
TRACEY EMIN (B. 1963)
My Bed sold for £2,546,500. (Image courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014).
Francis Bacon’s Study for Head of Lucian Freud was the top lot at Christie’s evening sale of Post War and Contemporary Art in London on July 1. It sold for £11,506,500 over an estimate of £8–12 million. The onward march of Post War and Contemporary art continuned in a sale at which there were seven world records for artists Peter Doig (£9.9 million), Tracey Emin (£2.5 million), Michelangelo Pistoletto (£2.3 million), Jean Dubuffet (£4 million), Albert Oehlen (£1 mllion), Antoni Tàpies (£1.6 million) and Hurvin Anderson (a student of Peter Doig) (£1.3 million). The auction realised £99,413,500, the third highest Post War and Contemporary evening sale in Europe. No less than 29 lots sold for over £1 million. It sold 87% by value and 84% by lot. There was 190 bidders from 28 countries seeking only the highest quality work.
Francis Outred, International Director and Head of Post-War & Contemporary Art, Christie’s Europe said: “It’s been an incredible night for Christie’s. There was an electric atmosphere in the room – the excitement was palpable. We saw the market move to a new record price for Peter Doig, as well as record prices for classic painting by undervalued giants of Post War European art, such as Dubuffet, Tàpies and Pistoletto. This sale was especially strong in portraits, particularly those with fascinating provenance and back stories. Both Tracey Emin’s ‘My Bed’, which quadrupled its pre-sale estimate, and the Dahl Family Estate’s ‘Study for the Head of Lucian Freud’ by Francis Bacon share an intense personal quality which adds hugely to their interest and value.”
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for May 28, 2014)