Christie’s Shanghai-London 20th/21st Century: Evening Sales was held on 1 March. Amongst 105 lots offered, 95 were sold and achieved a sale total of £249 million pounds (around US$334 million dollars).
London's 20th/21st Century and The Art of the Surreal Evening Sales achieved stellar results, and garnered a total of £222.5 million. Franz Marc's The Foxes painting was the most valuable lot, which fetched £42.6 million (around US$56.5 million dollars) – a new auction record for the German Expressionist artist.
The total hammer price of the three special auctions was higher than the sum of the low estimates of the lots, and the results were favourable.
The 20th/21st Century: Shanghai Evening Sale’s results can be found here.
The sales in Shanghai and London are two of Christie's highlights during this year's Spring auction season
Christie's London live auction site
London | 20th and 21st Century Art Evening Sale
Amongst 64 lots offered, 55 lots were sold and achieved a sale total of £184.6 million pounds (around US$245.9 million dollars).
Lot 34 ￨ Franz Marc ￨ Die Fuchse (The Foxes), Oil on canvas
Created in 1913
88.3 x 66.4 cm
Provenance:
- Maria Marc, Ried, by descent from the artist, in March 1916
- Galerie Der Sturm [Herwarth Walden], Berlin, by whom acquired from the above, by September 1916
- Franz Kluxen, Berlin, by whom acquired from the above, by August 1917
- Max Leon Flemming, Hamburg & Berlin, by whom probably acquired from the above in May 1920
- Kurt & Else Grawi, Berlin, by whom acquired from the above in 1928
- William & Charlotte Dieterle, Beverly Hills, by whom acquired from the above in 1940 (through the agency of Ernst (Ernest) Simon and Karl Nierendorf, New York); offered for sale, Klipstein und Kornfeld, Bern, 8 June 1961, Lot 64
- Helmut Horten, Berlin, by whom acquired via private treaty prior to the above sale and subsequently gifted to the Städtische Kunstsammlung, Dusseldorf in 1962
- Restituted by the city of Dusseldorf to the heirs of Kurt & Else Grawi, in 2021
Estimated to fetch £35,000,000
Hammer Price: £37,000,000
Sold: £42,600,000 (around US$56.5 million)
Marc's painting was hammered at £37 million
The winning bid was by Guy Agazarian, for his client with paddle number 934
Auctioneer Jussi Pylkkanen started the bidding at £26 million pounds. After seven bids, the hammer was dropped at £37 million pounds. The winning bid was by Guy Agazarian, Christie’s London-based client liaison for a client with paddle number 934. In the end, it was sold at £42.65 million pounds (around US$56.5 million dollars) with buyer’s premium - breaking Marc's auction record.
Marc's previous auction record was set in 2018, also at Christie's London – Three Horses (1912). Estimated at €2.5 million at the time, it sold for €15.4 million (around US$17 million dollars) – far exceeding expectations. In terms of size, The Foxes (88.3 x 66.4 cm) is around 3.7 times the size of Three Horses (33.5 x 47.5 cm).
Filled with vibrant colour and dynamic form, Franz Marc’s The Foxes is a masterpiece of modernism. Created in 1913, at the height of the German Expressionist movement (1910-1930), it is among the most accomplished of the revolutionary artist’s career-defining series of paintings depicting animals immersed in their natural environment.
Before his death during the First World War, the painting has graced several great collections over the course of its life. Most recently, this included the Kunstpalast Museum Dusseldorf, before its return to the heirs of German investment banker, Kurt Grawi and wife, Else.
Depicting an idyllic scene, two foxes are interwoven in a kaleidoscopic pattern of brightly hued interpenetrating and intersecting lines. The Foxes illustrates the important developments that were occurring in Marc’s oeuvre during this period.
Three Horses (1912) was Marc's previous auction record
Franz Marc
Lot 38 ￨ Francis Bacon ￨ Triptych 1986-7, Oil, pastel, aerosol paint and dry transfer lettering on canvas, in three parts
Created in 1986-1987
Each: 198 x 147.5 cm
Provenance:
- Marlborough International Fine Art, Vaduz
- Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2007
Estimate: £35,000,000 – 55,000,000
Hammer Price: £35,000,000
Sold: £38,400,000 (around US$50.9 million)
Bacon's painting was hammered at £35 million pounds
The winning bid was by Katherine Arnold, for her client with paddle number 926
British modernist architect, Norman Foster
This bidding started at £26 million pounds. After three bids, the hammer was dropped at £35 million – which achieved the low estimate. The winning bid was by Katherine Arnold, Christie’s London Co-Head of Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Sale, for her client with paddle number 926. In the end, it was sold at £38.4 million pounds (around US$50.9 million dollars), with buyer’s premium.
