A Richard Prince “Nurse” and an Antony Gormley “Angel of the North” were among 10 works to set records for their makers at Sotheby’s contemporary-art auction in London, where a Francis Bacon portrait was the star attraction and Irish rock band U2 among the sellers.
Bacon’s status as the world’s most expensive postwar artist was bolstered last night by the sale of a painting of his lover George Dyer, which fetched a top price of 13.8 million pounds ($27.5 million) with fees.
Sotheby’s is testing demand after wealthy buyers from Russia and elsewhere shrugged off economic slowdown to pay record prices in New York in May. Yesterday’s auction made a total 94.7 million pounds with fees, the second highest for a contemporary-art sale in Europe, said Sotheby’s. Former tennis champion John McEnroe sold an Andy Warhol portrait and U2 sold a Jean-Michel Basquiat.
“People are more interested in quality than price”, London dealer Serge Tiroche said. “In the old days they used to look at a work’s size and period. Now they’re looking at aesthetics”.
Sotheby’s said 71 of the 75 lots found buyers. The sale had been estimated to make 67.4 million pounds to 96.6 million pounds. Its total missed the 95 million pounds made by Sotheby’s, London, in February. (Bloomberg)