Records guaranteed for contemporary art by Christie's

As happened on May 12 for modern art, the script of guarantees to protect apparently positive results was repeated for the catalogue dedicated to the 21st century at Christie's on the evening of May 14. The total proceeds of the 36 lots sold after three withdrawals, including a work by Christopher Wool from 1988 estimated at $3.5-5.5 million, and as many unsold lots, including a work by Ellsworth Kelly guaranteed by the auction house (estimate $2-3 million), is $96.5 million, above the low estimate after adding the commission.

JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT (1960-1988)

It should also be taken into account that two-thirds of the lots, all those with the highest estimates, were guaranteed by third parties, who often became the buyers in the absence of other, increasingly rare, bids. As could have happened to the main lot of the evening, 'Baby Boom', a large-scale painting by Basquiat from 1982, the year favored by collectors like Peter Brant who put it up for sale with a guaranteed estimate of 20-30 million, and was awarded at the low estimate, equal to $ 23.4 million with commissions, casting a shadow on the sustainability of this very 'pumped' market in the recent past.

SIMONE LEIGH (B. 1967)Sentinel IV, bronze, 128 x 25 x 15 in. (325.1 x 63.5 x 38.1 cm.), Executed in 2020. This work is number three from an edition of three plus two artist's proofs. Estimated Price 3,500,000 – 5,500,000 Usd. Realized price 5,737,000 USD

The only other realization over $10 million came in a daring record-breaking escrow deal for 72-year-old Marlene Dumas , whose 10-foot-tall vertical painting of a semi-nude female figure from 1997 owned by the Rubell family of Miami went to the guarantor for an estimated $11.5 million, below its unprecedented estimate of $12-18 million, or $13.6 million with fees.

MARLENE DUMAS (B. 1953)Miss January, signed, titled and dated 'M Dumas Miss January 1997' (on the reverse)oil on canvas. 110 ¼ x 39 3⁄8 in. (280 x 100 cm.), Painted in 1997. Estimated price 12,000,000 – 18,000,000 Usd - Realized price 13,635,000 Usd

Also breaking records was last year’s Biennale darling Simone Leigh, whose 2020 three-meter-tall bronze sculpture 'Sentinel IV' surpassed its guaranteed estimate of $3.5-5.5 million at $5.7 million with fees.

CECILY BROWN (B. 1969)Bedtime Story, signed 'Cecily' (lower left); signed and dated 'Cecily Brown 1999' (on the reverse), oil on linen, 75 ¼ x 75 ¼ in. (191.1 x 191.1 cm.), Painted in 1999. Estimated price 4,000,000 - 6,000,000 Usd - Realized price 6,221,000 Usd

The auction ended with another record for a woman by 35-year-old Emma McIntyre whose large canvas from 2021 was long-contested until it exceeded $200,000, four times the non-guaranteed low estimate. Also in contention was Cecily Brown ’s rosy-toned painting ‘Bedtime Story’ which exceeded its high estimate at $6.2 million with fees, while the guarantors were likely to save Julie Mehretu whose large composition ‘Kabul’ changed hands for $3.4 million, and Jenny Saville for $1.8 million. It is now up to Sotheby’s to close the auction on the evening of May 15.