Sotheby's Hong Kong Spring Sales Total Over €155 Million for Modern and Contemporary Art
From April 27 to 30, 2022, Sotheby's Hong Kong spring auctions generated over €155 million, with modern art pieces accounting for more than €50 million. Despite the absence of a live audience, phone bidding significantly influenced the outcomes. Notably, Pablo Picasso's 'Dora Maar' (1939) was sold for HKD 169,420,000 (€20 million), while Wu Guanzhong's 'Plum Blossoms' (1973) brought in HKD 103,927,000 (€12.5 million). Lee Pho's 'Figures in a Garden' fetched HKD 17,920,000 (over €2 million). Louise Bourgeois's 'Spider IV' (1996/1997) set a record as Asia's priciest sculpture at HKD 129,205,000 (€15.6 million). Banksy's 'Love is in the Air' (2006) sold for HKD 51,073,000 (€6.15 million), and an NFT by Robert Alice went for HKD 5,040,000 (€600,000). The sole unsold item was Jean-Michel Basquiat's 'Water-Worshipper' (1984).
Key facts
- Sotheby's Hong Kong spring sales from April 27 to 30, 2022.
- Aggregate turnover for modern and contemporary art exceeded €155 million.
- Modern art contributed just over €50 million; contemporary art the remainder.
- Pablo Picasso's 'Dora Maar' (1939) sold for HKD 169,420,000 (€20 million).
- Louise Bourgeois's 'Spider IV' became the most expensive sculpture sold in Asia at HKD 129,205,000 (€15.6 million).
- Anna Weyant's 'Josephine' (2020) sold for HKD 4,032,000 (€480,000).
- Two Yayoi Kusama works sold for charity benefiting Peace Japan Medical Services.
- Jean-Michel Basquiat's 'Water-Worshipper' (1984) was the only unsold lot and could be purchased with cryptocurrency.
Entities
Artists
- Pablo Picasso
- Wu Guanzhong
- Adrien Jean
- Lee Pho
- Georges Mathieu
- Anna Weyant
- Louise Bourgeois
- Yoshimoto Nara
- Banksy
- Yayoi Kusama
- Michael Lau
- Tomokazu Matsuyama
- Peter McDonald
- Robert Alice
- Jean-Michel Basquiat
- Antonio Mirabelli
Institutions
- Sotheby's
- Peace Japan Medical Services
- Artribune
Locations
- Hong Kong
- New York
- London
- Asia
- China
- Vietnam