Sotheby's and Christie's Old Masters Auctions in London: Mixed Results and Record Prices
During the Old Masters auction week in London, results from Sotheby's and Christie's varied. Sotheby's Evening Sale for Old Masters achieved a total of £33 million, boasting an 86% sell-through rate. The highlight was Titian's 'Venus and Adonis,' which fetched £11.2 million. Additional significant sales included a 13th-century Bolognese panel at £1.7 million and record-breaking prices for Pier Francesco Foschi's 'Sacra Famiglia' at £302,400 and Elisabetta Sirani's 'San Giovanni Battista' at £163,800. Christie's Evening Sale garnered £13.1 million with an 89% sell-through rate, featuring Jean-François de Troy's 'La festa della lettura' at £2.9 million and a record for Hans Holbein at £1.1 million. The next major auction is scheduled for January 2023 in New York.
Key facts
- Sotheby's Old Masters Evening Sale total: £33 million
- Top lot: Titian and workshop's 'Venus and Adonis' at £11.2 million
- 13th-century Bolognese gold-ground panel sold for £1.7 million
- Pier Francesco Foschi's 'Sacra Famiglia' record: £302,400
- Elisabetta Sirani's 'San Giovanni Battista' at £163,800 tripled 2016 result
- Grasset Collection total: £12.7 million
- Canaletto's Venetian view sold for £3.7 million
- Osias Beert the Elder record: £882,000
- Christie's Old Masters Evening Sale total: £13.1 million
- Jean-François de Troy's 'La festa della lettura' at £2.9 million
- Anthony van Dyck's 'Portrait of Queen Henrietta Maria' at £2.4 million
- Hans Holbein the Younger's 'Portrait of Desiderius Erasmus' at £1.1 million (record)
- Old Masters now less than 5% of aggregate art market sales
- Next major sale: New York, January 2023, with Fisch Davidson Collection and Bronzino portrait
Entities
Artists
- Tiziano
- Canaletto
- Pier Francesco Foschi
- Elisabetta Sirani
- Jan Davidsz. de Heem
- van Dijck
- van Hulsdonck
- van Kessel
- Osias Beert il Vecchio
- Jean-François de Troy
- Anthony van Dyck
- Hans Holbein il Giovane
- Bronzino
- Juan Manual Grasset
Institutions
- Sotheby's
- Christie's
- Grasset Collection
- Prado di Madrid
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Fisch Davidson Collection
- Artribune
Locations
- Londra
- Regno Unito
- New York
- Stati Uniti
- Madrid
- Spagna