JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT BREAKS $100 MILLION BARRIER
‘Untitled’ from 1982 Achieves $110.5 Million at Sotheby’s New York
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Purchased by Yusaku Maezawa
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Auction Record for Any Work by an American Artist
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Leading Sotheby’s $319.2 Million Evening Auction of Contemporary Art
– Highest-Ever Price at Auction for an Artwork Created Post-1980 –
– 2nd Highest Price for Any Contemporary Artwork at Auction –
– 6th Highest Price for Any Artwork Sold at Auction –
– 10 Minute Battle Watched by Thousands Live on Instagram –
– Virtually Unseen Since Last Appearing on the Market in May 1984 When It Sold for $19,000 –
‘Courtesy Sotheby’s’
NEW YORK, 18 May 2017 – “Tonight, Jean-Michel Basquiat entered the pantheon of artists whose works have commanded prices over $100 million, including Picasso, Giacometti, Bacon, and Warhol,” commented Grégoire Billault, Head of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Department in New York. “This extraordinary canvas from 1982 has broken so many benchmarks – a record for any American artist at auction and for a work of art created post-1980, to name just two – but those of us lucky enough to have been in its presence will only remember it’s awesome power. To think that it was created by a virtually-unknown 21-year old is humbling. We are thrilled that it was purchased by Yusaku Maezawa for his planned museum so others will have a chance to experience its magic firsthand.”
CONTEMPORARY ART EVENING SALE, 18 MAY 2017
SALE TOTAL: $319,199,000
ESTIMATE: $211/277.1 Million
96% Sold by Lot, the 4th Consecutive Contemporary Art Evening Auction
at Sotheby’s Worldwide with a Sell-Through Rate of Over 90%
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Artist Records for Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jonas Wood, Wolfgang Tillmans,
Mira Schendel, Blinky Palermo, Takeo Yamaguchi & Keith Haring
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Participation from 39 Countries
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60% of Sold Lots Achieve Aggregate Prices in Excess of their High Estimates
JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT, UNTITLED, 1982, SOLD FOR $110,487,500 (EST. IN EXCESS OF $60 MILLION)
The work was purchased by noted collector and entrepreneur, Yusaku Maezawa, the founder of e-commerce giant, Start Today, and ZOZOTOWN, the virtual mall on Japan’s largest fashion e-commerce site. The painting will eventually be housed in a museum based in Mr. Maezawa’s hometown of Chiba, Japan.
Mr. Maezawa, who announced his purchase earlier this evening via Instagram (@yusaku2020) and Twitter (@yousuck2020), commented later to Sotheby’s: “When I saw this painting, I was struck with so much excitement and gratitude for my love of art. I want to share that experience with as many people as possible around the world – regardless of age or background or whether they are a collector or not. One day the painting will be a centerpiece of my museum in my hometown Chiba, but before then I wish to loan this piece – which has been unseen by the public for more than 30 years – to institutions and exhibitions around the world. I hope it brings as much joy to others as it does to me, and that this masterpiece by the 21-year-old Basquiat inspires our future generations.”
PAINTINGS MAKING THEIR AUCTION DEBUT
The sale saw a series of great results for paintings making their auction debut:
· Three realized over $10 million: Roy Lichtenstein’s larger-than-life Nude Sunbathing from the last major series completed before the artist’s death sold for $24,000,000; Gerhard Richter’s Abstraktes Bild made $15,425,000; and Robert Rauschenberg’s Rigger brought an above-estimate $12,275,000.
· Other works never offered at auction before included a brilliant example of Rudolf Stingel’s electroplated copper reliefs which sold for $6,875,000; Andy Warhol’s Hammer and Sickle fetched $5,525,000; Mark Grotjahn’s Untitled (Face 41.05) sold for $6,987,500; and Yayoi Kusama’s Lake Michiganexceeded the high estimate to realize $5,300,000.
ARTISTS MAKING THEIR EVENING AUCTION DEBUT
Seven artists were introduced to Sotheby’s New York Evening Auction for the first time this evening. Four of these established new auction records:
· Jonas Wood’s Black Still Life which opened the sale, was driven by seven bidders to sell for $1,152,500, multiples of the estimate and an artist record.
· Wolfgang Tillmans’ abstract photograph Freischwimmer 123 fetched $660,500 and breaking an artist record set just two months ago;
· Brazilian artist Mira Schendel’s Untitled also set an artist record when it sold for $1,512,500;
· The final record set tonight was for Takeo Yamaguchi’s Yellow Eyes, which fetched $948,500
SALE OVERVIEW
· 65% of works in tonight’s sale had never appeared at auction before
· Nearly 75% of works in tonight’s sale have not appeared at auction in 20 years
· 60% of works achieved aggregate prices above high estimate
· Seven artist records set (Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mira Schendel, Keith Haring, Jonas Wood, Wolfgang Tillmans, Blinky Palermo, Takeo Yamaguchi), one record for an artist medium (Rudolf Stingel).
· A sale total is 30% higher than the equivalent sale last year
· Our worldwide flagship sales of contemporary art are up 35% year to date