Leonora Carrington and Joan Mitchell Lead Exceptional Results for Women Artists

T he realized $6🐷35.4 million in total across five superb auctions this week. Works by women artists represented nearly 30% of the lo𒅌ts sold across the evening auctions and made up 23% of this week’s total value – compared to just five years ago, when 19.5% of the works sold in the two evening sales were by women artists, representing 6.9% of overall value in May 2019.

Joan Mitchell’s quartet of works (led by 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Noon, which sold for $22.6 million), had a 100% sell-rate, altogether realizing $45.2 million. In a standout, record-breaking moment during the Modern Evening Auction, Leonora Carrington’s 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Les Distractions de Dagobert sold for $28.5 million following a 10-minute bidding battle that smashed Carrington’s previous auction record, set at Sotheby’s in 2022 ($3.3 million). The new owner, Eduardo F. Costantini, founder of , remarked that Carrington’s whimsical depiction of King Dagobert I is “one of the most admired works in the history of surrealism and 168开奖♔官方开奖网站查询:an unparalleled masterpiece of Latin American art.”

When Surrealism Came to Mexico

The Week at a Glance

$32.7M
$234.6M
$78.8M
$235M
$52.3M

The Now Evening Auction

The week’s first sale was led by Kerry James Marshall’s 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Vignette #6 at $7.5 million.

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The Contemporary Evening Auction

Works by 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Francis Bacon ($27.7 million), 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Lucio Fontana ($23 million) and 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Joan Mitchell ($22.6 million) comprised the top three lots of Monday evening’s second sale.

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The Contemporary Day Auction

Tuesday’s Contemporary Day Auction achieved $78,774,922, led by Antony Gormley’s 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Angel of the North ($3.3 million)

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The Modern Evening Auction

In a historic moment, Leonora Carrington’s 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Les Distractions de Dagobert sold for a record-breaking $28.5 million after a 10-minute bidding battle – smashing her former auction record of $3.3 million, set at Sotheby’s in 2022.

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The Modern Day Auction

Thursday’s Modern Day Auction achieved $52,297,280, led by Henri Matisse’s 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Jeune fille au chapeau de crin blanc ($4.4 million)

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The spring auction season began on Monday evening with Sotheby’s contemporary art double feature. Auctioneer Phyllis Kao kicked off the night with 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:The Now Evening Auction, whose inaugural lot set the tone for an evening full of competitive bidding and impressive results: Justin Caguiat’s 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:The saint is never busy incited a nearly🥂 seven-minute-long bidding war driven by eight vying collectors, culminating in a new auction record for the artist when his work sold for $1.1 million, tripling its $300,000 high estimate. In all, the 16 lots sold totaled $34.7 million, with 50% of the works selling above their high estimates.

Chairman and head auctioneer Oliver Barker then took the rostrum for 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:The Contemporary Evening Auction, which saw 34 lots sell for a combined total of $234.6 million, a 40% increase on last May’s $167 million result. The top lot of the evening was Francis Bacon’s 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Portrait of George Dyer Crouching, which sold for $27.7 million during its auction debut after residing in the same collection since 1970. Another highlight of the evening was the record-setting sale of Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Untitled from the famed series created by the 🅷duo between 1983-85, which sold for $19.4 m෴illion.

It was a night full of standout moments for women artists, including a new auction record for Faith Ringgold during her evening auction debut; her work Dinner at Gertrude Stein’s: The French Collection Part II, #10 sold for three times her previous record at $1.6 million. A record-setting result was achieved for Lucy Bull’s work 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:16:10, which sold for $1.8 million after a thrilling bidding-war between eight bidders. Similarly enthralling was the competition for Yayoi Kusama’s 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:The Pacific Ocean, which las🌠ted for six minutes and eventually sold at a price of $4.7 million, tripling its $1.5 million high est🦋imate.

By the end of the night, the sales from the contemporary art double feature totaled $267.3 million, which is a year-over-year increase of 30% compared to last May’s Contemporary Evening and Now Evening auctions. The contemporary sales continued on Tuesday with a 329-lot 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Contemporary Day Auction that achieved $78.7 million, led by Antony Gormley’s 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Angel of the North ($3.2 million).

Wednesday night’s 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Modern Evening Auction continued the year-over-year increase in total revenue established by the contemporary auctions. By the final gavel, sales totaled $235.1 million, with eight works selling in excess of $10 million. The top lot of the evening was Claude Monet’s 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Meules à Giverny, the artist’s final depiction of large haystacks in his famous 1890-91 series. Th♔e only haystack remaining in private hands inspired an eight-minute, three-way battle that resulted in a $34.8 million sale, well above the high estimate. It was a fantastic night for Impressionism, with eight additional Impressionist works from the collection of an important American estate selling for a combined total of $47 million.

The surrealist series in The Modern Evening Auction achieved similarly tremendous results with 100% selling, surpassing the combined high estimate. The momentum for women artists was furthered by the impressive results of 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Remedios Varo ($4.2 million) and 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Leonor Fini ($444,500), both selling above their high estimates. 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Sophie Taeuber-Arp’s evening sale debut yielded similarly strong results ($889,000). Closing out the highly anticipated series on Thursday was the 264-lot 168开奖官方开奖网站查询:Modern Day Auction, which resulted in $52.3 million.