Even the most casual observer knows that the art market is booming. Now, after mining the data found in Artnet’s signature Fine Arts Auction Database, the lineaments of that boom have become surprisingly clear. On the global auction market, new auction highs were set for works by more than 1,650 artists in the month of May 2006 alone. That number is more than half of the total for all of 2005 (about 3,100 new artist records). Gee, that seems like a lot!
The auction houses somehow manage to shoehorn all kinds of different sales into those 31 days in May -- Impressionist and modern, contemporary, Latin American, American and more.
The data would seem to reflect an impressive growth in the pool of buyers as well as a stunning geographical expansion of the art market. A host of high prices were set for Chinese and other Asian artists at Christie’s Hong Kong sales, while Sotheby’s set new records in Russian art at its London salesroom. Sotheby’s London also mounted specialty sales of Irish and Greek art, which seem to have prompted new high prices in these areas as well.
Curiously, the top lot in our survey, Nu couché vu de dos (1927) by Henri Matisse, is practically the only example in the whole listing of a major painting from an Impressionist and modern sale. (Actually, works by Camille Claudel and Barbara Hepworth -- two women artists, as it happens -- also broke the $1 million glass ceiling in the Impressionist and modern category in May.) But the point is, when the auction houses note that contemporary art is giving Impressionist and modern art a run for its money, they’re not kidding.
We’d like to give you the entire list of 1,650 artists, but that would be just too much. So we’ve broken out the data in two sections. The first features all the lots that set a new artist’s record above the $1-million level. That’s 45 artists in all, including several from the American paintings category, which is also seeing dramatic growth in the current market. The records are listed in descending order, from most to least.
Particularly interesting from our point of view is the heat being given off by our senior contemporary masters (Robert Ryman, David Hockney, Brice Marden, John Chamberlain) and their younger colleagues (Damien Hirst, Andreas Gursky, Christopher Wool, Richard Prince, Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, Peter Doig, Lisa Yuskavage).
The second section of our list consists exclusively of new records in the six-figure range (also set at auctions during May 2006). We confess, however, that we’ve whittled this list down to a manageable 65 names using completely arbitrary criteria. Sorry. The bias, as should be obvious, is once again contemporary, with sentimental exceptions like Grandma Moses and Harry Bertoia.
Rank |
Price |
Artist |
Work |
Venue |
Sale |
Date |
1 |
$18,496,000 |
Henri Matisse |
Nu couché vu de dos |
Sotheby's |
Impressionist & Modern |
5/3/06 |
2 |
$9,648,000 |
Robert Ryman |
Untitled |
Sotheby's |
Contemporary Art |
5/10/06 |
3 |
$9,200,000 |
Norman Rockwell |
Homecoming Marine |
Sotheby's |
American Paintings |
5/24/06 |
4 |
$7,632,000 |
Maxfield Parrish |
Daybreak |
Christie's |
American Paintings |
5/25/06 |
5 |
$5,616,000 |
Frida Kahlo |
Roots |
Sotheby's |
Latin American Art |
5/24/06 |
6 |
$4,384,000 |
Andrew Wyeth |
South Cushing |
Sotheby's |
American Paintings |
5/24/06 |
7 |
$4,055,738 |
Ferdinand Hodler |
Am Genfersee |
Sotheby's Zürich |
Swiss Art |
5/31/06 |
8 |
$3,712,000 |
Francisco Zúñiga |
Cuatro mujeres de pie |
Sotheby's |
Latin American Art |
5/24/06 |
9 |
$3,600,000 |
David Hockney |
A Neat Lawn |
Christie's |
