If anyone doubts the state of the auction world, I can tell you - it’s never been better, especially for the world leading auction house Christie’s who just auctioned out Peggy and David Rockefellers outstanding collections in the world’s biggest auction ever to have taken place.
The atmosphere, before the auction, was, to say the least irrepressible - if not a little chaotic.
Bidders from all over the world sat benched in the auction room as well as in front of their displays with phones ready. Everyone wanted a part of the legendary couple’s private estate and exquisite art collection.
Already on the first day of the auctions, 44 works by some of the art history’s most famous painters had been hammered for $646 million. The auction who beat all previous records resulted in a so-called “white glove” sale, meaning every single item being sold and at sky-high prices for that matter.
Even though the painting "Fillette à la corbeille fleurie" from 1905, by Pablo Picasso was the most expensive painting in the sale, with a price of $115.1 million, it was a bit of a disappointment. The starting price had not been announced before the sale but word had it that the estimate was $100 million and hoping for a result higher than what it was. The bidding started at $90 million and stopped at $102 million before the commission fees were added.
However, considering what Gertrude Stein and her brother Leo paid for it in 1905, you have to say the increase in value from $30 to $102 million is not bad.
On another note, Claude Monets’ "Nymphéas en fleur" from 1914-17 had a starting price of $50 million ending up, after a intense bidding between five parties, at $84.7 million, including all fees. The winner was Xin Li Cohen, Christie’s director in Asia.
One of my personal favourites from the auction was Juan Gris’ cubist gouache still life “La table de musicien” from 1914. The delicate painting reached above all expectations, once again- not officially- but word had been it would reach $20 million.
After the intense bidding, the price tag said $31.8 million. To the story, one should add that the Rockefeller couple bought the painting in 1966 for $45,000.
In total the first day of the auction saw 44 artworks bring in a cool $646 million.
The following day, another $120 million could be counted when new records were set at the Art of the Americas Evening Sale.
Among other works, Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington from 1795 was sold for $11.5 million. The portrait is the first out of three that the artist painted of the American president. This portrait was done in Philadelphia and the ending price set a new world record for the artist.
Diego Riveras painting “The Rivals” also set a new record for the artist, but also for Latin American art as it was hammered for $9.7 million. The artwork, bought by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller in 1931 was later given as a wedding gift to her son David and wife Peggy.
For decades the painting by the Mexican artist has been hanging in the couples living room in their Maine estate.
On Wednesday the auction success continued when various artworks sold for a total of $12.36 million - the estimate had been $2.5 million.
In total, about 1,400 objects are receiving new owners in the space of a couple of weeks as the world’s largest auction closes.
Even though the success is undeniable and the world records were many the expectations had been higher for some of the auctioned items.
But when the hammer falls for the last time, Christie’s will be able, to sum up yet another success story and keep their place as the world’s leading auction house!
