Sculpture, global buying drive Sotheby's biggest auction in its history

[November 05, 2014]  By Chris Michaud

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sculptures by Alberto Giacometti and Amedeo Modigliani soared to $101 million and $70.7 million on Tuesday to lead Sotheby's biggest auction in its history, with Modigliani's "Tete" setting a new auction record for the artist.

The sale of Impressionist and modern art took in a total of $422.1 million, virtually meeting the high pre-sale estimate of $423 for the 73 works on offer, of which 80 percent were sold.

Sculpture went a long way toward driving the record results, with 12 pieces bringing in a total of $191 million, including the top lot, Giacometti's 1951 bronze "Chariot."

While just shy of record for both the artist or any sculpture at auction, the $101 million price was likely to remain the top-priced work of the two weeks of key autumn sales at Sotheby's and rival Christie's.

Sotheby's had estimated "Chariot" would sell for in excess of $100 million and Modigliani's "Tete," a 1911-12 stone work never before auctioned, in excess of $45 million. Estimates do not include commission fees of just over 12 percent.
 

The record total was driven in part by an increasingly global pool of collectors, said Simon Shaw, Sotheby's co-head of Impressionist and modern art, who noted that with more than 40 countries represented, "we saw the most diverse bidding pool at Sotheby's since 2004," including "terrific activity from Asia."

Collectors of increasingly rare trophy works in the Impressionist and modern arena spent heavily. An Asian buyer drove the price for van Gogh's "Nature morte, vase aux marguerites et coquelicots" to $61.8 million, far more than the pre-sale estimate of about $40 million.

Sotheby's said it was the highest price achieved by a van Gogh at auction since 1998 - long before the current boom.

"The competition is intense and the appetite is great" for such iconic masterpieces, said David Norman, Shaw's colleague.

Among other highlights, paintings by Claude Monet drew strong prices, including four that were among the sale's 10 top-priced works.

"Alice Hoschede au jardin" fetched $33,765,000 against an estimate of $25 million to $35 million, while "Sous les peupliers" sold for $20.3 million, beating the $18 million high estimate.

The auctions continue on Wednesday at Christie's sale of Impressionist and modern art.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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