All this week in New York City it’s auction week at the biggest gavel houses around. Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and a host of others are selling work from some of the most celebrated artists of the modern world. We’ve been anxiously waiting for numbers to roll in and we have a good idea of who’s on top.
On Wednesday evening a room full of bidders and bidder surrogates gasped at an opening price of $35 million for a piece by Claude Monet entitled Grainstack (1891). Bidding was slow to start, but once momentum gained it was a runaway. Closing with a private bidder on the phone for a record setting $72.5 million. ($81.4 after fees)
Christie’s also sold a painting (Rigid and Curved) by Wassily Kandinsky sold for $23.3 million. It was the first time in 50 years the piece was offered for sale.
And a painting by one of my personal favorites, David Hockney brought an impressive $11.7 million before fees. The work, titled Woldgate Woods, measures 10.5ft wide, is made up of six individual canvases.
David Hockney, Woldgate Woods
Claude Monet, Grainstack
Wassily Kandinski, Rigid and Curved