SOTHEBY'S New York | +1 212 606 7176 | Lauren Gioia | Lauren.Gioia@Sothebys.com| Darrell Rocha | Darrell.Rocha@Sothebys.com
Dan Abernethy | Dan.Abernethy@Sothebys.com
London | +44 (0)20 7293 6000 | Matthew Weigman | Matthew.Weigman@sothebys.com| Mitzi Mina | Mitzi.Mina@Sothebys.com
Hong Kong | Winnie Tang | +852 2822 8129 | Winnie.Tang@Sothebys.com
Collectors' Insatiable Appetite for Art Drives Sotheby's New York Auctions of Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary Art And Mellon Masterworks to
$1.06 Billion / £667.9 Million / HK$8.25 Billion
SOTHEBY'S ACHIEVES THE HIGHEST PRICE ACROSS ALL AUCTION HOUSES THIS YEAR: GIACOMETTI'S CHARIOT SELLS FOR
$101 MILLION / £63.1 Million / HK$782.8 Million
New York Sales Attract Nearly 1,900 Participants, Over 15% Registering to Bid Online
SOTHEBY'S MARKS FOURTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR AS LEADERS IN IMPRESSIONIST & MODERN ART
- Nine Works Sell for Over $30 Million -
NEW YORK, 14 November 2014 -- As the curtain falls on a ground-breaking nine days for the art market, Sotheby's marquee sales in New York during this period have reached an outstanding final tally of over $1 billion. Over the course of the city's busiest auction season to date, Sotheby's sales attracted an unprecedented 1,900 participants from all corners of the globe, over a fifth of whom registered to bid online. As 43 Masterworks from the collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon soared over estimate, collectors also vied for once-in-a-life time opportunities to own pinnacle works by Alberto Giacometti, Amedeo Modigliani, Vincent van Gogh, Mark Rothko, Jasper Johns and many others, with nine works selling for over $30 million.
Bill Ruprecht, Sotheby's President, Chairman and CEO, said: "We have just witnessed nine days that are unrivalled in the history of the art market. We saw demand for great works coming from nearly
50 countries and unprecedented digital engagement, with more than 15% of our auction participants registering to bid online. And yet, there are still many treasures that remain in our 2014 sales - including an iconic work by Georgia O'Keeffe and The Collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon in New York, one of the last great Turner masterpieces remaining in private hands headlining Old Masters Week in London and four days of events, exhibitions and sales in Beijing."
IMPRESSIONIST & MODERN ART
4 & 5 NOVEMBER
• Sotheby's spectacular November auctions of Impressionist & Modern Art totaled an exceptional $470 million / £293.9 million / HK$3.64 billion (est. $363.1 / 490.7 million), including the Evening Sale that achieved the highest result for any auction in Company history*
o Sotheby's has led the market for Impressionist & Modern Art worldwide for the last three years, and will do so again in 2014
o The November sales bookend a very strong year for Impressionist & Modern Art at Sotheby's, which opened this February with an Evening Sale that totaled $266.6 million - the highest total for any auction at Sotheby's London
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• Alberto Giacometti's legendary Chariot is the second sculpture in auction history to cross
$100 million, achieving $100,965,000 / £63,130,745 / HK$782,795,782 - the highest price achieved by any auction house this season
• Amedeo Modigliani's totemic goddess Tête established a new world auction record for the artist, selling for $70,725,000 / £44,222,473 / HK$548,340,828
• Vincent van Gogh's Still Life, Vase with Daisies and Poppies sold for $61,765,000 /
£38,620,021 / HK$478,872,693 to an Asian private collector, marking a new auction record for any still life by the artist, as well as the highest auction price for Van Gogh since 1998
1 work over $100 million
3 works over $50 million
5 works over $20 million
49 works over $1 million
PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF MRS. PAUL MELLON:MASTERWORKS
10 NOVEMBER
• Sotheby's 'White Glove' auction (100% sold by lot) offering a curated selection of the most significant fine art from the Collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon totaled $158,737,250 /
£99,797,088 / HK$1,230,521,317, well-exceeding its high estimate of $120.1 million
• The auction was led by two paintings by Mark Rothko that both exceeded expectations: Untitled from 1970, which achieved $39,925,000 / £25,100,591 / HK$309,496,124 (est.
$15/20 million), and Untitled (Yellow, Orange, Yellow, Light Orange) from 1955, which fetched $36,565,000 / £22,988,180 / HK$283,449,612 (est. $20/30 million)
• Sotheby's sales of Mrs. Mellon's collection continue this month, with public exhibitions opening this Saturday, 15 November for the following auctions:
o Jewelry & Objects of Vertu: 20 & 21 November
ƒ Highlighted by A Magnificent and Rare Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond Pendant estimated to sell for $10/15 million
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o Interiors: 21 -- 23 November
ƒ Offering fine art, furniture, porcelain, silver, glassware, decoration and more from Mrs. Mellon's residences in the United States and abroad
2 works over $20 million
2 works over $10 million
6 works over $5 million
24 works over $1 million
CONTEMPORARY ART
11 & 12 NOVEMBER
• Sotheby's November auctions of Contemporary Art totaled $551.5 million / £390.8 million / HK$4.28 billion (est. $461.2 / 616.5 million)
o Including $116.6 million / £77.3 million / HK$904.2 million achieved by Contemporary works on offer in the Mellon Masterworks sale
• The Evening Auction saw a strong sell through rate of 86% by lot - marking the 13th consecutive evening sale of Contemporary Art at Sotheby's New York with a sell-through rate of over 80%
• Works consigned from 12 countries on five continents sought after by participants from 38 countries including nearly 40% from outside the US, and with strong participation from Latin America and Asia.
• The Day Auction achieved $91,197,063 / £57,263,006/ HK$750,637,548. Seven of the top ten Day Auction Contemporary lots have now been sold by Sotheby's New York.
4 works over $20 million
7 works over $10 million
13 works over $5 million
70 works over $1 million
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Notable Auction Records
Jasper Johns | Flag | $36,005,000 |
Robert Ryman | Untitled | $15,005,000 |
Jean Dubuffet | Cité Fantoche | $7,445,000 |
Glenn Ligon | Untitled (I was somebody) | $3,973,000 |
ADDITIONAL NOVEMBER HIGHLIGHTS
** World Auction Record for a Timepiece (Watch or Clock) **
Important Watches, Geneva, 11 November
• For the second time in auction history, Patek Phillipe's The Henry Graves Supercomplication established a new auction record selling for $24 million
** World Auction Record for an African Sculpture **
In Pursuit of Beauty: The Myron Kunin Collection of African Art, New York, 11 November
• The Senufo Female Statue by the Master of Sikasso sold for $12 million, breaking its previous world record and making African sculpture one of the rare categories to sell in excess of an eight figure price
** World Auction Record for a Ruby **
Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels, Geneva, 12 November
• From the Collection of Dimitri Mavrommatis, the "Graff Ruby", a 8.62 carat cushion-shaped gemstone, set the world auction record for any ruby, selling for $8.6 million
*The previous highest total for any auction in Sotheby's history was $380,642,000, achieved by the
Contemporary Art Evening Auction in New York on 13 November 2013
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Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India
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(1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art financing company, as well as private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Contemporary Art department, and two retail businesses, Sotheby's Diamonds and Sotheby's Wine. Sotheby's has a global network of 90 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).
*Estimates do not include buyer's premium and prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer's premium.
Images are available upon request
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