According to Western media sources, Bacon’s Triptych 1986-7 was owned by British modernist architect, Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank. He is best known for designing key buildings around the world, such as the Great Court at the British Museum, the Apple Park in California and Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation building in Hong Kong.
From 1944 to 1986, Bacon created 28 triptychs. In 2013, his personal auction record was set with a triptych – when Three Studies of Lucian Freud (1969) was sold for US$142.4 million dollars at Christie's New York.
The British figurative painter’s protagonists range from lovers, close friends, self-portraits and the famous series of portraits of Popes. In this present auction, the Triptych 1986-7 is a rare amalgam of one of Bacon’s companions and two historical figures.
Former American President Woodrow Wilson is depicted in the triptych's left panel
On the left panel, former American President Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) is depicted from a scene during World War One – the moment he stepped out of the Paris Peace Conference at Quai d’Orsay after signing the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
During the peace talks, Wilson established the League of Nations to maintain world peace. Despite its best efforts, it failed to prevent the aggression of Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) and ultimately, the outbreak of World War Two. In 1946, the League ceased operations but many of its components were transferred into the new United Nations.
The middle panel depicts John Edwards (also pictured far right), Bacon's last and closest companion
In the central panel, John Edwards is illustrated. He was Bacon's closest and trusted companion, and inherited the painter’s house, studio and paintings after his death in 1992.
Edwards was the son of a London dockworker and Bacon was one of the most famous faces on the London social scene. In 1974, Bacon met Edwards at the Colony Room, a private club in Soho. The artist was in his late 70s, while Edwards was his early 20s.
The right panel illustrates the scene of Leon Trotsky's assassination in Mexico
On the right panel, the scene of Leon Trotsky’s (1879-1940) assassination is depicted.
During the early 20th century, Trotsky was an important revolutionary and theorist in Soviet Russia. He was one of key leaders of the October Revolution, as well as a key figure who established the Red Army and Fourth International.
After Lenin's death in 1924, Trotsky’s rival and Soviet Russia’s political leader, Joseph Stalin, grew increasingly in power. He expelled Trotsky from the party and sent him on political exile.
In August 1940 and during asylum in Mexico, Trotsky was assassinated by Spanish Communist and Soviet Union agent, Ramon Mercader – fatally hit with an ice pick on the head.
Lot 36 ￨ Lucian Freud ￨ Girl with Closed Eyes, Oil on canvas
Created in 1986-1987
46.3 x 60.4 cm
Provenance:
- James Kirkman, London
- Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1987
Estimate: £10,000,000 – 15,000,000
Hammer Price: £13,000,000
Sold: £15,100,000 (around US$20 million)
Ian Stoutzker was awarded the Prince of Wales Medal for philanthropy by Prince Charles in 2013
In 1987, the painting was sold to British collectors through Lucian's agent, James Kirkman, and the frame that Lucian chose has been preserved for 35 years. According to Western media reports, the British collectors were Ian Stoutzker and wife, Mercedes.
Born into a musical family, Ian studied the violin at the Royal College of Music in the United Kingdom. Later, he embarked on a business career and became a banker. He has contributed to the music industry – including launching the charity programme, Live Music Now, with talented violinist, Yehudi Menuhin. Due to his dedication to music and charitable acts, he was awarded many medals and awards.
Ian and Mercedes donated masterpieces by British Modern and Contemporary artists such as Lucian Freud, Peter Doig and David Hockney to the Tate Gallery in London.
Lucian Freud
Girl with Closed Eyes (1986-1987) is among the most exquisite of Lucian Freud’s triumphant 1980s portraits. Reclined on a bed in his Holland Park studio, Freud’s sitter, Janey Longman, is caught as if in reverie.
The painting is suffused with love, depicts a relationship of ease and understanding between artist and his muse. Her eyes are closed, her lips parted, and her head turned serenely to one side.
Her dark hair spills onto the mattress, with Freud’s thick, tactile impasto bringing each strand into life. From the soft swell of her breast to the lines of throat and clavicle and her expressive face, he maps her skin’s every detail meticulously.
Other highlight lots:
Five works were hammered at multiples of their low estimates – including Pablo Picasso, Flora Yukhnovich, Nicolas Party, Amoako Boafo and Jade Fadojutimi.
