As 2006 draws to a close, the art market boom is driving prices for the most expensive artworks to new heights. The art market’s top tier has made itself at home in the eight-figure realm, with all manner of works selling for $10 million or more. This luxury inflation, if that’s what it is, has now spread from major Impressionist works to a much broader range of masterpieces, from popular illustrations by Norman Rockwell to 18th-century Chinese porcelain.
Today, to count as a really big price, an artwork has to sell for nine figures. Although this kind of transaction does take place at the auction houses -- Pablo Picasso’s Boy with a Pipe (1905), which sold for $104 million at Sotheby’s New York, is a notable example -- more nine-figure sales have been happening privately, only to be chronicled later in the press.
Hollywood mogul David Geffen, for instance, has been widely reported to have sold Willem de Kooning’s Woman III (1952-53) for $142.5 million to hedge fund billionaire Steven A. Cohen. Geffen has now reportedly sold four multimillion-dollar works from his modern and contemporary collection -- the others are Jackson Pollock’s No. 5, 1948, for $140 million, Jasper Johns’ False Start for $80 million and de Kooning’s Police Gazette (1955) for $63.5 million. Originally thought to be raising money to make a bid to buy the Los Angeles Times, Geffen has since denied that report, saying only that he didn’t like having such value hanging on his walls -- only to offer $2 billion for the newpaper a few days later.
The total for the four Geffen works is $426 million, and is considerably more than the record $240-million evening sale of contemporary art at Christie’s New York on Nov. 15, 2006.
With the completion of the major fall sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s in November, it’s time to take another look at the overall advance of the art market. Our first such report, posted in June 2006, looked at the incredible 1,650 new art-auction records set in the spring, ranging from Carroll Dunham ($102,000) and Kerry James Marshall ($108,000) to Robert Ryman ($9,648,000) and Henri Matisse ($18,496,000).
The impression given of an in exorable upward rise in prices, while certainly illusory, does seem to have been born out by the events of the last six months. Art collecting is more popular than ever, especially as a way to gain class and status for the macher who otherwise has everything (pace those hedge-fund billionaires). Wall Street bonuses are up 20 percent over last year, and the sinking exchange rate for the dollar makes the U.S. market ever more attractive to foreigners.
Technological advances -- notably the internet -- have made the art market more liquid and more efficient than ever before. Once focused largely to the U.S. and Europe, the art market has spread like wildfire into Latin America, China, India and the Middle East. The result is an art boom that -- dare we say it, even in folly? -- might never quit.
This time around, following the big art auctions of fall 2006, mining the data found in Artnet’s signature Fine Arts Auction Data base shows that more than 2,800 new auction records were set in the fine-art auctions of October and November 2006. Of these new records, 72 were over $1 million. In May 2006, 45 of the new record prices were for $1 million or more.
New auction records set in October and November 2006 range from Gustav Klimt ($87,936,000) and Paul Gauguin ($40,336,000) to Anton Henning ($101,887) and Tetsuya Ishida ($100,257). The following list is comprehensive to $1,000,000, after which it is selective.
Rank |
Price |
Artist |
Work |
Venue |
Sale 0606 |
Date |
1 |
$87,936,000 |
Gustav Klimt |
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist & Modern |
11/08/06 |
2 |
$40,336,000 |
Paul Gauguin |
L'homme à la hache |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist & Modern |
11/08/06 |
3 |
$38,096,000 |
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner |
Berliner Strassenszene |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist & Modern |
11/08/06 |
4 |
$27,120,000 |
Willem de Kooning |
Untitled XXV |
Christie's New York |
Post War & Contemporary |
11/15/06 |
5 |
$26,896,000 |
Edward Hopper |
Hotel window |
Sotheby's New York |
American Paintings |
