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Auction Results

Now
Contemporary Art Evening Auction

10 February 2016 | 7:00 PM GMT | London

SALE TOTAL

69,461,000GBP
Browse Lots
  • 17
    Lucian Freud
    Pregnant Girl 
    LOT SOLD.16,053,000GBP
  • 12
    Alberto Burri
    Sacco e Rosso
    LOT SOLD.9,109,000GBP
  • 15
    Jean-Michel Basquiat
    Untitled (Head of Madman)
    LOT SOLD.6,197,000GBP
  • 30
    Andy Warhol
    Large Campbell’s Soup Can
    LOT SOLD.5,133,000GBP
  • 7
    Adrian Ghenie
    The Sunflowers in 1937
    LOT SOLD.3,117,000GBP
  • 10
    Piero Manzoni
    Achrome
    LOT SOLD.2,613,000GBP
  • 18
    Frank Auerbach
    Primrose Hill 
    LOT SOLD.2,105,000GBP
  • 44
    Richard Prince
    Heartbreak Nurse
    LOT SOLD.1,985,000GBP
  • 48
    Kazuo Shiraga
    Koujouka
    LOT SOLD.1,565,000GBP
  • 27
    Gerhard Richter
    Gebirge
    LOT SOLD.1,505,000GBP
Browse Lots
Sale Number: L16020 Lots : 53

SALE TOTAL

69,461,000GBP DOWNLOAD RESULTS
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Overview

RESULTS

The Contemporary Art Evening Auction realised a final total of £69,461,000. The sale was led by Lucian Freud’s tender portrait of his lover Bernadine Coverley, pregnant at the time with their daughter Bella. The 1960-61 work was pursued by six bidders and sold for £16.1 million, more than £9 million above the pre-sale low estimate and a new record for an early painting by the artist.

New auction records were also established for Alberto Burri and Adrian Ghenie. The former’s 1959 work Sacco e Rosso achieved £9.1 million, almost twice the previous record established in 2014. Adrain Ghenie’s colossal Van-Gogh-inspired Sunflowers in 1937 soared above its pre-sale estimate of £400,000-600,000 selling for £3.1 million.

Alex Branczik, Head of Contemporary Art London, commented after the sale:

“Tonight we saw a confident art market, punctuated by some real high-points and a depth of bidding. There was much debate about the market ahead of the sale, but in spite of the broader economy, tonight proved that collectors will always compete for works of outstanding quality and rarity.”

AUCTION DETAILS

This February Sotheby's will present a selection of exceptional post-war and contemporary art masterpieces including outstanding works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, a rarely seen silver Electric Chair by Andy Warhol, and a vivacious landscape from Frank Auerbach's enigmatic corpus of Primrose Hill paintings. Fresh from Alberto Burri's critically acclaimed retrospective at the Guggenheim, the auction is punctuated by Burri's standout masterpiece Sacco e Rosso from circa 1959. This sale is also led by the extraordinarily beautiful portrait of Bernadine Coverley, Pregnant Girl, painted by the iconic British artist Lucian Freud in 1960-61. Other highlights include outstanding works by Lucio Fontana, Yves Klein, Adrian Ghenie, Ed Ruscha and Christopher Wool.

Admission to the sale is by ticket only. Please call +44 (0)20 7293 5891 or email CONTEMPORARY.TICKETS@SOTHEBYS.COM for further information.

conditions of sale Saleroom Notice

Contact Information

Oliver Barker
Chairman, Sotheby's Europe
+44 20 7293 5000
oliver.barker@sothebys.com
Alex Branczik
Senior Director
European Head of Department
Contemporary Art
+44 20 7293 5401
alex.branczik@sothebys.com
Isabelle Paagman
Senior Director
European Head of Private Sales
+44 20 7293 5495
isabelle.paagman@sothebys.com
James Sevier
Senior Director
Senior Specialist
Head Of London Evening Auctions
Contemporary Art
+44 20 7293 5842
james.sevier@sothebys.com
Emma Baker
Director
Head of Evening Sale
Contemporary Art
+44 207 293 5569
emma.baker@sothebys.com
Celina Langen-Smeeth
Deputy Director
Specialist
Contemporary Art
+44 207 293 5741
celina.langen-smeeth@sothebys.com
Antonia Gardner
Deputy Director
Specialist
Contemporary Art
+44 20 7293 5585
antonia.gardner@sothebys.com
Alexander Williams
Business Manager
Contemporary Art
+44 20 7293 5751
alexander.williams@sothebys.com
Galina Cox
Senior Post Sale Manager
+44 20 7293 6209
galina.cox@sothebys.com
   
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