As the fall colors turn New York to yellow, red, rust and gold, New York’s fall art auctions are seeing more of the color green as auction houses reported more than 2.6 billion dollars in sales, according to the art and data analytics firm, Pi-eX.
The recent demand for art has been boosted by a huge surge in global wealth and the craze for collectibles that has existed from time immemorial. The recent inflation fears could also be a reason why there has been an increased interest in demand for art, as a hedge, which leads to higher prices.
The data and analytics firm said that there were total sales of $2.65 billion over two weeks at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Philips–three major auction houses in New York. In 2014, auction houses had set an all time record of $2.59 billion in fall sales. This record has been shattered by the fall art auction sales this year.
According to Pi-eX, 32 art works sold for over $20 million, while 54 works sold for over $10 million. The total sales as per the individual auction houses was as follows:
Christie’s–$1.14 billion
Sotheby’s–$1.34 billion
Phillips–more than $170 billion.
Two big collections: the Cox Collection and the Macklowe Collection contributed millions to the coffers of the auction houses.
The Cox Collection
The Cox Collection was owned by the late Dallas tycoon Edwin L.Cox. It was auctioned at Christie’s for a total of $332 million. Wealthy bidders drove the prices high as it had some classic art including the following high-value sales:
Vincent van Gogh’s 1889 “Cabanes de bois parmi les oliviers sold for $71.4 million which was double its estimated price.
Gustave Caillebotte’s “Young Man at his Window” fetched $53 million.
Another van Gogh also went for six times its estimate.
The Macklowe Collection
This collection was auctioned at Sotheby’s as a result of developer Harry Macklowe’s bitter divorce. The collection was sold for $676 million. Some of its high value sales were as follows:
Mark Rothko’s “No. 7” was sold for $82.5 million.
Alberto Giacometti’s Le Nez sculpture sold for $78.4 million
A Jackson Pollack sold for $61.2 million.
A Cy Twombly piece sold for 58.9 million.
Classic and traditional were not the only art form that made waves. An NFT powered sculpture by the digital artist Mike Winklemann, who is popularly called Beeple, was bought by crypto-focused venture capitalist Ryan Zurrer for $29 million at Christie’s.
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