British artists dominate Christie's patchy 71.1m sale, as over-priced Koons and Richter fail to sell

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British artists dominate Christie's patchy 71.1m sale, as over-priced Koons and Richter fail to sell Francis Bacon's lighter depiction of George Dyer leads auction at 17.

1 British artists dominate Christie's patchy 71.1m sale, as over-priced Koons and Richter fail to sell Francis Bacon's lighter depiction of George Dyer leads auction at 17.5m, with strong prices for Hurvin Anderson, Bridget Riley and Albert Oehlen Anna Brady Ball Watching IV by Hurvin Anderson, sold for 1.6m ( 1.9m with fees) Christie's and courtesy of the artist The air felt thin at the top at last nightʼs Christieʼs evening sale of post-war and contemporary art (4 October). With two lots withdrawn (including George Baselitzʼs series of eleven feet paintings which had been estimated at 6m- 10m) the estimate was revised to 87.8m but, at 71.1m ( 84.6m with fees), the sale failed to reach this largely because two high profile lots both without guarantees went unsold. Gerhard Richterʼs skull painting fell flat, a lone bidder failing to bring it up to its 12m- 18m estimate, and Jeff Koonsʼs Cracked Egg (Blue), a characteristically shiny eyeful, also went unsold with a 10m- 15m. Interestingly, Koonsʼs dealer Larry Gagosian was bidding in the room, but seemingly did not think it worth going over 8.5m. Both works felt overpriced and the US-based art advisor Lisa Schiff says: I find the whole Koons market down right now, so I donʼt know why a collector would consign a work which such a high

2 market down right now, so I donʼt know why a collector would consign a work which such a high estimate right now. A Christieʼs spokeswoman said after the sale: The results were not what we were hoping for but we stand by the works the quality of which is unquestionable but we may review estimates based on demand for certain works next season. A painting by the American painter Mark Grotjahn, Untitled (Yellow and Green Low Fall Face 41.80) estimated at 6m- 8m, also went unsold. Grotjahnʼs is a complicated market, and itʼs interesting to see it playing out at auction his work has been at an inaccessible price point on the primary market for a while and itʼs hard to find these works, Schiff says. Mark was a victim of mass speculation from very early on, in , so he took control of his own market to stop that happening he really controls who is able to buy his work and his prices. Schiff says she has already contacted Christieʼs to see if there is a good post-sale opportunity but it seems not.

3 Francis Bacon's Figure in Movement (1972) Christie's Despite these, the total was still the second highest total for a Frieze week evening sale in London, just behind Christieʼs October 2017 auction which made 99.5m (with fees). Bidding cannot gain momentum on works that are already priced to the hilt and, if energy felt flat at first, the room came alive where estimates left room to run. Take two lovely paintings by the 2017 Turner prize nominee Hurvin Anderson, a UK artist of Jamaican heritage. Country Club (guaranteed by a third party) sold on the phone to a US buyer for 1.7m ( 2m with fees) above a 1m- 1.5m estimate. Then, priced at a mere 350, ,000, the smaller, sunny Ball Watching IV nearly matched this it sold to a woman bidding in the room for 1.6m ( 1.9m with fees). These are the second and third highest prices for Andersonʼs work at auction. Brit awards Overall it was a good night for British artists, who prompted some enthusiastic bidding from a big Frieze week crowd, and afterwards Katharine Arnold, the head of sale, declared that: British art reigned supreme this evening. The contingent was led by 12 works by Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud from the collection of the Monaco-based collector, Magnus Konow they had been on loan to the Tate since Chief among these was Baconʼs Figure in Movement (1972, est 15m- 20m), in which Baconʼs grief at the death of his lover George Dyer, who died in 1971, manifests itself in a lighter palette. Konow, a friend of Baconʼs, had owned the painting since he bought it from Marlborough Gallery in the 1970s and that freshness proved attractive. Guaranteed by a third party, it was the top lot of the sale and, underbid by the dealer Per Skarstedt, it sold for 17.5m( 19.9m with fees) to Christieʼs Francis Outredʼs phone bidder. The rest of the Bacon and Freud collection was more arcane. The Bacons were very early pieces, from when he dabbled as an interior designer, and alongside the paintings were rugs and, most desirable, his earliest surviving work a painted screen made around 1930, its trifold form a precursor to the triptychs that Bacon became so fond of. Against competitive bidding, it was bought by a man in the room for 2m ( 2.4m), double the estimate. The London-based dealer Nick Maclean, of Ekyn Maclean, bought an early Lucian Freud painting, Man in a Striped Shirt (1942) which was bought by the vendor from Marlborough Gallery in 1978, on its low estimate of 1m ( 1.2m). Maclean underbid another early Freud, Still Life with Zimmerlinde, which sold above estimate to Arnoldʼs phone bidder at 750,000 ( 908,750) Meanwhile a humming Bridget Riley, Close By (1992), also went over a 700,000-1m estimate (with a third party guarantee) to sell for 1.45m ( 1.7m with fees) to Christieʼs UK chairman Orlando Rockʼs phone bidder. Not a bad return for the seller who bought the painting, which once belonged to Eric Clapton, at Christieʼs for 18,400 in 1997.

