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  • GLOBAL SALES UP AT CHRISTIE’S IN 2011, LED BY CONTEMPORARY ART

    Roy Lichtenstein: I Can See the Whole Room!...and There's Nobody in it!, from 1961, was the most expensive artwork sold by Christie's in 2011. It made $43,202,500 in New York.

    Led by contemporary art global sales were up nine per cent at Christie’s in 2011.  The overall sales total was £3.6 billion/$5.7 billion. This includes private sales of  £502 million/$808.6 million, up 44% on 2010. Auction sales of  £735.7 million/$1.2 billion in post war and contemporary art amounted to an increase of 22 per cent over 2010. Asian art was the second strongest category, up 13 per cent to £552.9 million/$890.1 million.

    The top ten art prices of 2010 at Christie’s were led by Roy Lichtenstein‘s (1923-1997), I Can See the Whole Room!…and There’s Nobody in it!, from 1961, which sold for $43,202,500 in New York on November 8. Andy Warhol‘s Self Portrait 1963-64 made $38,442,500, George Stubbs Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath made  $35,906,000, Mark Rothko‘s Untitled No. 17 made $33,682,50, Pablo Picasso‘s Femme assise, robe bleue made  $29,133,148, Francis Bacon‘s Study for a Portrait, 1953 made $28,666,155, Andy Warhol‘s Self-Portrait, 1986 made $27,522,500, Francis Bacon Three Studies for Self-Portrait, 1974 made $25,282,500, Claude Monet‘s Les Peupliers, 1891 made  $22,482,500 and Maurice de Vlaminck’s Paysage de banlieue, 1905 made $22,482,500.

    In 2011, Christies sold 719 works at auction for over $1 million compared to 607 in 2010. “This is a very encouraging set of results”, said Steven P. Murphy, Chief Executive Officer, Christie’s. “While we are seeing more investors collecting, there are many more collectors who are increasing their investment in their collections as the explosion of interest in art, fuelled by globalization, facilitated by the technology that increases access to information and images, meets the art that is coming to the market.”

    Results also illustrate solid demand at every price level, not just for the most expensive works, with the highest selling rate for works sold between £250,000 and £1 million at 87%. Sales of impressionist and modern pieces declined by 28% to £548.6 million pounds, behind Asian art. Christie’s website had  77% more unique visitors than the previous year. In total 29% of Christies bidders transacted online (not including the online-only auction of the Elizabeth Taylor Collection which achieved more than 57,000 on-line bids).

    “As we approach the sales over the next fortnight in London, we are optimistic about the market in 2012” Mr. Murphy said. “We also remain committed to our role as cultural stewards through our auctions, private sales and exhibitions”.

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