Monet’s Le bassin aux nymphéas was the top lot at Christie’s stellar 20th century evening sale in New York last night. His lily pond painting made $74 million in an auction that brought in $640,846,000 and established artists records for Richard Diebenkorn, Barbara Hepworth, Arshile Gorky, Joan Mitchell, Joan Snyder and Fernando Botero. This is the highest total in a single night for a various-owner evening sale since November 2017. Selling 97% by lot, 98% by value, and 105% hammer against low estimate it brings the running total of the week so far at Christie’s to $748,297,800. The second highest price of the night was for Francis Bacon’s Figure in Movement which made $52,160,000.
Richard Diebenkorn’s Recollections of a Visit to Leningrad was the highest record of the night, selling for $46,410,000. Joan Mitchell’s Untitled made $29,160,000. Arshile Gorky’s Charred Beloved I made $23,410,000, Barbara Hepworth’s The Family of Man: Ancestor II sold for $11,565,000, Fernando Botero’s The Musicians achieved $5,132,000, and Joan Snyder’s The Stripper sold for $478,800.
Three Cezanne paintings were sold to benefit the Langmatt Museum in Baden, Switzerland. The group was led by Fruits et pot de gingembre which realised $38,935,000. This was followed by Quatre pommes et un couteau selling for$10,415,000 and La mer à l’Estaque made $3,196,000.
