London June 2022 Auctions: Christie's and Sotheby's Results

In June 2022, the auctions held in London by Christie's and Sotheby's shifted their emphasis towards investment, with maximum estimates capped at £2 million. Christie's "20/21 London to Paris" event achieved a total of £203 million, highlighted by Jeff Koons' "Balloon Monkey (Magenta)," which was sold for £8.6 million to Jens Faurschou, with the proceeds benefiting Ukraine. Yves Klein's "Anthropométrie de l'époque bleue" garnered £23.5 million, while Barbara Hepworth's sculpture reached a record £4.8 million. In Paris, a painting by Pierre Soulages sold for €1.7 million. Sotheby's included Francis Bacon's "Study for Portrait of Lucian Freud," which fetched £37.5 million, contributing to total sales of £149.2 million from participants across 40 countries.