After two weeks of Impressionist, modern and contemporary art auctions in New York, the mood is nothing if not buoyant. The combined auction total for Christie’s ($409.4 million), Sotheby’s ($313.6 million) and Phillips ($42.3 million) is an impressive $765.3 million, certainly the highest in recent memory.
At the same time, an up market can be full of surprises, as lots soar above the auction-house estimates to sell for much more than expected. As educated guesses, presale estimates are a reasonably good reflection of the current market demand; when a lot goes higher, it can signal a new or growing momentum in the market for works by that artist.
The most impressive lot by this measure was Pablo Picasso’s preparatory watercolor study for a figure in Les Desmoiselles d'Avignon (1907), a graphic nude in bright yellow with a face based on an African mask. Conservatively estimated at $3 million-$4 million -- it is, after all, only a work on paper -- a bidding battle at Sotheby’s New York on Nov. 2, 2005, pushed it up to $13,736,000 (with premium), almost 250 percent over the high estimate. Clearly, the anonymous buyer had strong feelings about the work, no doubt because of its historical importance.
Another surprise was delivered at Christie’s New York on Nov. 8, 2005, when Roy Lichtenstein’s Vicki! I- I Thought I Heard Your Voice (1964), sold for $1,864,000, more than double -- 211 percent more, in fact -- than the high presale estimate of $600,000. Though depicting one of the artist’s famous Pop romance comic-book panels, the low estimate was reasonable, at least before the sale, considering that the work is a multiple, produced by Leo Castelli Gallery in enamel on steel in an edition of eight -- a factor that loses its importance with the passage of time. Furthermore, it should be noted that Vicki! came on the block only a few lots after Lichtenstein’s record-setting In the Car (1963), a similar work that sold for $16,256,000, a mere two percent above its $16 million presale estimate.
Claude Monet’s Le pont japonais (ca. 1918-24), one of the artist’s trademark paintings of the Japanese bridge over a pond in his garden at Giverny, was another over-achiever, selling at Sotheby’s on Nov. 2, for $5,168,000, about 158 percent over the presale high estimate of $2,000,000. One of the few genuine Impressionist pictures in the auctions, the fact that the picture is relatively small (35 x ca. 46 in.) and once bore an estate stamp (since removed) was trumped by its increasing rarity.
Rank |
Artist |
Title |
High Estimate |
sale_price_usd |
% Over High Estimate |
Auction Venue |
Sale |
Date |
1 |
Pablo Picasso |
Nu jaune |
$4,000,000 |
$13,736,000 |
243% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
2 |
Roy Lichtenstein |
Vicki ! I-I thought I heard your voice |
$600,000 |
$1,864,000 |
211% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
3 |
Conrad Felixmüller |
Clemens Braun |
$400,000 |
$1,136,000 |
184% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
4 |
Pablo Picasso |
Tête de femme |
$1,200,000 |
$3,376,000 |
181% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
5 |
Claude Monet |
Le pont japonais |
$2,000,000 |
$5,168,000 |
158% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
6 |
Egon Schiele |
Self-portrait as St. Sebastian |
$900,000 |
$2,256,000 |
151% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
7 |
Paul Cézanne |
Pommes et gâteaux |
$4,500,000 |
$10,320,000 |
129% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
8 |
Alberto Giacometti |
Portrait de la mère de l'artiste |
$450,000 |
$1,024,000 |
128% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
9 |
Marlene Dumas |
The garden |
$600,000 |
$1,360,000 |
127% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
10 |
Hans Hofmann |
Stardust |
$700,000 |
$1,584,000 |
126% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
11 |
Claude Monet |
Le panier de pommes |
$1,400,000 |
$2,928,000 |
109% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
12 |
Alexander Calder |
Brass in the sky |
$1,200,000 |
$2,424,000 |
102% |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary Art |
11/09/05 |
13 |
Gerhard Richter |
Abstraktes Bild |
$600,000 |
$1,192,000 |
99% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/09/05 |
14 |
David Smith |
CUBI XXVIII |
$12,000,000 |
$23,816,000 |
98% |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary Art |
11/09/05 |
15 |
Claude Monet |
Aiguille d'Etretat, marée basse |
$1,000,000 |
$1,920,000 |
92% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
16 |
Alberto Giacometti |
Nature morte aux pommes |
