The first-ever auction at Sotheby’s dedicated entirely to Surrealism art brought €33 million ($36.7 million) with premium, making it a successful event.
The event, held on Wednesday, saw 24 artworks going on the auction block. In the end, 23 ended up getting sold, achieving a near-perfect sell-through rate. With a final hammer amount of €27.1 million ($30.1 million), the auction brought in just above its pre-sale estimate of $29.2 million.
The star lot of the auction was Pavonia (1929) by Francis Picabia. The fantasy-like artwork saw fierce bidding from five bidders, ultimately fetching a hammer price of €8.5 million ($7.7 million) – a new record for the artist. Other works in the auction, however, fetched around the same amount as their pre-sale estimates. These include L’O et l’U de l’oiseau (1928) by Hans Arp sold for $3.8 million, Nu de dos (1942), again by Picabia, fetching $3.6 million. Three works by artist René Magritte – Le paysage fantôme, Le bon temps, and La Jaconda – fetched a total of $5.7 million.
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In recent years, Surrealist art has seen a steady increase in both attention and demand. While Christie’s have had dedicated auctions for the art movement since 2001, other auction houses were late to the party. But the strong market response to Surrealist artworks has re-affirmed the consistent demand. Just last month, L’empire des lumières by Magritte fetched a record-breaking $79.8 million at another Sotheby’s auction. Surrealism will also be the focus at the 2022 Venice Biennale being held next month.