11/29/06 |
6 |
$22,416,000 |
Egon Schiele |
Einzelne häuser - Häuser mit Bergen |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist & Modern |
11/08/06 |
7 |
$21,296,000 |
Clyfford Still |
1947-R-no. 1 |
Christie's New York |
Post War & Contemporary |
11/15/06 |
8 |
$17,376,000 |
Andy Warhol |
Mao |
Christie's New York |
Post War & Contemporary |
11/15/06 |
9 |
$15,416,000 |
Norman Rockwell |
Breaking home ties |
Sotheby's New York |
American Paintings |
11/29/06 |
10 |
$15,024,000 |
Francis Bacon |
Version No. 2 of lying figure... |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary |
11/14/06 |
11 |
$8,528,000 |
Pierre Bonnard |
Deux corbeilles de fruits |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist & Modern |
11/08/06 |
12 |
$6,925,450 |
Xu Beihong |
Slave and lion |
Christie's Hong Kong |
20th Century Chinese |
11/26/06 |
13 |
$6,736,000 |
Balthus |
Les trois soeurs |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist & Modern |
11/08/06 |
14 |
$6,176,000 |
Richard Diebenkorn |
Berkeley 53 |
Christie's New York |
Post War & Contemporary |
11/15/06 |
15 |
$5,184,615 |
K. A. Somov |
Pastorale russe |
Christie's London |
Important Russian Pictures |
11/29/06 |
16 |
$4,478,149 |
Chen Chengbo |
Danshui |
Sotheby's Hong Kong |
Chinese Contemporary |
10/09/06 |
17 |
$4,048,000 |
Louise Bourgeois |
Spider |
Christie's New York |
Post War & Contemporary |
11/15/06 |
18 |
$4,048,000 |
Sam Francis |
Yellow |
Christie's New York |
Post War & Contemporary |
11/15/06 |
19 |
$4,030,189 |
Lucio Fontana |
Concetto spaziale, attese |
Christie's London |
The Italian Sale |
10/16/06 |
20 |
$4,000,000 |
Thomas Lawrence |
Portrait of Arthur Wellesley |
Christie's London |
British Pictures 1500-1850 |
11/22/06 |
21 |
$3,758,355 |
Sanyu |
Potted chrysanthemum |
Christie's Hong Kong |
20th Century Chinese |
11/26/06 |
22 |
$3,701,266 |
H. A. Camarasa |
El Casino de Paris |
Christie's Madrid |
Spanish Sale |
10/04/06 |
23 |
$3,600,000 |
Erich Heckel |
Akt (Dresden): A double-sided painting |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist & Modern |
11/07/06 |
24 |
$3,273,892 |
Joan Mitchell |
Salut sally |
Artcurial Briest Le Fur Poulain F. Tajan |
Contemporain |
10/28/06 |
25 |
$3,182,519 |
Zao Wou-Ki |
Composition no. 8 |
Christie's Hong Kong |
20th Century Chinese |
11/26/06 |
26 |
$3,040,000 |
Mark Tansey |
Mont Sainte-Victoire |
Christie's New York |
Post War & Contemporary |
11/15/06 |
27 |
$2,704,000 |
Mike Kelley |
Deodorized central mass with satellites |
Phillips, de Pury |
Contemporary |
11/16/06 |
28 |
$2,656,604 |
Tom Wesselmann |
Great American nude #88 |
Christie's London |
Yoav Harlap Collection |
10/15/06 |
29 |
$2,648,000 |
Barbara Hepworth |
Ultimate form (The family of man) |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist & Modern |
11/07/06 |
30 |
$2,592,000 |
Piero Manzoni |
Achrome |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary |
11/14/06 |
31 |
$2,480,000 |
Andreas Gursky |
99 cent II Diptychon |
Phillips, de Pury |
Contemporary |
11/16/06 |
32 |
$2,462,725 |
Liao Chi Chun |
Spring scene in the garden |
Christie's Hong Kong |
20th Century Chinese |
11/26/06 |
33 |
$2,318,766 |
Zhang Xiaogang |
Tiananmen square |
Christie's Hong Kong |
Asian Contemporary |
11/26/06 |
34 |
$2,256,000 |
Anish Kapoor |
Untitled |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary |
11/14/06 |
35 |
$2,256,000 |
Richard Prince |
Tender nurse |
Phillips, de Pury |
Contemporary |
11/16/06 |
36 |
$2,032,000 |
Carl Andre |
Aluminum steel plain |
Christie's New York |
Post War & Contemporary |
11/15/06 |
37 |
$2,032,000 |
N. C. Wyeth |
Stand and deliver |
Sotheby's New York |
American Paintings |
11/29/06 |
38 |
$1,953,846 |
A. E. Yakovlev |
Three women in a box at the theatre |
Sotheby's London |
The Russian Sale |
11/28/06 |
39 |
$1,920,000 |
Eric Fischl |
Daddy's girl |
Christie's New York |
Post War & Contemporary |
11/15/06 |
40 |
$1,916,981 |
David Bomberg |
Cuenca from Mount Socorro |
Christie's London |
20th Century British |
11/17/06 |
41 |
$1,864,000 |
Lynn Chadwick |
Couple on a seat |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist & Modern |
11/07/06 |
42 |
$1,846,154 |
Boris Dmitrievich Grigoriev |
The children |
Christie's London |
Important Russian Pictures |