$650,000 |
$1,248,000 |
92% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
17 |
Joan Miró |
Nature morte au raisin |
$1,200,000 |
$2,256,000 |
88% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
18 |
Alexander Calder |
The Haverford Monster (maquette) |
$800,000 |
$1,472,000 |
84% |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary Art |
11/09/05 |
19 |
Andy Warhol |
Woman in blue (after Matisse) |
$700,000 |
$1,248,000 |
78% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/09/05 |
20 |
Christopher Wool |
Untitled (W17) Rundogrundogrun |
$700,000 |
$1,248,000 |
78% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
21 |
Willem de Kooning |
Untitled |
$6,000,000 |
$10,656,000 |
78% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
22 |
Claude Monet |
Les maisons dans la neige, Norvège |
$800,000 |
$1,416,000 |
77% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
23 |
Andy Warhol |
$ |
$900,000 |
$1,584,000 |
76% |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary Art |
11/09/05 |
24 |
Paul Klee |
Young garden - Rhythms |
$1,800,000 |
$3,152,000 |
75% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
25 |
Mark Rothko |
Untitled |
$1,500,000 |
$2,536,000 |
69% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
26 |
Gerhard Richter |
Fairy |
$950,000 |
$1,584,000 |
67% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
27 |
Jean-Michel Basquiat |
Untitled |
$1,500,000 |
$2,480,000 |
65% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
28 |
David Smith |
Jurassic bird |
$3,000,000 |
$4,944,000 |
65% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
29 |
Willem de Kooning |
Cross-legged figure |
$1,200,000 |
$1,976,000 |
65% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
30 |
Tamara de Lempicka |
Suzanne au bain |
$900,000 |
$1,472,000 |
64% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist & Modern Art |
11/03/05 |
31 |
Aristide Maillol |
La nuit |
$1,750,000 |
$2,816,000 |
61% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
32 |
Théo van Rysselberghe |
Port de Cette, les tartanes |
$2,000,000 |
$3,152,000 |
58% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
33 |
Robert Motherwell |
New England Elegy #3 |
$900,000 |
$1,416,000 |
57% |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary Art |
11/09/05 |
34 |
Gerhard |
Abstraktes Bild |
$1,200,000 |
$1,864,000 |
55% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
35 |
Joan Mitchell |
Sunflower V |
$1,000,000 |
$1,528,000 |
53% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
36 |
Alberto Giacometti |
Sculptures dans l'atelier |
$1,000,000 |
$1,528,000 |
53% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
37 |
Louise Bourgeois |
Spider |
$2,000,000 |
$3,040,000 |
52% |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary Art |
11/09/05 |
38 |
Pablo Picasso |
Femme dans l'atelier |
$2,000,000 |
$2,984,000 |
49% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
39 |
Andy Warhol |
Airmail stamps |
$700,000 |
$1,024,000 |
46% |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary Art |
11/09/05 |
40 |
Frank Stella |
Gray scramble |
$700,000 |
$1,024,000 |
46% |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary Art |
11/09/05 |
41 |
Andy Warhol |
Dollar sign |
$900,000 |
$1,304,000 |
45% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
42 |
Willem de Kooning |
Untitled |
$900,000 |
$1,304,000 |
45% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
43 |
Aristide Maillol |
Flore nue |
$700,000 |
$1,001,600 |
43% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
44 |
Fernand Léger |
La partie de cartes |
$1,500,000 |
$2,144,000 |
43% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
45 |
Andy Warhol |
One dollar bill |
$900,000 |
$1,248,000 |
39% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
46 |
Franz Kline |
Painting in black and white and color (Washington wall) |
$4,000,000 |
$5,448,000 |
36% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
47 |
Joan Miró |
Painting |
$2,000,000 |
$2,704,000 |
35% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
48 |
Pablo Picasso |
Buste de femme |
$5,000,000 |
$6,736,000 |
35% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
49 |
Pablo Picasso |
Sylvette au fauteuil vert |
$6,000,000 |
$8,080,000 |
35% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
50 |
Pablo Picasso |
Buste d'homme barbu |
$900,000 |
$1,192,000 |
32% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
51 |
Edward Ruscha |
Flag |
$1,200,000 |
$1,584,000 |
32% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
52 |
Andy Warhol |
Self-portrait |
