Personnages et oiseaux devant le soleil, 1946, by Joan Miró (1893-1983) made £5,081,250. (Click on image to enlarge).
THE changing tastes of collectors was evident at a £30 million evening sale at Christie’s in London on February 9. The auction house charted the emergence of the kind of buyer who mixes and matches from different eras and places. This trend was evident at New York’s Armoury Show last month. The top lot at the evening auction Living with Art – A private European Collection on February 9 was a work by Miro which sold for just over £5 million. There was a world record of £3.5 million for a still life by Louis Melendez, whose work was subject of a popular exhibition at the National Gallery of Ireland some years ago.
This Still Life by Luis Meléndez (1716-1780) made £3,513,250. (Click to enlarge).
“Collectors in today’s art market are no longer constrained to traditional collecting categories and are buying works of art with a focus on aesthetic quality, independent of origin or age. This trend was in great evidence this evening as we saw modern art collectors bidding for tribal art and furniture, and traditional collectors bidding for modern and contemporary pictures”, Orlando Rock, deputy chairman of Christie’s, Europe, said, adding: ‘ It is a great testament to the vision, quality and taste of this private collection that it attracted such competitive and diverse international bidding at this evening’s sale.”
Impressionist and modern art in this sale brought in £15,775,700. Personnages et oiseaux devant le soleil, 1946, by Joan Miró (1893-1983) made £5,081,250. Femme au fauteuil, 1949, by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) made £4,745,250 and La table devant le bâtiment, 1919, by Juan Gris (1887-1927) made £2,505,250.
This 13th century bronze aquamanile in the form of a lion made £690,850. (Click on image to enlarge).
Post-War and Contemporary Art from the collection realised £8,092,900. The top lot was Katezale (Enchained), 1956, by Eduardo Chillida (1924-2002) which made £1,945,250. Contracorrent (Crosscurrent), 1991, by Miquel Barceló (b. 1957) realised £1,497,250 and Die grosse Fracht (The Heavy Cargo), 2005, by Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945) sold for £505,250. Old Master paintings realised £4,450,500. Oranges, nuts, spices, boxes of sweetmeats, a jug and a cask on a table by Luis Meléndez (1716-1780) made £3,513,250 and The Wedding Dance by Pieter Brueghel II (1564/5-1637/8) realised £937,250 against a pre-sale estimate of £500,000 to £800,000. An exceptional North German 13th century bronze aquamanile (an implement used for washing hands at the table) in the form of a lion made £690,850 and a gilt-copper and polychrome enamel rectangular reliquary chasse from Limoges, circa 1200, realised £217,250.