Bacon, Basquiat and Richter lead Sotheby’s Feb 2013 Contemporary Art Sale – UPDATED WITH SALE RESULTS

Lot 11. FRANCIS BACON
1909 – 1992
THREE STUDIES FOR A SELF-PORTRAIT
each: signed, titled and dated 1980 on the reverse
oil on canvas each: 35.5 by 30cm., 14 by 12in.
Estimate: £10-15 million. This lot sold for a hammer price of £12.25 million (£13,761,250 or $21,532,227 with buyer’s premium).

With the Impressionist and Modern sales out of the way, it’s time to sell some Post War and Contemporary Art.  On February 12, Sotheby’s kicks off the evening sales in London with works by the usual bankable artists – Francis Bacon, Gerhard Richter and Jean Michel Basquiat, who account for eight lots in the 56-lot sale, with an additional four by Alexander Calder. The sale leads with a Bacon triptych, reasonably sized so as not to crowd one out of the pied-à-terre (estimate: £10-15 million).  The top five (by estimate) include polar opposite Richters, an astringent abstract and a harmless realist image of clouds, followed by a pair of Basquiats.

Among the works to watch is an early Robert Ryman work on paper with the somewhat aggressive estimate of £550,000-750,000.  The untitled 1961 oil, just over one square foot, features a frenzied patch of brushwork that suggests dozens of people racing for the same turnstile – a luscious bit of mayhem that also manages to prefigure the artist’s later, more ascetic balance of media and support.

Lot 23. GERHARD RICHTER
B.1932
ABSTRAKTES BILD
signed, numbered 769-1 and dated 1992 on the reverse
oil on canvas 200 by 160cm., 78 3/4 by 63in.
Estimate: £7.5-9.5 million. This sold for a hammer price of £7.25 million(£8,161,250 or $12,769,907 with buyer’s premium) .

Lot 7. GERHARD RICHTER
B.1932
WOLKE (CLOUD)
signed, dated 1976 and numbered 413 on the reverse
oil on canvas 200 by 300cm., 78 7/8 by 118 1/8 in.
Estimate: £7-9 million. This lot sold for a hammer price of £6.75 million (£7,601,250 or $11,893,675 with buyer’s premium).

Lot 31. JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT
1960 – 1988
UNTITLED (PECHO/OREJA)
acrylic, oil stick and paper collage on canvas 183 by 183cm., 72 by 72in. Executed in 1982-83.
Estimate: £7-9 million. This lot sold for a hammer price of £6.05 million (£6,817,250 or $10,666,951 with buyer’s premium) to Basquiat dealer Jose Mugrabi.

Lot 35. JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT
1960 – 1988
FIVE FISH SPECIES
signed, titled and dated 1983 on the reverse
acrylic and oilstick on canvas mounted on wood supports 168 by 357cm., 66 7/8 by 140 1/2 in.
Estimate: £4.25-6.25 million. This lot sold for a hammer price of £4.4 million (£4,969,250 or $7,775,385 with buyer’s premium) to Basquiat dealer Jose Mugrabi.

Lot 13. ROBERT RYMAN
B.1930
UNTITLED
signed and dated 61
oil on paper mounted on masonite 30.8 by 30.8cm., 12 1/8 by 12 1/8 in.
Estimate: £550,000-750,000. This lot sold for a hammer price of £1.05 million (£1,217,250 or $1,904,631 with buyer’s premium).