Italian Art Performs Well at New York Auctions

Recent evening sales at Christie's and Sotheby's in New York showed strong results for Italian art, suggesting that established Italian artists benefit more from integration into the international market than from being sold in dedicated Italian sales. Francesco Carraro's collection at Christie's performed notably: Alberto Burri's 1957 plastic combustion sold for $4,951,500 (estimate $3-4 million), Mario Schifano's 1963 painting of Leonardo fetched $511,500 (estimate $250,000-350,000), Alighiero Boetti's map sold for $2,167,500 (estimate $800,000-1,200,000), and Marino Marini's 1951 Cavaliere reached $4,447,500. At Sotheby's, Michelangelo Pistoletto's 1975 Turista che mangia un panino sold for $1,572,500 (estimate $1-1.5 million), and a Rudolf Stingel achieved $4,006,250. Overall, Christie's evening sales totaled $276.9 million and Sotheby's $276.5 million, both down from 2015 ($331.8 million and $294.85 million respectively), but considered good results given the US economic uncertainty following Trump's victory.