Auction Watch: Sotheby’s October Evening Sale Delivers a 21% Yearly Increase with Hockney, Riley, and Banksy
Image © Sotheby's / Vest © Banksy 2019 
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Sotheby’s Contemporary Evening sale followed just hours after Christie’s, offering significantly fewer lots–less than half of its competitor’s total. With only 22 lots and presale estimates ranging from £34m - £47.5m, the sale achieved a hammer total of just over £31 million, resulting in a 81% sell-through rate.
Departing from its usual two-sale format, which typically includes The Now, Sotheby’s opted to present only its Contemporary Evening Auction this year. The sale saw a notable 21% increase in hammer total compared to last year’s equivalent auction. However, when combining The Now and Contemporary Evening auctions from 2023, this year's sale reflects a 19% drop overall. Despite these contrasts, and excluding the four unsold lots, 49% of the works–11 lots–either met or exceeded expectations. Of the six house-guaranteed lots, two carried irrevocable bids.
Image © Sotheby's / L'Arbois, Sainte-Maxime © David Hockney 1969 British Contemporary Artists Draw Eager Bidders
David Hockney
The star lot of the evening–and the most anticipated–was David Hockney’s L'Arbois, Sainte-Maxime (1968), a vibrant depiction of the south of France. Following the trend of rarer Hockney works at auction, such as Christie’s rare pool painting California offered in March and Sotheby’s A Bigger Wave offered in May, this piece came with a hefty price tag, an irrevocable guarantee, and an estimate of £7m-£10m. Offered as Lot 4, it attracted several tenacious bidders, ultimately hammering above its high estimate at £11.5 million and achieving an impressive £13.5 million with fees–a significant leap from its previous sale in 2011, when it fetched £1.3 million.
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Image © Sotheby's / Gaillard 2 © Bridget Riley 1989
Bridget Riley
A surprise highlight of the evening was Bridget Riley’s Gaillard 2 (1989), an important work from a pivotal time in her career. Original works by Riley are becoming increasingly rare on the market, with only two smaller-scale canvases from the 1980s appearing earlier this year–one at Christie’s Hong Kong in May and the other at Sotheby’s in March 2024. Gaillard 2 was the only Riley piece to exceed £1 million, hammering at £1.6 million and achieving £1.9 million, landing at the upper echelon of its high estimate.
Banksy
The highlight of the evening came from Britain’s most notorious maverick, Banksy, with his Vest (2019), which caused quite a stir. One of only five in existence, its provenance ties back to Banksy’s Gross Domestic Product in Croydon, and it is an edition of the vest worn by Stormzy during his iconic 2019 Glastonbury headline act. This rare piece ignited a fierce bidding war, significantly boosting Banksy’s 2024 edition market. The work more than doubled its high estimate, hammering at £650,000 and achieving £780,000 with fees.
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Image © Sotheby's / Untitled © Christopher Wool 2009Other Hits and Misses
While there were some unexpected misses of the night—including Yoshitomo Nara’s Broken Heart Bench (2006), which failed to attract interest at its £2.6 million low estimate, and Andy Warhol’s Self-Portrait (1963), consigned by American art collector Peter Brant, which didn’t find a buyer at its £3 million low estimate—other works performed well within estimates.
Works that performed well were Alexander Calder’s Quinz Feuilles Noires (1961) hammered at £2.23 million (£2.7 million with fees) in it's first time auction appearance, while Christopher Wool’s market continues to signal a revival with Untitled (2009), a grey enamel on linen, achieving a hammer price of £2.4 million above the low estimate and reaching £2.8 million with fees. Additionally, Lucian Freud’s Child With A Toy Dog (1956), having last sold in 2006, reached the upper end of its high estimate hammering at £1.65 million and reaching £1.9 million with fees.
Overall, despite presenting fewer lots, the auction showcased several key works that helped achieve a solid sell-through rate and a significant increase from the previous year. For a full comparison between the auction houses, see our Christie’s and Phillips auction reports.
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