$1,500,000 |
$1,976,000 |
32% |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary Art |
11/09/05 |
53 |
Jeff Koons |
Self-portrait |
$3,000,000 |
$3,936,000 |
31% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
54 |
Alfred Sisley |
Sur le bord du canal du Loing |
$800,000 |
$1,046,400 |
31% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
55 |
Jacques Lipchitz |
Baigneuse |
$1,000,000 |
$1,304,000 |
30% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
56 |
Alexej Jawlensky |
Sicilian woman with green shawl |
$4,000,000 |
$5,168,000 |
29% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
57 |
Berthe Morisot |
Cache-Cache |
$4,000,000 |
$5,168,000 |
29% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
58 |
Willem de Kooning |
Untitled # 10 |
$900,000 |
$1,136,000 |
26% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
59 |
Andy Warhol |
Four skulls (on 4 panels) |
$800,000 |
$1,001,600 |
25% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/09/05 |
60 |
Marc Chagall |
Bouquet sur Vence |
$1,000,000 |
$1,248,000 |
25% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
61 |
Joan Mitchell |
Untitled |
$2,000,000 |
$2,480,000 |
24% |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary Art |
11/09/05 |
62 |
Mark Rothko |
Untitled |
$1,200,000 |
$1,472,000 |
23% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
63 |
Camille Pissarro |
Soleil couchant, automne Eragny |
$1,200,000 |
$1,472,000 |
23% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
64 |
Hans Arp |
Sculpture de silence, Corneille |
$1,200,000 |
$1,472,000 |
23% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
65 |
Auguste Rodin |
La cathédrale |
$1,200,000 |
$1,472,000 |
23% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
66 |
Henri Laurens |
Le matin |
$1,200,000 |
$1,472,000 |
23% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
67 |
Pablo Picasso |
Bouteille et verre |
$1,800,000 |
$2,200,000 |
22% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
68 |
Alberto Giacometti |
Figurine |
$2,500,000 |
$3,040,000 |
22% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
69 |
Robert Motherwell |
Elegy to the Spanish Republic # 122 |
$1,800,000 |
$2,144,000 |
19% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
70 |
Marc Chagall |
Le jongleur |
$3,500,000 |
$4,048,000 |
16% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
71 |
Willem de Kooning |
Untitled |
$900,000 |
$1,024,000 |
14% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
72 |
Barbara Hepworth |
Figure (Ascending form) |
$900,000 |
$1,024,000 |
14% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
73 |
Claude Monet |
Le fjord, près Christiania |
$1,200,000 |
$1,360,000 |
13% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
74 |
Andy Warhol |
Mona Lisa Four Times |
$1,500,000 |
$1,696,000 |
13% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
75 |
Camille Pissarro |
Petit pont sur la Viosne, Osny |
$1,500,000 |
$1,696,000 |
13% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
76 |
Andy Warhol |
Flowers |
$6,000,000 |
$6,736,000 |
12% |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary Art |
11/09/05 |
77 |
Francis Bacon |
Study for a Pope I |
$9,000,000 |
$10,096,000 |
12% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
78 |
Mark Rothko |
Homage to Matisse |
$20,000,000 |
$22,416,000 |
12% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
79 |
Damien Hirst |
The most beautiful thing in the world |
$1,200,000 |
$1,304,000 |
9% |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary Art |
11/09/05 |
80 |
Fernand Léger |
Esquisse pour Le grand déjeuner |
$4,500,000 |
$4,832,000 |
7% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
81 |
Pablo Picasso |
Guitare, verre, bouteille de Vieux Marc |
$3,500,000 |
$3,712,000 |
6% |
Sotheby's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/02/05 |
82 |
Richard Prince |
Untitled (Cowboy) |
$1,200,000 |
$1,248,000 |
4% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
83 |
Alexander Calder |
Aux Shahn |
$1,200,000 |
$1,248,000 |
4% |
Sotheby's New York |
Contemporary Art |
11/09/05 |
84 |
Pablo Picasso |
L'atelier |
$2,500,000 |
$2,592,000 |
4% |
Christie's New York |
Impressionist and Modern Art |
11/01/05 |
85 |
Willem de Kooning |
Untitled |
$3,500,000 |
$3,600,000 |
3% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
86 |
Agnes Martin |
Untitled 0 |
$1,500,000 |
$1,528,000 |
2% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
87 |
Roy Lichtenstein |
In the car |
$16,000,000 |
$16,256,000 |
2% |
Christie's New York |
Post-War and Contemporary Art |
11/08/05 |
