The 12 most outstanding auction results in May… and ‘Marilyn’ is not number one

A review of the 12 most outstanding sales at the art and design auctions held during the month of May 2022 · by G. Fernández – theartwolf.com

12. Emanuel Leutze, “Washington Crossing the Delaware” (1851) · Sold for $45,045,000 at Christie’s

In a move that is debatable from an academic point of view, but undeniably savvy from a commercial point of view, Christie’s included this mid-19th-century painting in an auction of 20th-century art, following the trend of including old masters and 19th century works in the Modern and Contemporary art auctions in order to attract wealthier buyers, as happened with the “Salvator Mundi” sold for a record price in 2017. The painting fetched three times its most conservative pre-sale estimate.

11. Ann Craven, “I Wasn’t Sorry” (2003) · Sold for $680,400 at Christie’s

Although the undisputed star of Christie’s auction of the Thomas and Doris Ammann Collection was Warhol’s “Marilyn”, this beautiful painting by Craven -which had a pre-sale estimate of between $20,000 and $30,000- was one of the biggest surprises of the auction season, and set a new auction record for the artist.

10. Lucy Bull, “Special Guest” (2019) · Sold for $907,000 at Sotheby’s

Sometimes a description is so apt that it is not worth trying to match it. In the catalogue for this work, Sotheby’s reproduced a text by Kat Herriman in which Lucy Bull’s landscapes are described as “late Monet lily pads on acid“. Nuff said. This beautiful, ethereal and “lysergic” painting achieved more than 11 times its most optimistic pre-sale estimate, setting a new auction record for the artist.

9. Michelangelo (Michelangelo Buonarroti), “A nude man (after Masaccio) and two figures behind him” · Sold for €23,162,000 at Christie’s

Described by Christie’s as “Michelangelo’s first nude”, the work, coming from a private French collection, is a copy by the then young Michelangelo of a fresco by the quattrocentista master Masaccio. The €23 million paid for the work was somewhat disappointing, both because of its pre-sale estimate of around €30 million and because of the inevitable comparison with the stratospheric prices recently reached by works of modern and contemporary art. Although this drawing is far from being a masterpiece by the “Divine” Michelangelo, it is an important graphic document of the early career of one of the most important artists in the history of universal art, whose works very rarely appear on the market.

8. Ayako Rokkaku, “Untitled” (2021) · Sold for HK$10,290,000 at Christie’s

Considered one of the emerging figures in Japanese contemporary art for nearly 15 years now, it has been in the last two years that Rokkaku has established herself in the art market. This painting, which sold for around 10 times its pre-sale estimate, is a new auction record for the artist.

7. Anna Weyant, “Falling Woman” (2020) · Sold for $1,623,000 at Sotheby’s

Beyond any critical judgement of her style, Weyant is already a superstar, and one of the muses of an art market that is increasingly committed to young artists. “Falling Woman”, which Sotheby’s described as “a meticulous display of tragedy embedded with frivolity “, achieved an auction record for the artist, fetching more than 10 times its most conservative pre-sale estimate. It was not Weyant’s only success. At Phillips, her “Buffet II“ sold for $730,800, almost five times its most optimistic pre-sale estimate.

6. Jean-Michel Basquiat, “Untitled (Devil)” (1982) · Sold for $85,000,000 at Phillips

With a pre-sale estimate of around $70 million, “Untitled (Devil)” (in my opinion one of the artist’s five or six best paintings, and the best Basquiat to come to auction in at least the last five years) fetched $85 million, a very reasonable price for a painting that sold just six years ago for $57.6 million, and which -as soon as the number of Basquiats in the market is reduced- could easily fetch $100 million. In any case, the painting is particularly noteworthy for being the big star of Phillips’ contemporary art auction, the most successful in the auction house’s history.

5. Simone Leigh, “Birmingham” (2012) · Sold for $2,167,500 at Sotheby’s

One of the protagonists of this year’s Biennale, Simone Leigh’s works challenge the traditional representation of black women. Described by Sotheby+’s as “a masterful example of Leigh’s elegantly defiant exploration of Black female resilience and regality“, “Birmingham” sold for more than 10 times its most optimistic pre-sale estimate, and 5 times the previous auction record for the artist.

4. Man Ray, “Le Violon d’Ingres” (1924) · Sold for $12,412,500 at Christie’s.

The highest price ever paid for a photograph at auction, crushing the $4.3 million (about $5.5 million at today’s exchange rate) paid 11 years ago for Andreas Gursky’s “Rhein II“. As is often the case with photographs, there are several copies of this image on the market, including a smaller one sold last year by Christie’s for $475,000. But the print in the Jacobs collection is truly an “original photographic copy”, having been made at virtually the same time as its corresponding negative.

3. Ernie Barnes, “The Sugar Shack” (1976) · Sold for $15,275,000 at Christie’s

Predictably one of the biggest surprises/successes of the year… and of the decade. Carrying a pre-sale estimate of between $150,000 and $250,000, the painting seemed a priori out of place among so many works with multimillion dollar estimates, despite the recent -and fair- increase in the value of the works of this African-American artist. After a vibrant bidding battle, the work was sold for $15,275,000, one hundred times its most conservative pre-sale estimate. The New York Times quoted the buyer of the work, Bill Perkins, as saying that “for certain segments of America, [this painting] is more famous than the ‘Mona Lisa.’“.

2. Andy Warhol, “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” (1964) · Sold for $195,040,000 at Christie’s.

With its pre-sale estimate “in the region of $200 million”, it is possible that no painting that has come on the market in recent decades has aroused so much pre-auction hype. With a starting price of $100 million, bidding quickly reached $170 million, suggesting that it would exceed its pre-sale estimate. But surprisingly, no higher bid came in despite Jussi Pylkkänen’s best efforts to attract interest from buyers. Counting commissions, the final sale price was $195 million, which is, objectively speaking, a success, as it is an auction record for a 20th-century painting. Nevertheless, and perhaps because of the enormous expectations generated prior to the auction, there was a certain taste of disappointment.

1. Mercedes Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé (1955) · Sold for 135 million euros at RM Sotheby’s.

Leaving aside the debate as to whether a car can be considered a work of art (spoiler: yes), the sale of this spectacular coupé is a game-changer that definitively places automobiles in a league hitherto reserved for the most important examples of what is traditionally considered “fine art”. Mercedes created just two examples of the Uhlenhaut Coupé, a road-legal version of the successful 300 SLR racing car, and -until last month- both were kept in the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart. Why Mercedes has decided to sell one of these two examples has been the subject of debate, with some specialist websites suggesting that Mercedes may be looking to position the Uhlenhaut Coupé as a top contender for the unofficial title of “greatest car of all time“, which in recent years has seemed to be leaning towards the Ferrari 250 GTO. Such is the importance and exclusivity of the Uhlenhaut Coupé that it seems unlikely that this record will be broken in the short or medium term, although there are candidates that could come “dangerously” close to this figure. Perhaps one of the three surviving Bugatti Atlantic. Perhaps one of the two 250 GTOs that won the Tour de France. Perhaps “The Silver Ghost”, if Rolls Royce decides to put it up for sale. In any case, a historic sale that marks a before and after in the world of auctions.