11/29/06 |
43 |
$1,808,000 |
Alfredo Ramos Martínez |
Mujeres con flores |
Christie's New York |
Latin American |
11/21/06 |
44 |
$1,738,462 |
P. N. Filonov |
The Adoration of the Magi |
Christie's London |
Important Russian Pictures |
11/29/06 |
45 |
$1,696,000 |
Christopher Wool |
Hole in your fuckin head |
Phillips, de Pury |
Contemporary |
11/16/06 |
46 |
$1,695,385 |
Z. E. Serebryakova |
Reclining nude |
Sotheby's London |
The Russian Sale |
11/28/06 |
47 |
$1,642,013 |
Giacomo Ceruti |
Il bravo ... |
Christie's Milan |
Old Master Pictures |
11/29/06 |
48 |
$1,574,684 |
Miquel Barceló |
Bibliotheque avec poe |
Christie's Madrid |
Spanish Sale |
10/04/06 |
49 |
$1,480,000 |
Nikiforos (Nicéphore) Lytras |
A festival in Megara |
Sotheby's London |
The Greek Sale |
11/15/06 |
50 |
$1,472,000 |
Archibald Willard |
The spirit of '76 |
Christie's New York |
Important American Paintings |
11/30/06 |
51 |
$1,397,468 |
Cornelis Springer |
A view of the Westerstraat in Enkhuizen in summer |
Sotheby's Amsterdam |
19th Century European Paintings |
10/17/06 |
52 |
$1,360,000 |
Henri Eugène Le Sidaner |
La table aux Lanternes, Gerberoy |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist & Modern |
11/08/06 |
53 |
$1,360,000 |
Anselm Kiefer |
Balder's Triume |
Christie's New York |
Post War & Contemporary |
11/15/06 |
54 |
$1,360,000 |
Grandma Moses |
Sugaring off |
Christie's New York |
Important American Paintings |
11/30/06 |
55 |
$1,264,615 |
A. A. Ekster |
Picnic on the beach |
Christie's London |
Important Russian Pictures |
11/29/06 |
56 |
$1,248,000 |
Isamu Noguchi |
The sky |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary |
11/14/06 |
57 |
$1,200,000 |
Vladimir Egorovich Makovsky |
Rest on the way from Kiev |
Sotheby's London |
The Russian Sale |
11/28/06 |
58 |
$1,200,000 |
Leon Bakst |
A dancer in costume |
Christie's London |
Important Russian Pictures |
11/29/06 |
59 |
$1,178,462 |
Nikolaus Gysis |
The new arrival |
Sotheby's London |
The Greek Sale |
11/15/06 |
60 |
$1,177,358 |
Barry Flanagan |
Nijinski hare |
Christie's London |
20th Century British |
11/17/06 |
61 |
$1,173,846 |
Alexej Alexejewitsch Harlamoff |
The little seamstress |
Bonhams London |
Russian Sale |
11/27/06 |
62 |
$1,167,095 |
Bada Shanren |
Flowers, birds, fish and rocks (set of 4) |
Christie's Hong Kong |
Chinese Paintings & Calligraphy |
11/27/06 |
63 |
$1,136,000 |
Niki de Saint Phalle |
Ana Lena en Grice |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary |
11/14/06 |
64 |
$1,136,000 |
Josef Albers |
Homage to the square, autumn climax |
Christie's New York |
Post War & Contemporary |
11/15/06 |
65 |
$1,113,962 |
William Scott |
Blue still life |
Christie's London |
20th Century British |
11/17/06 |
66 |
$1,101,760 |
Fred Williams |
Water pond in a landscape II |
Sotheby's Melbourne |
Australian & International |
11/21/06 |
67 |
$1,092,308 |
Santiago Rusiñol |
Terraced gardens, sa como |
Sotheby's London |
19th Century European Paintings |
11/15/06 |
68 |
$1,071,698 |
Piotr Uklanski |
The Nazis (set of 164) |
Phillips, de Pury |
Contemporary |
10/14/06 |
69 |
$1,071,698 |
Alighiero Boetti |
Tutto |
Sotheby's London |
The Italian Sale |
10/16/06 |
70 |
$1,066,324 |
Zhu Ming |
Single whip (from Taichi) |
Sotheby's Hong Kong |
Chinese Contemporary |
10/09/06 |
71 |
$1,029,434 |
Mel Ramos |
Peek-a-boo Raven #2 |
Christie's London |
The Yoav Harlap Collection |
10/15/06 |
72 |
$1,024,000 |
Jenny Saville |
Still |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary |
11/14/06 |
73 |
$996,000 |
Paul Howard Manship |
Celestial sphere |
Sotheby's New York |
American Paintings |
11/29/06 |
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75 |
$984,615 |
Abram Efimovich Arkhipov |
At the market |
Christie's London |
Important Russian Pictures |
11/29/06 |
77 |
$968,000 |
Jacob Lawrence |
Subway acrobats |
Christie's New York |
Important American Paintings |
11/30/06 |
78 |
$951,157 |
Yue Minjun |
Kites |
Christie's Hong Kong |
Asian Contemporary |
11/26/06 |
79 |
$940,000 |
Henri Martin |
Le Bassin principal du parc de Marquayrol à Labastide-du-vert |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist & Modern |
11/08/06 |
80 |
$923,774 |
Luciano Fabro |
Italia carta stradale |
Sotheby's London |