Post War & Contemporary |
5/9/06 |
10 |
$3,376,000 |
Damien Hirst |
Away from the flock, divided |
Christie's |
Post War & Contemporary |
5/9/06 |
11 |
$3,335,052 |
Chu Teh-Chun (Zhu Dequn) |
Rouge, la pluie. . . |
Christie's Hong Kong |
20th Century Chinese Art |
5/28/06 |
12 |
$3,229,630 |
Ivan Aivazovsky |
The Varangians. . . |
Sotheby's London |
The Russian Sale |
5/31/06 |
13 |
$2,984,000 |
Brice Marden |
Elements V |
Christie's |
Post War & Contemporary |
5/9/06 |
14 |
$2,704,000 |
Lucio Fontana |
Coupure |
Christie's |
Post War & Contemporary |
5/9/06 |
15 |
$2,368,000 |
Frederick Frieseke |
The Garden Pool |
Christie's |
American Paintings |
5/25/06 |
16 |
$2,256,000 |
Eva Hesse |
An Ear in a Pond |
Christie's |
Post War & Contemporary |
5/9/06 |
17 |
$2,256,000 |
Andreas Gursky |
99 Cent |
Sotheby's |
Contemporary Art |
5/10/06 |
18 |
$2,180,412 |
Liao Jichun |
Garden |
Christie's Hong Kong |
20th Century Chinese Art |
5/28/06 |
19 |
$2,032,000 |
Fernando Botero |
The Musicians |
Christie's |
Latin American Art |
5/23/06 |
19 |
$2,032,000 |
Fernando Botero |
Cuatro músicos |
Sotheby's |
Latin American Art |
5/24/06 |
20 |
$2,032,000 |
Maria Oakey Dewing |
Rose Garden |
Sotheby's |
American Paintings |
5/24/06 |
21 |
$1,920,000 |
Piero Manzoni |
Achrome |
Christie's |
Post War & Contemporary |
5/9/06 |
22 |
$1,891,753 |
Cui Ruzhou |
Snow Mountains |
Christie's Hong Kong |
Modern & Contemporary Chinese Paintings |
5/29/06 |
23 |
$1,819,259 |
James Barry |
King Lear Weeping. . . |
Sotheby's London |
The Irish Sale |
5/11/06 |
24 |
$1,808,000 |
Morris Louis |
Floral V |
Christie's |
Post War & Contemporary |
5/9/06 |
25 |
$1,808,000 |
Thomas Hart Benton |
Keith Farm, Chilmark |
Sotheby's |
American Paintings |
5/24/06 |
26 |
$1,747,423 |
A.J. Le Mayeur de Merprés |
Terrace. . . |
Christie's Hong Kong |
Modern & Contemporary Southeast Asian Art |
5/28/06 |
27 |
$1,696,000 |
Tom Wesselmann |
Bedroom Painting No.42 |
Phillips, de Pury |
Contemporary Art |
5/11/06 |
28 |
$1,696,000 |
Camille Claudel |
L'abandon |
Sotheby's |
Impressionist & Modern |
5/4/06 |
29 |
$1,668,852 |
Giovanni Giacometti |
Monti di Neve |
Sotheby's Zürich |
Swiss Art |
5/31/06 |
30 |
$1,600,000 |
Alfred Dedreux |
An African Groom. . . |
Christie's London |
Sporting Art |
5/19/06 |
31 |
$1,570,370 |
Nikanor Greigor'evich Chernetsov |
View of Orianda. . . |
Sotheby's London |
The Russian Sale |
5/31/06 |
32 |
$1,472,000 |
Barbara Hepworth |
Three Obliques |
Sotheby's |
Impressionist & Modern |
5/3/06 |
33 |
$1,472,000 |
Francis Augustus Silva |
On the Hudson, Nyack |
Sotheby's |
American Paintings |
5/24/06 |
34 |
$1,466,667 |
Mikhail Fedorovich Larionov |
Sunset on the Black Sea |
Sotheby's London |
The Russian Sale |
5/31/06 |
35 |
$1,416,000 |
Christopher Wool |
Untitled (Helter Helter) |
Sotheby's |
Contemporary Art |
5/10/06 |
36 |
$1,388,679 |
Nikiforos Lytras |
The Naughty Grandchild |
Sotheby's London |
The Greek Sale |
5/22/06 |
37 |
$1,360,000 |
Richard Prince |
Untitled joke painting |
Christie's |
Post War & Contemporary |
5/9/06 |
38 |
$1,300,741 |
Victor Elpidiforovich Borisov-Musatov |
The Last Day |
Sotheby's London |
The Russian Sale |
5/31/06 |
39 |
$1,136,000 |
Takashi Murakami |
Nirvana |
Sotheby's |
Contemporary Art |
5/11/06 |
40 |
$1,080,000 |
Yoshitomo Nara |
Missing in Action |
Christie's |
Post-War & Contemporary |
5/10/06 |
41 |
$1,080,000 |
Peter Doig |
Olin MK IV |
Phillips, de Pury |
Contemporary Art |
5/11/06 |
42 |
$1,072,593 |
Boris Izrailevich Anisfeld |
Alder Grove - Tver |
Sotheby's London |
The Russian Sale |
5/31/06 |
43 |
$1,051,852 |
Konstantin Feodorovich Yuon |
