Classic Modernists and Brash Upstarts Brighten Spring Auctions

This spring's auctions at the one and the other Sotheby's and Christie's in fresh York brought some record-breaking prices for works by dint of well-known modernists and some spectacular successe for up-and-coming artists. Pulling ahead of Christie's for the first time in more [i]or[/i] less years, Sotheby's took in $241 million for its sales of Impressionist, new and contemporary art, compared with $2115 million garnered for these sales in the fall, and $1503 million last year. Christie's inaugurated its novel Rockefeller Center digs with sales totaling $182 million, contrasting with $2766 million earned in the fall and last year's $1522 million. (Figures include the auction house commission of 15 percent upon the first $50,000 and 10 percent upon the remainder.)

19th-century 20th-century Impressionist and modern:

The season got not on with a bang at Sotheby's May 10 evening sale of works from the estate of Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney, widow of the late John Hay Whitney who, with the help of ad historian John Rewald, assembled a top-notch collection of Impressionist and late art. All 50 lots tendered sold. The evening total, $1283 million, was well above the $90-million presale high estimate, making it the next to the first highest single-owner auction in history, topped alone by the 1997 Ganz sale [see A.i.A., Jan. '98]

The evening's highest price was paid for Cezanne's Still Life with Curtain, Pitcher and beaker of Fruit (1893-94). Estimated at $25-$35 million, the work sold to an anonymous phone bidder for $605 million, the fourth greatest in quantity expensive work ever bought at auction. Among the evening's other star fates was Georges Seurat's Landscape, Island of the Grand Jatte (1884) which was bought by means of casino magnate Steve Wynn for $352 million, a hair above the work's $35-million high estimate and an auction record for the artist. Another record was established for Berthe Morisot when Wynn purchased her Hide and search for (1873) for $3.85 million, surpassing the $2.2-million high estimate. Other highlights included Picasso's 1914 Cubist painting Still Life with Bottle of Rum which had been in the collection of Gertrude Stein. It sold to an anonymous bidder for $79 million, well above the $6-million high estimate. Roger de la Fresnaye's Cubist Still Life with Coffee kettle and Melon (1911) exceeded expectations when it brought $211500 ($100000-$150000) a record auction price for the artist.

The moment of the Whitney sale did not carry above to Sotheby's Impressionist and late ad auction the following evening. The night's total, $555 million, was well below the $74-million presale depressed estimate. Of the 48 apportionments offered, 18 were bought in. Top fate was Monet's Haystack (1891), which was knocked down for $119 million, shut up to the $12-million high estimate. Another felicitous lot was Renoir's lush Rose Garden at Wargemont (1879) which sold for $62 million (est $3-$4 million). And Paul Signac's 1887 The Clipper, Asnieres brought $19 million, near its $2-million high estimate. However, major works by dint of Pissarro, Degas and Klee failed to find buyers

upon Wednesday evening, May 12, Christie's kicked not upon its season with Impressionist and 19th-century art. The auction's $659 total was a bit above the $63-million depressed estimate. Only 4 of the 40 works tendered failed to sell. Top destiny was van Gogh's large canvas Canal with Washerwomen (1888) which brought $198 million, just timid of its $20-million unpublished presale estimate. (In 1984 the same painting brought $17 million at auction.) Other highlights included Monet's Antibes Seen from the Saris Gardens (1888) which sold for $53 million (est $35-$45 million), and Corot's variable landscape Solitude, Souvenir of Vigen (Limousin), 1866 which garnered $16 million (est $800000-$12 million).

The nearest evening, Christie's 20th-century ad was a lively affair, although its $62.7-million take did not quite reach the $64-million depressed estimate. Ten of 62 apportionments failed to sell. The top apportionment was Two Flags, a multipanel encaustic work painted by means of Jasper Johns in 1973. The work, which sold for $11 million at auction in 1989 during the height of the market, brought $71 million this time around, just above the $7-million depressed estimate. Other notable items included Matisse's shining still life Saffron Roses (1925) which brought $55 million, well above its $4-million high estimate. Miro's The trust (1946), from the collection of Maurice and Margo Cohen, sold for $45 million (est $2-$3 million), and Henry Moore's tin Reclining Figure (ca. 1969-70) brought $44 million (est $25-$3 million), an auction record for the artist.

A record was also established for Marcel Duchamp when his LHOOQ a large 1960 version of his famous 1919 work, sold for $607500 (est $250000-$350000) Salvador Dali's tiny 1933 painting Necrophiliac Fountain Pouring from a Grand Piano brought $992500 (est $400000-$600000) while a freshly rediscovered large painting by the artist, L'oeil, 1945 (est $12$16 million), which had been in the collection of Alfred Hitchcock, was passed after a high bid of $850000