Auction Results from Christie's, Phillips, Sotheby's, and More
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Photo courtesy of Phillips1/5Untitled Marilyn #13,2012, by Nate Lowman
Sold atPhillips, “Contemporary Art Evening” (London, February 10)
The market continues to grow for Lowman, a rising star championed by such veteran collectors as Aby Rosen and Peter Brant. This 40" x 60" canvas (est. $656,000–$984,000) belongs to a signature series that riffs on a Willem de Kooning portrait of Marilyn Monroe. It sold for $722,000, an auction record for Lowman. Only three years ago, a similar work could be had for about a third of that.
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Photo courtesy of Cornette de Saint Cyr2/5Pearl Necklace
Sold atCornette de Saint Cyr, “Jewelry & Watches” (Paris, February 10)
Few could have predicted the bidding war that erupted over this elegant but unpedigreed necklace—composed of 148 natural pearls on three strands and featuring a simple yellow-gold clasp. “We gave it a reasonable estimate, as there were no recent results for similar designs,” says specialist Tifenn Bouric, explaining the piece’s $12,300–$13,600 valuation. The hammer price—$341,000—exceeded the high estimate by a factor of 25. Bouric credits this to the unusual number of pearls as well as their considerable size, some measuring upward of four tenths of an inch in diameter.
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Photo courtesy of Sotheby's3/5Circa-1875 Weather Vane
Sold atSotheby’s, “Visual Grace: Important American Folk Art from the Collection of Ralph O. Esmerian” (New York, January 25)
This court-ordered auction comprised more than 200 pieces from the esteemed collection of Ralph Esmerian, the former chairman emeritus of New York’s American Folk Art Museum, who is now serving a prison sentence for fraud. Among the highlights was this carved-pine pheasant weather vane, a choice example of 19th-century woodworking. Bidding sailed past the $300,000 high estimate, culminating at $370,000. All told, the sale yielded $13 million, a record for the folk-art category.
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Photo courtesy of Christie's4/5Cracked Egg (Magenta),1994-2006, by Jeff Koons
Sold atChristie’s, “Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Auction” (London, February 13)
This stainless-steel sculpture drew attention on account of not only its creator—Koons holds the title for the most expensive work by a living artist sold at auction—but also its seller, fellow art-world celebrity Damien Hirst. The 62.5"-dia. egg is from a series of five, each in a different color. Estimated at $16.4–24.6 million, it fetched $20.6 million, presumably netting a handsome profit for Hirst, who reportedly paid $3.5 million when he bought the piece from the Gagosian Gallery in 2006.
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Photo courtesy of Bonhams5/52013 Harley-Davidson
Sold atBonhams, “Grand Marques of the World at the Grand Palais” (Paris, February 6)
这不是every day that a pope’s motorcycle hits the auction block. This custom-made Dyna Super Glide was given to Pope Francis by Harley-Davidson last year in celebration of the brand’s 110th anniversary. His Holiness donated the ride (adding his signature to the gas tank) to raise money for charity. Estimated at $16,200–$20,300 and offered without reserve, the vehicle achieved an incredible $284,000. The proceeds benefited a homeless shelter and soup kitchen in Rome.
