Market Watch: Market Editor Report September 2024

The art market is in full swing this month as preparations for the autumn auctions in London coincide with Frieze London, before attention shifts to the highly anticipated sales in New York. Phillips launched the September auctions on a high note with their David Hockney and Editions sales. In a recent MyArtBroker Talks podcast, I spoke with Helena Poole about the success of Phillips David Hockney sale and the expert curatorial strategy. For an in-depth analysis of Phillips' Editions and David Hockney sales, refer to our comprehensive auction reports.

In addition to Phillips' live auctions, we monitored the results of five online print auctions throughout the month. Christie’s held two sales - Prints and Multiples, and Contemporary Edition -selling a combined total of 101 lots. Bonhams hosted its online Prints & Multiples sale, moving 148 lots. Sotheby’s also conducted two online auctions: Prints & Multiples, featuring Duchamp’s L.H.O.O.Q., and a dedicated Banksy sale, which collectively sold 94 lots.

Highlights from the sales are listed below:

Sotheby's

Sotheby’s Prints & Multiples sale saw relative success, with 42% of the lots falling within their estimates. The standout lot was Andy Warhol’s complete set of Flowers, which hammered at £1 million–though below the £1.5 million (hammer) auction record set in 2023, it was still a commendable result. Sotheby’s also held its Banksy-only sale, offering a total of 25 works, including both signed and unsigned pieces. Of these, 13 sold, with 48% meeting expectations and falling within estimates. The star lot was Laugh Now, which sold for £50,000 with fees.

Pablo Picasso

1. Pablo Picasso's La Femme au chapeau achieved £114,000, well above its high estimate of £80,000 and setting a new auction record, surpassing the previous £77,770 set in October 2022.
2. Buste de femme, d'après Cranach le jeune also performed impressively, selling for £264,000 and meeting expectations.

Andy Warhol

1. Andy Warhol's Flowers (complete set) sold for £1,200,000, a solid result, though below its £1.8 million auction record achieved in 2023.
2. Moonwalk sold for £144,000, marking the second-highest result ever achieved for a regular edition of this work.
3. Satyric Festival Song performed well, selling for £22,800, surpassing its high estimate of £20,000, and offering a broader perspective on Warhol’s diverse print series.
4. Queen Ntombi Twala Of Swaziland set a new auction record for this edition and colourway, achieving £14,400 compared to the previous record of £13,584 set in October 2022.

Roy Lichtenstein

1. Roy Lichtenstein's Shipboard Girl sold for £24,000, exceeding the high estimate, reflecting ongoing popularity.
2. Morton A. Mort also performed well at £12,000, underscoring the appeal of his more accessible prints.

David Hockney

1. David Hockney's Pool Made With Paper And Blue Ink for Book sold for £38,400, reflecting steady demand and an anticipated result.
2. Small Study Of Lightning realised £6,000, falling within estimates and demonstrating ongoing interest in Hockney’s interpretations of weather themes.
3. Sunflower I set a new auction record, achieving £8,400, surpassing the previous record of £6,102 from 2020.

Bonhams

Bonhams' Prints & Multiples sale saw 148 out of 213 lots sold, resulting in a 69% sell-through rate. The highest-valued lots came from Harland Miller, Bridget Riley, Banksy, and Damien Hirst. The star lot of the sale was Hirst's Honesty H9 from The Virtues, which hammered at £16,000 - above the £15,000 high estimate - and achieved £20,480 with fees, demonstrating continued strength in his market.

Christie's

Christie’s Prints and Multiples sale was the most successful of all the auctions, with 39% of lots exceeding estimates and another 39% falling within them. The sale achieved an impressive 91% sell-through rate, underscoring the continued success of online auctions, particularly in the prints and multiples sector. The standout lot was Andy Warhol’s Mao, which hammered at £320,000 and totalled just over £403,000 with fees, aligning within estimates and highlighting the ongoing demand for Warhol’s complete sets.

Andy Warhol

1. Ladies and Gentlemen (F. & S. II.I36) achieved £10,080 with fees, reflecting the continued strength of this trending series. While it fell slightly short of the auction record of £12,968 set in November 2023, the result was still commendable, exceeding the high estimate of £8,000.
2. Blackglama (Judy Garland), from the Ads series, realised £25,200 with fees, landing squarely within the pre-set estimate range.
3. Truck (complete set) was one of the highest-valued lots of the sale, surpassing its £120,000 high estimate by hammering at £150,000 and achieving £189,000 with fees, matching its auction record set in March 2023.

Roy Lichtenstein

1. The Bull Profile series was offered as a complete set with varying edition numbers, highlighting both the rarity of full sets and the added value of matching edition numbers. The work hammered at £60,000, realising £75,600 with fees.