managed to fetch a total of $285 million. As the first auction of the season, this held important significance. Other good sells of the evening were Le Banquet (circa 1955 to 1957) by René Magritte (which sold for a final price of $18.1 million against an upper estimate of $20 million) and Monet’s Antibes vue de la Salis (1888) which sold for $14.1 million for fees (against an upper estimate of $18 million.
