Il Ponte auction achieves 99% sell-through rate and two world records in Milan

Italian auction house Il Ponte achieved a 99% sell-through rate in its May 25–26 session, with a total of €8 million and two new world records for Ettore Sottsass and Sexto Canegallo. Over 1,000 bidders connected from around the world, confirming collector confidence in the Modern and Contemporary Art Department led by Freddy Battino. Battino stated, 'The astonishing result of the auction reveals a strong and clear signal: all markets are able to welcome and valorize even artists previously little known or appreciated. A fact demonstrated by the two world records for artists Sexto Canegallo and Ettore Sottsass.' Top lots included Alighiero Boetti's 'Insicuro Noncurante' (1966–1975) at €375,000; Sam Francis's 'Untitled – Blue Yellow and White' (1956) at €275,000; and Piero Manzoni's 'Linea lunga metri 5,70' (1959) at €225,000. Sexto Canegallo set a new world record at €22,500, while Ettore Sottsass's untitled oil on canvas from 1954 achieved €21,250. Other notable sales: Piero Dorazio's 'Equidistanza' (1963) and Renato Guttuso's 'Coltivazione del limone nel napoletano' (1956) each sold for €162,500; Giulio Paolini's 'Zeusi e Parrasio' (2007) for €150,000; and works by Giorgio Morandi, Alberto Burri, and Joan Miró each fetched €137,500. Felice Casorati's 'Concerto (Pianoforte, voce e violino)' from 1948, from the Collezione Cesare e Gina Romiti, sold for €87,500. The auction house emphasized provenance and exhibition history.