Albert Oehlen's Stier mit loch (Bull with hole) Christie's and courtesy of the artist A new chapter for Oehlen? The German artist Albert Oehlen was also in demand.

4 Albert Oehlen's Stier mit loch (Bull with hole) Christie's and courtesy of the artist A new chapter for Oehlen? The German artist Albert Oehlen was also in demand. Lot two was Oehlenʼs huge Stier mit loch (Bull with hole), which had been on long term loan to the Neues Museum Weimar from 1993 to Carrying a third party guarantee, it sold to Oehlenʼs European dealer Max Hetzler for a record 3m ( 3.6m with fees), more than double the high estimate. Later, Oehlenʼs abstract Untitled (1989), went for 2.6m ( 3.1m with fees), underbid by Andrew Fabricant, Gagosianʼs new power hire. After the sale, Arnold proclaimed this a new chapter for the artist: not only did have the world record, but we also saw a world record for an abstract painting from the late 1980s. Schiff observes that For so long the auction houses have not understood Oehlenʼs market and would have put abstracts like this in the day sale. But this time they got it right.

5 Lucio Fontana's Concetto Spaziale, La Fine di Dio Christie's The Italian job Immediately following the main sale was Thinking Italian, which Christie's has stuck by this year while Sothebyʼs has ditched its stand-alone Italian auction in favour of rolling all the Burris, Fontanas and Manzonis into its main evening sale. The divide at Christieʼs seemed nominal while one Concetto spaziale by Lucio Fontana was offered in the main post-war and contemporary art sale (but went unsold with a 1.2m- 1.8m estimate), the following lot, Piero Manzoniʼs was moved at the last minute into the Italian sale where it sold on its low estimate at 3m ( 3.6m with fees). Overall the Italian sale made 34.2m ( 39.5m with fees) from 37 lots (82% sold by lot), with a new record for Maria Lai, a rare female artist in the male-dominated realm of Italian post-war art, at 120,000 ( 150,000with fees). But top of the sale (and second highest price of the evening) was Lucio Fontanaʼs imposing yet fragile Concetto Spaziale, La Fine di Dio, which sold on its 15m ( 16.2m with fees) low estimate to just one bidder on the phone likely the last minute third party guarantor, announced just before the sale. Sent from my iphone

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Bloomberg Pursuits has been highlighting artists on the rise as part of an ongoing look at art as an investment. ARTISTS ON THE RISE Billionaires Are Buying Art by Laura Owens. Will Everyone Else? For years, Laura Owens was an artist s artist. That s about to change. By James Tarmy November 30, 2017, 11:04 AM EST