NEW YORK – Christie’s concluded a series of six live Spring Marquee Week auctions on Saturday, May 18, 2024 with two days of Day Sales totaling $112.1 million, bringing the week’s total to more than $640 million. Christie’s saw strong bidding and buying globally across all six of the week’s sales, with active participation from clients in the room, on the phones, and online. In total, the sales were 86% sold by lot and 94% sold by value with 89% of lots selling within or above expectations.
The first of the three Day Sales was the Post War and Contemporary Art Day Sale which took place on Friday, May 17, 2024 live in Christie’s Rockefeller Center saleroom. The auction saw vibrant bidding throughout, realizing $75.1 million. The top lot of the sale was Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn) by Andy Warhol, sold for $3.68 million. A new record was established for Bob Thompson, with Music Lesson selling for $1.26 million, three times its low estimate.
On Saturday, May 18, 2024, the final two live sales, the Impressionist and Modern Art Works on Paper Sale and the Impression and Modern Art Day Sale achieved a combined total of more than $37 million. The morning’s Impressionist and Modern Art Works on Paper Sale totaled $11.9 million, led by Salvador Dali’s Rhinocéros (recto); Etude pour Rhinocéros (verso) selling for $1.7 million, more than four times its low estimate. The afternoon’s Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale achieved $25.3 million with the top lot of the sale, Prairie à Giverny by Claude Monet, realizing $2.2 million.
The Day Sales were preceded by two nights of Evening Sales, beginning Tuesday with The Collection of Rosa de la Cruz followed by the 21st Century Evening Sale. The auctions realized a combined total of $114.7 million, with Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ “Untitled (America #3) leading the first sale with a price of $13.6 million that set a new artist record. Jean-Michel Basquiat's The Italian Version of Popeye has no Pork his Diet was the top lot of the second sale and established the top price of the evening at $32 million.
Thursday’s 20th Century Evening Sale totaled $413.3 million, the highest individual sale total of the week. Fifteen works realized prices above $10 million, with five of these achieving more than $20 million. The night was led by Flowers, painted by Andy Warhol in 1964 which achieved $35.5 million.
