Christie's London Contemporary Auction Falls Short Despite Johnny Depp's Basquiat Boost

Christie's contemporary and postwar art auction in London failed to reach £40 million, less than half of the previous year's total, due to a weakened catalog with last-minute withdrawals including a highly anticipated Gerhard Richter. However, actor Johnny Depp's two Basquiat works alone accounted for a quarter of the total sale. 'Pork' sold for £5,122,500 against an estimate of £2.5-3.5 million, while 'Self Portrait' tripled its estimate to exceed £3.5 million. Other notable sales included Andy Warhol's 'Two Dollar Bills' (1962) at £4,450,500, Yves Klein's 'Sculpture éponge bleue sans titre' at £3,218,500, and Nicolas de Staël's 'Deux Vases de Fleurs' at £1.2 million. Romanian artist Adrian Ghenie saw two works double their estimates: 'Dr. Mengele' at £398,500 and 'Lidless Eye' at £842,000. Auction records were set for American Sean Scully with 'Eve' at £902,500 and Spanish Manolo Millares with 'Untitled (Composition) Painting no. 4' at £842,500.