Matchmakers Dance. . . |
Sotheby's London |
The Russian Sale |
5/31/06 |
44 |
$1,024,000 |
Lisa Yuskavage |
Honeymoon |
Sotheby's |
Contemporary Art |
5/10/06 |
45 |
$1,024,000 |
John Chamberlain |
Laro |
Sotheby's |
Contemporary Art |
5/10/06 |
Rank |
Price |
Artist |
Work |
Venue |
Sale |
Date |
48 |
$968,000 |
Mark di Suvero |
Bojangles |
Sotheby's |
Contemporary Art |
05/10/06 |
49 |
$968,000 |
Cecily Brown |
High Society |
Sotheby's |
Contemporary Art |
05/10/06 |
52 |
$912,000 |
Sean Scully |
Wall of Light. . . |
Sotheby's |
Contemporary Art |
05/10/06 |
53 |
$895,876 |
Cai Guo Qiang |
Eagles Watching. . . |
Christie's Hong Kong |
Asian Contemporary Art |
05/28/06 |
55 |
$800,000 |
Blinky Palermo |
Komposition. . . |
Sotheby's |
Contemporary Art |
05/10/06 |
57 |
$744,000 |
John Baldessari |
Beach Scene. . . |
Christie's |
Refco Collection |
05/05/06 |
58 |
$744,000 |
Raymond Pettibon |
Self-Portrait as Goofy-Foot |
Sotheby's |
Contemporary Art |
05/11/06 |
61 |
$688,000 |
Mike Kelley |
Ahh...Youth |
Christie's |
Post War & Contemporary |
05/09/06 |
61 |
$688,000 |
Mike Kelley |
Ahh…Youth |
Phillips, de Pury |
Contemporary Art |
05/11/06 |
67 |
$598,400 |
Grandma Moses |
The Old Oaken Bucket |
Sotheby's |
American Paintings |
05/24/06 |
68 |
$576,000 |
David Salle |
Vagrant |
Sotheby's |
Contemporary Art |
05/10/06 |
69 |
$574,350 |
Pierre Soulages |
Peinture |
Tajan |
Art Abstrait et Contemporain |
05/17/06 |
70 |
$564,800 |
Elmer Nelson Bischoff |
Red cliffs |
Christie's |
Post War & Contemporary |
05/10/06 |
71 |
$531,200 |
Elaine Sturtevant |
Warhol Diptych |
Christie's |
Post-War & Contemporary |
05/10/06 |
72 |
$531,200 |
Neo Rauch |
Stunde |
Sotheby's |
Contemporary Art |
05/10/06 |
74 |
$506,186 |
Wang Guangyi |
Rolex |
Christie's Hong Kong |
Asian Contemporary Art |
05/28/06 |
75 |
$497,600 |
Dirk Skreber |
Yellow Locomotive |
Christie's |
Post War & Contemporary |
05/09/06 |
77 |
$471,111 |
Ilya Kabakov |
Where Are They? |
Sotheby's London |
The Russian Sale |
05/31/06 |
79 |
$464,000 |
Christo |
The Gates. . . |
Christie's |
Post War & Contemporary |
05/10/06 |
81 |
$441,600 |
Robert Irwin |
Untitled |
Christie's |
Post-War & Contemporary |
05/10/06 |
82 |
$441,600 |
Magdalena Abakanowicz |
Crowd. . . |
Sotheby's |
Contemporary Art |
05/11/06 |
84 |
$419,588 |
Fang Lijun |
No. 8 |
Christie's Hong Kong |
Asian Contemporary Art |
05/28/06 |
85 |
$408,000 |
Piotr Uklanski |
Untitled (Skull) |
Phillips, de Pury |
Contemporary Art |
05/11/06 |
88 |
$396,800 |
Barnaby Furnas |
Blown To Bits |
Sotheby's |
Contemporary Art |
05/11/06 |
91 |
$363,200 |
Tomás Sánchez |
Gracia en la cascada |
Sotheby's |
Latin American Art |
05/24/06 |
92 |
$363,200 |
Julio Ruelas |
Visión de la conquista |
Sotheby's |
Latin American Art |
05/25/06 |
99 |
$332,985 |
Kim Dong-Yoo |
Marilyn vs. Mao |
Christie's Hong Kong |
Asian Contemporary Art |
05/28/06 |
100 |
$329,600 |
Wang Du |
Flea Market. . . |
Phillips, de Pury |
Contemporary Art |
05/11/06 |
103 |
$319,615 |
Salvatore Scarpitta |
Elephant Trap |
Sotheby's Milan |
Modern & Contemporary |
05/24/06 |
85 |
$307,200 |
Peter Blume |
Winter |
Christie's |
American Paintings |
05/25/06 |
106 |
$307,200 |
Thomas Schütte |
Maschine (4 works) |
Phillips, de Pury |
Contemporary Art |
05/11/06 |
107 |
$307,200 |
Ugo Rondinone |
If There Were. . . |
Phillips, de Pury |
Contemporary Art |
05/11/06 |
108 |
$296,000 |
Victor Vasarely |
Jong |
Christie's |
Post War & Contemporary |
05/10/06 |
109 |
$296,000 |
Kiki Smith |
Untitled (Butterfly) |
Christie's |
Post-War & Contemporary |
05/10/06 |
112 |
$275,258 |
Nam June Paik |