Bacon's portrait of Henrietta Moraes sold for £21,321,250..
Boat, Connemara by Lucian Freud sold for £657,250.
FRANCIS BACON’S Portrait of Henrietta Moraes made £21,321,250 at Christie’s Post War and Contemporary Sale in London on February 14. Regarded as Bacon’s most seductive female portrait it had been estimated at about £18 million. The sitter was a close friend of the artist and the work was painted towards the end of 1963.
An orange abstract painting by Mark Rothko, estimated at up to £12 million, was withdrawn before the auction. Lucian Freud’s Boat Connemara sold for £657,250 and Sean Scully’s Wall of Light Stone made £657,250.
The evening auction of Post-War & Contemporary Art totaled £80,576,100, selling 95% by value and 89% by lot. This is the second highest total for the category at Christie’s London. When combined with Post-War & Contemporary art sale from a private European collection on February 9 and 10 sales in the category this month have realised £96.6 million.
Christie’s February auctions of Post War and Contemporary art realised £109,514,400. This was the highest total for a series of such sales in London.
See antiquesandartireland.com posts for January 20, 2012, January 30, 2012 and video post for February 9, 2012.