Phillips London Sale Achieves $19.6 Million, Sets Two Artist Records

(MENAFN- USA Art News) Phillips's modern and contemporary art evening sale in London reached a total of £14.8 million ($19.6 million), with all 20 lots sold. The auction also established new artist records for Eva Helene Pade and Joseph Yaeger.

The highest selling lot was Gerhard Richter's“Mathis,” an abstract canvas from 1983. Consigned from French collector Marcel Brient's collection, it sold for $7.6 million, falling within its pre-sale estimate of $8 million–$10 million. Phillips's deputy chairwoman, Olivia Thornton, noted after the sale that“Works that are fresh, from private collections and from known collections, continue to drive interest and excitement in the market.” This marks the second time“Mathis” was offered by Phillips, having been withdrawn three years prior. According to the Artnet Price Database, Richter's auction record stands at $46.3 million for another abstraction from the same decade.

A Banksy piece,“Keep Ou T,” made its auction debut, selling for $2.1 million, which was within its estimate. The work, which re-purposes a European Union arrivals gate and features a rat, was created after the Brexit referendum and first exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 2019.

Three lots were acquired in a private sale brokered by Phillips before the auction: Ben Nicholson's“Cumbrian Cottages” (1928), and Christopher Wood's“Breton Fisherwoman” (1929–30) and“Fish in a Basket” (1930). These works were part of the 22-piece Dartington Hall Collection. The entire collection has been purchased“for the nation” in a joint acquisition by The Box in Plymouth and the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery in Exeter, supported by a $1.08 million grant from Art Fund.

New auction records were achieved for contemporary artists. Eva Helene Pade's“Yellow Nights” (2020) sold for $222,550, more than triple its high estimate. Megan Rooney's“Blue departure” (2021) also exceeded expectations, realizing $325,270, five times its low estimate. The most competitive bidding of the evening was for Joseph Yaeger's“Once, always” (2023), which sold for $855,970 to an Indian bidder, setting a new artist record and surpassing its estimate.

Thornton expressed enthusiasm for the international participation, stating,“You never know in the run-up to a sale how far collectors will chase things, and that was really encouraging. I was very enthused by the international audience. We had bidding from all over the globe tonight.”

Other notable sales included an early work by Salvador Dalí,“El torrent de la Jorneta” (1923), which fetched $855,970, slightly above its high estimate. David Hockney's“Red Leather Chair” (2003) sold for $855,970, within estimate. James Turrell's LED piece,“Ein Feshkha” (2008), was acquired for $650,540 by a buyer in California, also within its estimate.

Phillips's day sale of modern and contemporary art is scheduled for Saturday, preceding the conclusion of Frieze in London.

Source: Artnet News

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