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Your daily brief on the auction and collectibles market. Today: the art world remembers David Hockney, a £18.9M South Asian sale at Christie's, a world-record Elizabeth Taylor handbag, and luxury stocks surging on a possible US–Iran peace deal.
Good morning. It's Friday, June 12. I'm Sharon, and this is Open Bid from ALT/FNDATA.
We begin with the art world's biggest loss in years. David Hockney has died at his home in London on Thursday, at the age of 88. He was, by almost any measure, the most celebrated British painter of his generation. Born in Bradford, in Yorkshire, in 1937, he rose to prominence as a pioneer of pop art in the 1960s. After moving to Los Angeles in 1964, he produced the sun-drenched swimming-pool paintings that became his signature, among them "A Bigger Splash" and "Portrait of an Artist." He never stopped experimenting, from the photo collages he called joiners in the 1980s, to the Yorkshire landscapes he painted outdoors, to the drawings he made on an iPad in his later years.
His standing was institutional as much as commercial. His work hangs in the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate, and the Centre Pompidou. His 2017 retrospective at Tate Britain was the most-visited exhibition in that gallery's history. He was a member of the Royal Academy and the Order of Merit. And, famously, he turned down a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth the Second. His market matched his stature. In 2018, his 1972 painting "Portrait of an Artist," also known as "Pool with Two Figures," sold at Christie's for 90 million dollars, at the time the most expensive work ever sold at auction by a living artist. He had first sold that same painting, back in 1972, for 20,000 dollars.
Also this week, the British menswear designer Nigel Cabourn has died at 77. Cabourn built a devoted following for his rugged, military-and-workwear-inspired clothing, much of it drawn from his own vast collection of 20th-century military uniforms and vintage garments, which he treated as a living design archive. He credited his old friend Sir Paul Smith with first sparking that passion, and his label became a touchstone for the heritage-menswear movement, prized for its authenticity and its attention to detail.
To results. The sale we flagged yesterday has landed. Christie's in London held "Sublime Shadows: South Asian Art From a Distinguished Collection," and it totaled 18.9 million pounds. It was Christie's first dedicated sale of its kind in London since 2019, and the house reported strong international demand for South Asian modern and contemporary art.
A record in handbags. Christie's "Handbags Online: The New York Edit" closed for bidding and totaled 3.3 million dollars, 97% sold by lot. The standout was a Fendi Baguette once owned by Elizabeth Taylor, which set a world record for the model at 21,590 dollars.
The big driver in the markets today is geopolitics. Luxury stocks are surging on reports that the United States and Iran are nearing a deal to end their war. The Middle East had become a fast-growing market for luxury, and the sector was hit hard by the conflict, so the prospect of peace sent these names sharply higher. Stocks rallied broadly, and oil fell to its lowest level in months. Still, it has been a whipsaw week. Bloomberg notes that after months of steady gains, investors have spent the past week without a reliable playbook, swinging from the year's worst day on Wednesday to this rally in a matter of sessions.
Here is where the European luxury names opened this morning, against Thursday's close, and they have kept climbing since. LVMH, ticker MC on Euronext Paris, opened at 508 EUR, up about 3% from Thursday's 493, and was up around 5% by mid-morning. Kering, ticker KER, opened at 268 EUR, up about 3.4%. Hermès, ticker RMS, opened at 1,680 EUR, up about 2.3%.
In Zurich, Richemont, ticker CFR on the SIX Swiss Exchange, opened at 179 Swiss francs, up about 2.9%, and Swatch, ticker UHR, opened at 205 Swiss francs, up about 1.6%.
In London, Watches of Switzerland, ticker WOSG, opened at 715 pence, up about 1.4%, and Burberry, ticker BRBY, opened at 1,161 pence, up about 2.1%. The US names open later, at 9:30 AM Eastern.
Two notes from inside the luxury houses. At LVMH, one of the smallest brands is now among the fastest growing. Business of Fashion reports that Pucci, under designer Camille Miceli, has been revived with a Gen Z-friendly, unabashedly commercial take on its Mediterranean heritage. And in e-commerce, Farfetch has launched a new service called Farfetch First, which its chief commercial officer describes as a way to elevate the customer experience and support the brands it sells.
Three quick ones from the art world. Artificial intelligence has helped identify a lost Scottish masterpiece, a painting by the colorist Cadell that was bought for less than 100 dollars in the 1960s. In Jerusalem, a child damaged a 1959 Magritte, "The Castle of the Pyrenees," with a pinecone, and the work is now being restored. And in Chicago, a new show puts the drawings of Willem de Kooning, sometimes called the last Old Master, at center stage.
Today in the salerooms: Christie's Important Watches in New York, Christie's opens its Paris Hermès handbag sale online, and Sotheby's runs its Gem Drop. Tomorrow, Saturday the 13th, Bonhams sells about 100 cars from the National Automobile Museum in Reno, and Phillips holds its New York Watch Auction. And Sotheby's Important Watches is on Monday the 15th.
That is Open Bid for Friday, June 12. Closing Price publishes this evening at 5 PM Eastern, and Open Bid returns Monday morning at 6.
I'm Sharon, from ALT/FNDATA.
