USA/FILE: Warhol, Richter and Koons art sell big at Sotheby's

Record ID: 583888

  • Title: USA/FILE: Warhol, Richter and Koons art sell big at Sotheby's
  • Date: 15th May 2014
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (MAY 14, 2014) (REUTERS) BARKER ANNOUNCING POPEYE BOARD SHOWING $25,000,000 VARIOUS OF BARKER FINALIZING POPEYE SCULPTURE AT $25,000,000 (2 SHOTS) VARIOUS OF JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT'S "UNDISCOVERED GENIUS OF THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA" (2 SHOTS) BARKER STARTING BIDDING AT $19,000,000 WORKERS TAKING BIDS BARKER HITTING GAVEL AT $21,000,000 VAR
  • Embargoed: 30th May 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Business,Arts,Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVABLJ7FCOTBJ7HCSHKE1FK26VQ3
  • Story Text: Works by Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter and Jeff Koons each sold for more than $25 million (USD) on Wednesday (May 14), helping drive Sotheby's $364 million sale of contemporary art, which the auction house said was among its highest totals ever.
    Capping two weeks of key spring auctions at Sotheby's and Christie's which saw mixed results overall, the sale was a far cry from the buying frenzy that gripped rival Christie's on Tuesday (May 13), which set a record for the biggest art auction in history with a total of $745 million.
    "We started off at a different estimate," said Alex Rotter, Sotheby's worldwide head of contemporary art. "We came in perfectly in our predictions in the estimate, and that's how I feel about it. As I said, I need to look at the lots that I have to offer, that I can offer to people and I need to deliver results for them, and I believe I delivered these results for them."
    Sotheby's had estimated its sale would take in anywhere from $337 million to $474 million.
    The top-priced work was Warhol's "Six Self-Portraits," executed shortly before the artist's death and never before offered at auction. The set sold for $30.1 million including commission, well within the pre-sale estimate range of $25 million to $35 million.
    Carrying the same estimate, Richter's "Blau" fetched $28.7 million, while Koons' sculpture, "Popeye," sold for $28.2 million against an estimate of about $25 million. The "Popeye" buyer was casino magnate and art collector Steve Wynn, who announced that the sculpture would go on public display at one of his Las Vegas properties.
    "A highlight was definitely selling the 'Popeye,' one of Jeff's greatest sculptures was amazing to have it here and sell it for over the low estimate and have it go to a great home," said Rotter.
    Other highlights included Jean-Michel Basquiat's "Undiscovered ..." which fetched $23.7 million, and an untitled work by Mark Rothko that sold for $12.2 million against an estimate of $8 million to $12 million.
    Sotheby's said more than half the art sold went for more than their high estimates.
    One major casualty was an untitled work by Willem de Kooning which was expected to sell for $18 million to $25 million but went unsold when no bids could be solicited above $16.5 million.
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