2025-04-03
The last two weeks were teeming with thrilling art biddings. Within only two days (02/28 and 03/01), they sold artworks with a value of up to £332 million. This spectacular result surprised even the organizers – the amounts repeatedly overrun the expected estimates. A few artists managed to set their sales records.
Last Wednesday, on March 1, The Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sales raised a total of £195 million, and it was the highest amount for any auction held anywhere in London. On the auction devoted to impressionist and modern art, they presented 54 items, of which only 6 did not find their purchaser. A few artworks were sold for more than £10 million each. There was a lot of interest in Picasso's artworks – one of them, presenting Plant de Tomates, was auctioned for £17 million, setting his sales record in the category of still life. For not much less, they purchased a black and white portrait of a woman by the same artist. The highest price in the auction was achieved by a landscape of Bauerngarten by Gustav Klimt, sold for £48 million and purchased by Andrea Jungmann, the director of Sotheby's Vienna. For £16 million, they also sold a portrait of a Polish painter, Tadeusz Baranowski, painted by Amadeo Modigliani.
The day before, in the seat of London Christie's, two biddings took place. The works in question were the pieces of the representatives of Impressionism, Modernism, and Surrealism, sold for almost £137 million. The highest price title (about £20 million) was attributed to Paul Gauguin's artwork, Te Fare. The artworks of a French artist, Berthe Morisot, also aroused much enthusiasm among participants. Her painting Femme et enfant au balcon was purchased for over £4 million, and Femme en noir or Avant le théâtre – for over £2 million. The Surrealist Art Evening Sale also ended with a great success. It sold 98 % of the offered items, among which were René Magritte's paintings, which enjoyed particular popularity. His La corde sensible was sold for over £14 million, setting his sales record.
On Tuesday, March 7, at Christie's, there took place the Post War & Contemporary Art Evening Auction that raised a total of £95 million. Many of the exhibited items overrun their expected estimate, and seven artists set their sales record. A canvas of Peter Doig, Coburg 3+1 More from 1944, was a huge surprise. Originally purchased by a German insurance company for £10 thousand. On the Tuesday auction, the painting reached the amount of £12.7 million. For over £10 million, they also sold the paintings of Mark Rothko and Jean Dubuffet.
The success of the March auctions is the consequence of the growing interest of collectors in contemporary art.