London & Paris, October 2021
This October, Christie’s 20th/21st Century auction series achieved stunning results once again, with a combined total of £139,341,024 across auctions in London and Paris. Christie’s continues to lead the market in these categories.
Kicking off in London, 20th/21st Century: Evening Sale, Including Thinking Italian realised £64,561,000 and was led by Hurvin Anderson’s Audition, selling at £7,369,000 – a world auction record for the artist at more than double the previous record. With an exceptional sell-through rate of 92% by lot and 403 artworks sold across Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale, First Open: Post-War and Contemporary Art, and No Regrets: The Collectors’ Edition, the day and online sales were led by Yayoi Kusama’s My Life, which more than doubled pre-sale expectations.
The Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale and Modern British and Irish Art Day Sale achieved a combined total of £21,713,000, led by works by Sir Winston Churchill and a group of three paintings by L. S. Lowry. Impressive results were achieved for the sculptures, including works by Barry Flanagan and Dame Barbara Hepworth. The Modern British and Irish Art Day Sale reported its highest ever total, led by Elisabeth Frink’s Barking Dog, previously in the Collection of Anne and Kirk Douglas.
In Paris, the season’s successes continued with Collection Gerard Valkier: A Lifetime Journey with Art, Paris Avant-garde, BALTHUS: 46 oeuvres provenant de la collection de Stanislas Klossowski de Rola and Art Moderne, which achieved a combined total of £39,109,649 – with highlights Fernand Léger’s Paysage Animé and Hommage à Picasso, a rare evening dress by Yves Saint Laurent, which sold for ten times more than its presale estimate and will soon enter the collection of a renowned national museum.