Phillips’s $225 million evening sale marks its biggest-ever night, led by an astounding Basquiat:
Powered by Basquiat, Klein, Calder, Kusama, and a host of newer stars, Phillips’s “20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale” hauled in $225 million on Wednesday, a landmark for the auction house. The auction was 100 percent sold, both by lot and by value. It not only marked a mind-boggling 90 percent increase over last year’s total, but also stands as the most successful night of sales in company history, as a post-sales press release was quick to trumpet.
I’ll give you a hint what artist he was referring to: just-announced representation with Gagosian… Had a piece hammer for $1.2 million on a $200,000 low estimate at Christie’s last week…? You got it: Anna Weyant’s moody still life led the sale, once again shattering an instantly quaint estimate of $100,000 to $150,000 with a selling price of $730,800. The piece will go to a collector in Hong Kong. Many other lots from the night’s sale will join it.
, Yusaku Maezawa, and sold for a staggering $85 million. That’s the third highest price the artist has ever achieved at auction, and a 50 percent increase from the painting’s last sale in 2016.Relief Éponge bleu sans titre Figures et PlanteWhile the most expensive lots of the night were all from 20th century artists, most of whom are no longer living, one contemporary star made her way into the top ten: Cecily Brown’s, which sold for $10.