ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Christie's London October Evening Sale Totals £82M, Led by Freud and Koons

market-auction · 2026-04-26

Christie's 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale on October 9, 2024, achieved £81,980,050, up 83% from the £44.6 million equivalent sale in 2023. The sale sold 86% of lots by volume and 96% by value. Top lots included Lucian Freud's 'Ria, Naked Portrait' at £11.8 million, Jeff Koons' 'Balloon Monkey (Blue)' at £7.5 million, and David Hockney's 'More Woldgate Timber, October 13th 2009' at £4.6 million. René Magritte's 'Shéhérazade' opened the sale, exceeding its high estimate to sell for £882,000, while 'Le grand style' achieved over £2.5 million. Pablo Picasso's 'Buste d’homme à la pipe' sold for £1.2 million. Jenny Saville's 'Self-portrait' reached £378,000, and Cecily Brown's 'The Skin of Our Teeth' sold for £3 million. Willem de Kooning's 'Untitled XVIII' from Eric Clapton's collection sold for £3.4 million, below its £4-6 million estimate. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's 'La femme tatouée' sold for £2.2 million, under its £2.5 million low estimate. Leonor Fini's 'Rogomelec' (1978) fetched £720,000. Edgar Degas' 'Danseuse à mi-corps rajustant son épaulette' sold for £1 million after a bidding battle with collector François Odermatt. Vilhelm Hammershøi's landscape sold for £1.25 million. Alighiero Boetti's 'Mappa' (1979) achieved £2.3 million. The sale coincided with the opening of Frieze London and Frieze Masters, and Sotheby's contemporary sale later that day.

Key facts

  • Christie's 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale on October 9, 2024, totaled £81,980,050.
  • Total up 83% from £44.6 million in 2023.
  • 86% of lots sold by volume, 96% by value.
  • Top lot: Lucian Freud's 'Ria, Naked Portrait' at £11.8 million.
  • Jeff Koons' 'Balloon Monkey (Blue)' sold for £7.5 million.
  • David Hockney's 'More Woldgate Timber, October 13th 2009' achieved £4.6 million.
  • René Magritte's 'Shéhérazade' sold for £882,000, above £600,000 high estimate.
  • Pablo Picasso's 'Buste d’homme à la pipe' sold for £1.2 million.
  • Jenny Saville's 'Self-portrait' reached £378,000.
  • Cecily Brown's 'The Skin of Our Teeth' sold for £3 million.
  • Willem de Kooning's 'Untitled XVIII' from Eric Clapton's collection sold for £3.4 million (estimate £4-6 million).
  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's 'La femme tatouée' sold for £2.2 million (estimate £2.5 million+).
  • Leonor Fini's 'Rogomelec' (1978) sold for £720,000.
  • Edgar Degas' 'Danseuse à mi-corps rajustant son épaulette' sold for £1 million after bidding battle with François Odermatt.
  • Vilhelm Hammershøi landscape sold for £1.25 million.
  • Alighiero Boetti's 'Mappa' (1979) sold for £2.3 million.
  • Sale coincided with Frieze London and Frieze Masters previews.
  • Sotheby's contemporary sale followed two hours later.

Entities

Artists

  • René Magritte
  • Pablo Picasso
  • Jenny Saville
  • Cecily Brown
  • Lucian Freud
  • Jeff Koons
  • Willem de Kooning
  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
  • Leonor Fini
  • Edgar Degas
  • Vilhelm Hammershøi
  • David Hockney
  • Alighiero Boetti
  • Paula Rego
  • Damien Hirst
  • Eric Clapton
  • Peter Doig
  • Ole Faarup
  • Gerhard Richter
  • Paul Cézanne
  • Suzanne Valadon
  • Annie Morris
  • Esben Weile Kjær
  • Yoshitomo Nara
  • Domenico Gnoli
  • Adrien Meyer

Institutions

  • Christie's
  • Sotheby's
  • Frieze London
  • Frieze Masters
  • Palazzo Reale (Milan)
  • Artribune
  • Serpentine Galleries
  • Fondation Louis Vuitton
  • Phillips

Locations

  • London
  • King Street
  • United Kingdom
  • Milan
  • Italy
  • Regent's Park
  • Paris
  • France

Sources