If the sale totalled $134.6 million (£101.8 mil) for 31 lots sold, the highest result ever recorded for the New York branch of Phillips, it also reflects, in the tradition of Titus Kaphar and Amoako Boafo, the incredible rise of artists of colour on the contemporary scene. No less than five auction records were achieved, honouring black artists Amy Sherald, Kehinde Wiley, Mickalene Thomas and Vaughn Spann, as well as Londoner Jadé Fadojutimi.
Amy Sherald, the artist behind Michelle Obama's official portrait, saw her prices skyrocket when her work The Bathers soared to $4.4 million (£3.33 mil) after a 15-minute battle. The painting, a portrait of two young women in colourful swimsuits against a blue background, was the fifth most expensive lot of the session, just behind Joan Mitchell ($11.2 million or £8.45 mil) and Jean-Michel Basquiat ($11.5 million or £8.7 mil).
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Since moving to Baltimore, Maryland, this Georgia-born artist has given her work a social context, delivering, through her inspiration for historical themes, a critical and personal vision of the representation of the body of African Americans. Her portraits, for which she is mostly known, are imbued with social justice themes and invite the viewer to participate in a complex debate on notions of race and representation. Sherald's previous record was set in 2019 at $350,000 (£265,700).
The sale set the second record of the year for Kehinde Wiley, the artist who through expressive and striking portraits, redefines the codes of traditional painting. Portrait of Mickalene Thomas, the Coyote, a 2017 canvas depicting his contemporary Mickalene Thomas, soared for $378,000 (£258,880), surpassing his previous record of $300,000 (£226,890).
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Wiley's style, blending the poses of ancient nobility portraits with modern elements, is world famous today and his works raise awareness of the lack of diversity in the art world and in museums. Wiley painted the official portrait of Barack Obama in 2017. Wiley and Sherald were the first African-American artists chosen to produce the official portraits of American leaders on display at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington.
I've Been Good To Me, a 2013 work by painter Mickalene Thomas, quadrupled its estimate and nearly doubled the artist's previous record, picking up $901,200 (£681,580) while Big Black Rainbow (Deep Dive) by Vaughn Spann, a work oscillating between figuration and abstraction, won $239,400 (£181,060). Thomas and Spann's old records date back to 2019 and 2020, respectively, proving once again the recent and dazzling interest of collectors over the past two years.
Jadé Fadojutimi, a 27-year-old British visual artist, stood out with Lotus Land, a canvas painted during her final year of her Masters at the Royal College of Art. Estimated between $40,000-60,000 (£30,250-45,380), the work sold for an impressive $378,000 (£285,880), smashing her previous record set earlier this year at $52,000 (£39,330).
A rising star of the contemporary London scene, Fadojutimi has already benefited from exhibitions here and in Cologne, and has works in several international museums. Focused on abstraction, she offers a glimpse of the quest for identity and self-knowledge, using her own experiences, good or bad, to transcribe in her paintings emotions that cannot be expressed through language.
A work by Amoako Boafo, Purple on Red, also fetched $756,000 (£571,760).
“The sale has been one of the most diverse and we were pleased to see five artists of color set world records tonight,” said Jean-Paul Engelen and Robert Manley, co-directors of Phillips' art department of 20th century and contemporary. This auction, held on 7 December, "testifies to the strength of our team and the deep relationships we have with our collectors, forged through an offer of the best works, and the creativity and dynamism for which Phillips is known".