Lot 69 ￨ Pablo Picasso ￨ Le repas frugal, Etching and scraper, on laid Arches paper, a fine and early impression of Baer's second state before steel-facing
Created in 1904-1905
46.3 x 37.7 cm
Provenance:
- Private collection, Europe, by whom acquired in Paris in the 1930s and thence by descent; sale, Christie's, London, 30 November 2004, Lot 251
- Heinz Berggruen, Berlin & Paris, by whom acquired at the above sale, and thence by descent to the present owners
Estimate: £1,500,000 – 2,500,000
Hammer Price: £5,000,000
Sold: £6,014,500 (around US$9.3 million)
Lot 25 ￨ Flora Yukhnovich ￨ Tu me faire rougir (You make me blush), Oil on linen
Created in 2017
215 x 180 cm
Provenance:
- Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne
- Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2018
Estimate: £250,000 – 350,000
Hammer Price: £1,550,000
Sold: £1,902,000 (around US$2.5 million)
Lot 59 ￨ Nicolas Party ￨ Pink Tulips, Soft pastel on linen
Created in 2017
240 x 60 cm
Provenance:
- Xavier Hufkens, Brussels.
- Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2017.
Estimate: £400,000 – 600,000
Hammer Price: £1,400,000
Sold: £1,722,000 (around US$2.3 million)
Lot 31 ￨ Amoako Boafo ￨ Yellow Blanket, Oil on canvas
Created in 2018
215 x 180 cm
Provenance:
- Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner in 2018.
Estimate: £400,000 – 600,000
Hammer Price: £1,000,000
Sold: £1,242,000 (around US$1.6 million)
Lot 21 ￨ Jade Fadojutimi ￨ Acquainted Intruder, Oil on canvas
Created in 2018
180 x 210.5 cm
Provenance:
- Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne
- Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2018
Estimate: £300,000 – 500,000
Hammer Price: £750,000
Sold: £942,000 (around US$1.2 million)
London | The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale
Amongst 21 works offered, all were sold in a white-glove sale – achieving a sale total of £39.8 million pounds (around US$53 million dollars).
The most expensive lot was Pablo Picasso's La fenetre ouverte, which depicts the scene of his rendezvous with his lover and muse. As for the second and third most valuable works, they were Belgian Master Rene Magritte’s La Lumiere du pole (Polar Light) and the Spanish Master Joan Miro’s Personnage et oiseau (Figure and bird).
Lot 108 ￨ Pablo Picasso ￨ La fenetre ouverte (The opened window), Oil on canvas
Created in 1929
130.5 x 163.4 cm
Provenance:
- Galerie Paul Rosenberg, Paris & New York, by whom acquired directly from the artist, by 1932
- Mollie Bostwick (née Netcher), Chicago, New York & Palm Beach, by whom acquired from the above on 2 November 1961
- Galerie Beyeler, Basel (no. 6375), by whom acquired from the above on 10 March 1970, via the intermediation of James Goodman Gallery, New York
- Acquired from the above on 30 May 1974, and thence by descent to the present owner
Estimate: £14,000,000 – 24,000,000
Hammer Price: £14,000,000
Sold: £16,319,500 (around US$21.6 million)
Lot 102 ￨ Rene Magritte ￨ La lumiere du pole (Polar Light), Oil on canvas
Created in 1926-1927
139 x 104.8 cm
Provenance:
- Galerie Le Centaure, Brussels
- E.L.T. Mesens, Brussels & London, by whom acquired from the above in 1932
- Galerie Isy Brachot, Brussels, by whom acquired from the above in 1968
- Galleria Internazionale, Milan, by whom acquired from the above in 1968
- Condotti 75 [Maria Laura Drudi Gambillo], Rome (No. 07.49)
- Sophia Loren & Carlo Ponti, Rome
- Private collection, Brescia, by whom acquired from the above in the early 1990s
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: £5,500,000 – 7,500,000
Hammer Price: £5,200,000
Sold: £5,993,500 (around US$7.8 million)
Lot 113 ￨ Joan Miro ￨ Personnage et oiseau (Figure and bird), Oil on board
Created in 1963
104 x 74.4 cm
Provenance:
- Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York (no. ST 7097), by whom acquired directly from the artist, in October 1965
- Acquavella Modern Art, Nevada (no. 1586), by whom acquired from the above in 1990
- Private collection, Japan, by whom acquired from the above in 1990
- Private collection, Spain, by whom acquired from the above in 2007
- Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2011
Estimate: £1,800,000 – 2,500,000
Hammer Price: £2,500,000
Sold: £3,042,000 (around US$4 million)
Auction Details:
Auction House: Christie’s London
Sales:
- The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale
- 20th / 21st Century: London Evening Sale
Sale Date: 1 March 2022
Number of lots: 85
Sold: 76
Unsold: 9
Sale Rate: 89.4%
Sale Total: £222,584,386 (around US$296.5 million)