David Hockney becomes most expensive living artist at Christie's
During the 20th Century Week in New York, Christie's garnered $1.1 billion from 9 auctions, while Sotheby's achieved $835 million, marking a 15% increase compared to November 2017. At Christie's, David Hockney's 'Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)' fetched $90.3 million, making it the priciest piece by a living artist. The auction's total reached $357.6 million, which included Mark Rothko's 'Untitled. Rust, Blacks on Plum' at $35.7 million and Francis Bacon's 'Study of Henrietta Moraes Laughing' for $21.7 million. Sotheby's contemporary art evening sale amounted to $362.6 million, a 17% rise from 2017, with the David Teiger collection bringing in $48.5 million. New records were established for Dana Schutz ($795,000), Amy Sillman ($855,000), and Carmen Herrera ($2.6 million).
Key facts
- David Hockney's 'Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)' sold for $90.3 million at Christie's, making him the most expensive living artist.
- Christie's 20th Century Week total reached $1.1 billion across 9 auctions.
- Sotheby's contemporary art evening sale totaled $362.6 million, up 17% from 2017.
- Phillips' evening sale totaled $88.5 million, below estimates of $100-142 million.
- New auction records were set for Sam Gilliam, Robert Colescott, Pierre Soulages, Dana Schutz, Henry Taylor, Jacob Lawrence, Jack Whitten, Amy Sillman, and Carmen Herrera.
- The David Teiger collection at Sotheby's brought $48.5 million across 11 lots.
- Georgia O'Keeffe's works at Sotheby's totaled approximately $23.4 million.
- Alberto Burri's 'Grande legno e rosso' and Jackson Pollock's 'Number 16' failed to sell at Phillips.
Entities
Artists
- David Hockney
- Jeff Koons
- Mark Rothko
- Francis Bacon
- Jean-Michel Basquiat
- Sam Gilliam
- Robert Colescott
- Pierre Soulages
- Willem de Kooning
- Dana Schutz
- Gerhard Richter
- Georgia O'Keeffe
- Henry Taylor
- Jacob Lawrence
- Jack Whitten
- Joan Miró
- Alberto Burri
- Jackson Pollock
- Amy Sillman
- Carmen Herrera
- Kerry James Marshall
- Donald Judd
- Dan Flavin
- Jenny Saville
- Zao Wou-Ki
- Antonella Crippa
Institutions
- Christie's
- Sotheby's
- Phillips
- Georgia O'Keeffe Museum
- Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro
- Chicago Public Library
- Artribune
- Tate Britain
- Centre Georges Pompidou
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
- Il Ponte Casa d'Asta
Locations
- New York
- United States
- London
- United Kingdom
- Santa Fe
- Rio de Janeiro
- Brazil
- Hong Kong
- China
- Paris
- France
- Bradford
- Pechino
- Beijing
- Nyon
- Switzerland
- Milan
- Italy