Phillips Contemporary & 20th Century Art Sale Breaks Artist Records, Sells $ 134.6 Million
Five New auction records for Kehinde Wiley, Mickalene Thomas, Amy Sherald, Jadé Fadojutimi and Vaughn Spann
New York, December 7, 2020
Evening Sale Total: $ 134,583,400 / £ 100,426,133 / € 110,977,472
Edward Dolman, CEO of Phillips, said: “Tonight marks an amazing achievement for Phillips, where we achieved the highest sales total for a New York auction in the history of the company. Tonight’s total sales mark an increase of almost 25% over the 20th century and contemporary sale of last fall and in the midst of a truly unprecedented year that saw a myriad of challenges for the market. art and auctions. At Phillips, we’ve long had a first digital strategy that has paid off: the live auction event as we knew it has been redesigned and transformed, the excitement and energy of the auction house to auctions being telegraphed worldwide from our custom designed studio in London, including live video feed from New York and auction feeds from around the world. This achievement follows another record-breaking auction in Hong Kong, and we have seen continued growth in this market. “
Jean-Paul Engelen and Robert Manley, global co-leaders of 20th century and contemporary art, jointly said: “We are delighted to end so strong an unprecedented year; nine months after the initial shutdown that left the live auction world in limbo, we’ve just had one of the strongest sales in Phillips history. This success is a testament to the strength of our team and the deep relationships we have with our collectors, forged over decades of bringing the best works to market with the creativity and drive for which Phillips is known. The sale was one of our most diverse and we were delighted to see five artists of color set world auction records tonight. “
Out of the door, Amy Sherald’s Bathers more than multiplied previous auction records to a remarkable $ 4,265.00, nearly 30 times the presale estimate with almost 15 minutes of auction. Titus Kaphar Sail reached $ 365,400, five times its presale estimate, and Matthew Wong Before the night Falls hit $ 1,252,100, more than triple the presale estimate; demonstrating Phillips’ continued strength in emerging artist markets.
Hockney’s Nichols Canyon sold for a revolutionary amount of $ 41,067,500, setting a record for an artist’s landscape – this award caliber is usually reserved for his figurative works, but the rarity and truly exceptional nature of this landscape shattered that notion. Clyfford Still’s remarkable PH-407, which fetched $ 18,442,500, is a rare monumental work from his Maryland period, and it is one of only a few dozen works by the artist to remain in the hands of private. by Basquiat Portrait of A-One AKA King sold for $ 11,500,000, marking the first time this work has been released in 30 years. The painting is an exemplary work from the height of Basquiat’s career, painted in 1982 while he was producing important works of art. We set a world record for Kehinde Wiley’s Portrait of Mickalene Thomas, the Coyote, hitting $ 378,000, tripling the presale estimate while Mickalene Thomas I’ve been good to me reached $ 901,200, quadrupling the pre-sale estimate for the work.
The ten best prizes
David Hockney, Nichols Canyon, 1980
* World auction record for an Artist’s Landscape
Estimate on request
$ 41,067,500
Clyfford again, PH-407, 1964
Estimate on request
$ 18,442,500
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Portrait of A-One AKA King, 1982
is. $ 10,000,000 – 15,000,000
$ 11,500,000
Joan Mitchell, Untitled, 1953
is. $ 10,000,000 – 15,000,000
$ 11,297,500
Amy Sherald, The Bathers, 2015
* World auction record for the Artist
is. $ 150,000 – $ 200,000
$ 4,265,000
George Condo, Transparent female forms, 2009
is. $ 3,500,000 – 5,500,000
$ 4,265,000
Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild (678-1), 1988
is. $ 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
$ 4,265,000
Helen Frankenthaler, Off White Square, 1973
is. $ 2,800,000 – 3,500,000
$ 3,720,500
Ruth Asawa, Untitled (S.045, Multilayer continuous form suspended from five lobes in one shape, with spheres in the first, second and third lobes), 1960s
is. $ 1,500,000 – 2,000,000
$ 3,539,000
Donald Judd, Untitled, performed in 1965 and remodeled in 1969
is. $ 3,000,000 – 4,000,000
$ 3,539,000
New auction records
Amy Sherald, Bathers, 2015
is. $ 150,000 – $ 200,000
$ 4,265,000
* previous record price: $ 350,000 established in 2019
Jadé Fadojutimi, Lotus Land, 2017
is. $ 40,000 – $ 60,000
$ 378,000
* previous record price: $ 52,260 established in 2020
Vaughn Spann, Large black rainbow (deep dive), 2019
is. $ 40,000 – $ 60,000
$ 239,400
* previous record price: $ 187,500 established in 2020
David Hockney, Nichols Canyon, 1980
* World auction record for an Artist’s Landscape
Estimate on request
$ 41,067,500
previous record price: $ 28,453,000 set in 2018
Kehinde Wiley, Portrait of Mickalene Thomas, the Coyote, 2017
is. $ 100,000 – $ 150,000
$ 378,000
* previous record price: $ 350,000 established in 2020
Mickalène Thomas, I’ve been good to me 2013
is. $ 200,000 – $ 300,000
$ 901,200
* previous record price: $ 567,000 established in 2019
