The London Evening sales concluded on a rather lacklustre note with Phillips’ “20th Century to Now” auction, which generated just over £9 million ($11.4 million) in sales. In comparison, Christie’s and Sotheby’s London auctions, buoyed by the sale of Klimt’s “Lady With a Fan,” amassed a staggering £199 million ($252 million). Phillips’ auction, on the other hand, failed to generate the same level of excitement and saw numerous lots go unsold.
The auctioneer, Henry Highley, uttered the word “pass” for the first time on Lot 15, Emily Mae Smith’s “Raft on a Siren Sea” (2017), and it became a recurring theme throughout the evening. Highley said “pass” a total of 18 times as many lots failed to meet their reserve prices. Notable artists like Warhol, Banksy, and Kusama had works that went unsold, and top lots such as Lucio Fontana’s “Concetto spaziale,” Sean Scully’s “Wall Yellow Pale,” and Elizabeth Peyton’s “Prince Harry, September 1998” hammered below their low estimates.
The evening sale achieved a sell-through rate of only 84 percent, indicating the challenging market conditions and the subdued atmosphere of the auction. However, one interesting aspect of the sale was the inclusion of works from the collection of Thomas B. Lemann, a New Orleans-based lawyer and art collector who passed away earlier in the year. Most of these works were offered with no reserve, leading to some unexpected outcomes where prices actually decreased.
When auctioneer Louise Simpson took over and the Lemann collection went up for bidding, the pace of the auction picked up. Tancredi Parmeggiani’s “Quando Il Sole E’ Colorato” (1958) garnered significant attention and ultimately sold for £95,000 ($120,000) after a spirited bidding war between two Italian bidders online. Bernard Meadows’ “Seated Armed Figure” (1962) was a stark contrast as the room fell silent and bidding stalled. Eventually, the work sold for £1,700 ($2,159) after a series of price reductions.
A similar scenario occurred with another work by Meadows, “Two Drawings: (i) Drawing for Sculpture (Fat Seated Figure); (ii) Drawing for Sculpture (Armed Bust Version 2)” from 1962. The bidding started at £350 and dropped to £50 before the work sold for £100, making it potentially the least expensive work ever sold at a European evening auction.
After the Lemann collection, the auction returned to a more typical pattern, although there were still instances of lots being passed and low bidding. However, the final lot of the evening, Albert Willem’s “All In All Not Bad For His First Attempt” (2021), provided a moment of excitement. The work inspired a three-minute bidding war, primarily between online bidders in Poland and France, resulting in a final hammer price of £180,000 ($228,600) against an estimate of £10,000–£15,000.
Overall, Phillips’ “20th Century to Now” auction failed to generate the same level of enthusiasm and high prices seen at other London auctions. The market conditions and the lack of standout works contributed to a subdued atmosphere, with many lots failing to reach their reserve prices. However, the inclusion of works from the Lemann collection brought some unexpected moments and lower prices. The auction ended on a positive note with the spirited bidding for Albert Willem’s artwork, providing a glimmer of excitement amidst an otherwise lackluster event.
Feature Image: Auctioneer Henry Highley in the Phillips saleroom in London, flanked by real people but talking mostly to images on large screens. Courtesy:Phillips
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