Sotheby's launched this month's marquee New York auctions with two sales on Monday evening, marking the commencement of the annual May sales season. The auctions, focused on established and emerging contemporary artists, collectively brought in $267.3 million, falling within the presale estimate of $241.8 million to $350.4 million. However, this lackluster start reflects broader concerns about a market slowdown compared to previous years.
Highlights and Disappointments
The evening's highlight was Francis Bacon's 1966 painting "Portrait of George Dyer Crouching," expected to be among Bacon's most expensive works. Despite a high estimate of $50 million, the painting sold for $27.7 million, failing to meet even its low estimate. This disappointment set the tone for the evening, casting doubts on market strength.
In the "The Now" sale, featuring ultra-contemporary artists, Kerry James Marshall's painting "Vignette #6" achieved the top price but fell short of expectations, hammering at $6.5 million, below its $7 million low estimate. Jeffrey Gibson's "Always After Now" sculpture went unsold despite anticipation following the artist's recent accolades at the Venice Biennale.
Nevertheless, the sale saw some standout successes. Justin Caguiat's painting "The saint is never busy" fetched $1.09 million, setting a new record for the artist. Similarly, Lucy Bull's painting "16:10" soared past its estimate, selling for $1.81 million, doubling expectations.
The main contemporary sale faced its challenges, with star lots failing to meet projections. A Richard Diebenkorn abstraction and a Lucio Fontana painting missed their estimates, while Frank Stella's "Ifafa I" sold at its low estimate despite the artist's recent passing.
Nevertheless, the two prominent paintings created by Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat were a marked achievement, and they managed to set a new record in their collaboration at $19. 4 million. Furthermore, Joan Mitchell's "Noon" was sold for $22. The record for the artist was previously at 6 million, and Faith Ringgold's "Dinner at Gertrude Stein's" was the new driver to be the record holder at $1. 57 million.
Conclusion and Market Analysis
The evening ended with Yayoi Kusama's painting "The Pacific Ocean" selling for $4. Thus, the night was a success. 66 million, ten times the high estimate. Nevertheless, the quiet atmosphere and the non-existence of refreshments after the auction suggested a new trend in the artist market, which made people wonder about the meaning of this poor beginning of the auction season.
Although the auctions were only slightly below the expected level, the poor results of some high-profile lots worried some market analysts. Many of them thought the case was not, and the bidding turned subdued because of the uncertainties around the global economy and the continued geopolitical tensions. Among others, the change of tastes among collectors was mentioned because the collectors prefer emerging artists and overlooked masters over well-known ones.
The auction houses still hope that the remaining months of the sales season will be successful, and they are advertising upcoming lots with strong provenance and exceptional quality. On the contrary, the cautious mood that will prevail at the beginning of the next season will make both buyers and sellers more discerning and look for the value and rarity of the products in a very competitive market.