ARTISTS
2010 Auction Summary: Which artist sold $405,708,629 worth of art?
Our year-end summary explores lots that were in the spotlight, whether for the right or wrong reasons. Which lot was most disappointing? Which lots by which artists sold at the highest margins above their high estimates?
MutualArt
Dec 20, 2010
The 2010 auction year has clearly demonstrated that the art market has managed to rebound from a rocky period in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. A staggering world record by Alberto Giacometti started the year with a storm, as it took only three months for Picasso to smash that record. Indeed, by year' end, Christie's reported a record $5 billion dollars in sales while Sotheby's is expected to announce sales of approximately $4.2 billion, nearly double the 2009 total.
Our year-end summary explores lots and artists who were in the spotlight, whether for the right or wrong reasons. Which artist's work generated the most revenue in 2010? Which auction house has the most lots in the season's top sellers list? Which lot was most disappointing? Which lots sold at the highest margins above their high estimates? The answers lie ahead.
Top 10 Most Disappointing Lots
Click here to find out which were our top 10 news stories of the year in the art world.
1) Pablo Picasso sold a total of 1,269 lots out of 1,709 offered for a total of $405,708,629 (over $319,000 per lot)
2) Andy Warhol sold a total of 764 lots out of 1,082 offered for a total of $355,732,348 (over $465,000 per lot)
3) Alberto Giacometti sold a total of 75 lots out of 101 offered for a total of $238,049,966 (over $3.17 million per lot)
4) Henri Matisse sold a total of 203 lots out of 291 offered for a total of $196,189,286 (over $966,000 per lot)
5) Amedeo Modigliani sold a total of 17 lots out of 29 offered for a total of $156,661,240 (over $9.21 million per lot)
6) Roy Lichtenstein sold a total of 245 lots out of 308 offered for a total of $124,393,190 (over $507,000 per lot)
7) Claude Monet sold a total of 27 lots out of 30 offered for a total of $89,726,464 (over $3.32 million per lot)
8) Gustav Klimt sold a total of 37 lots out of 60 offered for a total of $76,534,403 (over $2 million per lot)
9) Gerhard Richter sold a total of 121 lots out of 177 offered for a total of $75,687,768 (over $625,000 per lot)
10) Jean Michel Basquiat sold a total of 58 lots out of 70 offered for a total of $73,897,940 (over $1.27 million per lot)
11) Mark Rothko sold a total of 8 lots out of 9 offered for a total of $72,137,804 (over $9 million per lot)
12) Lucio Fontana sold a total of 100 lots out of 150 offered for a total of $62,948,801 (over $629,000 per lot)
13) Zhang Daqian sold a total of 124 lots out of 133 offered for a total of $60,481,886 (over $487,000 per lot)
14) Yves Klein sold a total of 42 lots out of 52 offered for a total of $53,261,592 (over $1.26 million per lot)
15) Alexander Calder sold a total of 176 lots out of 246 offered for a total of $52,090,908 (over $295,000 per lot)
16) Fernand Léger sold a total of 122 lots out of 174 offered for a total of $51,729,465 (over $424,000 per lot)
17) Auguste Renoir sold a total of 152 lots out of 216 offered for a total of $49,988,171 (over $328,000 per lot)
18) J.M.W Turner sold a total of 18 lots out of 24 offered for a total of $48,850,401 (over $2.71 million per lot)
19) Joan Miró sold a total of 518 lots out of 707 offered for a total of $48,105,908 (over $92,000 per lot)
20) Marc Chagall sold a total of 488 lots out of 690 offered for a total of $46,309,364 (over $94,000 per lot)
The top 20 selling artists' 2010 total: $2,338,485,534
* As of Dec. 19, 2010, includes results from all major and mid-level auction houses
1) $106,482,500 - Pablo Picasso, Nude, Green Leaves and Bust, oil on canvas, painted on 9 March 1932. World auction record for any artwork sold at auction, World auction record for the artist (Christie's New York, May 4).
2) $103,452,609 - Alberto Giacometti, L'Homme Qui Marche I, bronze, cast, 1961. World auction record for the artist (Sotheby's London, February 3).
3) $68,962,500 - Amedeo Modigliani, Nu assis sur un divan (La Belle Romaine), 1917, Oil on canvas. World auction record for the artist (Sotheby's New York, November 2).
4) $63,362,500 - Andy Warhol, Men in Her Life, 1962, silkscreen and pencil on primed canvas. Second highest auction result for the artist (Phillips de Pury & Co., Upper East Side, November 8).
5) $53,282,500 - Alberto Giacometti, Grande tête mince, bronze, conceived in 1954 (Christie's New York, May 4).
6) $53,023,131 - Amedeo Modigliani, Tête, sculpture, executed between 1911-12. Highest price achieved for a work of art ever sold in France. World auction record for the artist (until Nov. 2). Sold for over 7 times the high estimate (Christie's Paris, June 14).
7) $51,585,695 - Pablo Picasso, Portrait d'Angel Fernández de Soto, oil on canvas, 1903 (Christie's London, June 23).
8) $48,802,500 - Henri Matisse, Nu de dos, 4 état (Back IV), conceived circa 1930 and cast in 1978, bronze with dark brown patina. World auction record for the artist (Christie's New York, November 3).
9) $45,101,503 - J.M.W Turner, Modern Rome - Campo Vaccino, oil on canvas, 1839. World auction record for the artist (Sotheby's London, July 7).
10) $42,846,461 - Gustav Klimt, Church in Cassone - Landscape with Cypresses, oil on canvas, 1913. World auction record for the artist (Sotheby's London, February 3).
1) Nymphéas, Claude Monet. Unsold. Estimated to sell at $45-60 million (Christie's London, June 23)
2) Fertility, Edvard Munch. Unsold. Estimated to sell at $25-35 million (Christie's New York, May 4)
3) Ordination, Nicolas Poussin. Unsold. Estimated to break record for the artist at auction with a $23.7-31.6 million estimate (Christie's London, December 7)
4) Untitled (Black on Gray), Mark Rothko. Unsold. Estimated to sell for $10-15 million (Christie's New York, November 10)
5) 0 through 9, Jasper Johns. Unsold. Estimated to sell for $9-12 million (Christie's New York, November 10)
6) Portrait of a Young Woman with a Black Cap, Rembrandt. Unsold. Estimated to sell at $8-12 million (Sotheby's New York, January 28)
7) The Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John, Lucas Cranach the Elder. Sold for $730,000 against a high estimate of $2.73 million (Sotheby's London, July 7)
8) Nu au coussin bleu, Henri Matisse. Sold for $15 million against an estimate of $20-30 million (Christie's New York, May 4)
9) Schwangeres Weib, Otto Dix. Unsold. Estimated to break auction record for the artist at $6-9 million (Christie's London, June 23)
10) Maternité, Pablo Picasso. Unsold. Estimated to sell for $7-10 million (Christie's New York, November 3)
1) Rubbing, unknown artist. Against an estimate of $1,100-1,700, it sold for $136,701 - 7,566% above the high estimate (Hosane, December 9)
2) The North transept and Choir Chapel of the Sint Janskerk, Utrecht, Pieter Jansz. Saenredam. Against an estimate of $31,000-47,000, it sold for $2,330,363 - 4,820% above the high estimate (Bonhams New Bond Street, December 8)
3) Calligraphic Couplet (2), Zhang Xueliang. Against an estimate of $1,900-3,800, it sold for $126,199 - 3,166% above the high estimate (Christie's Hong Kong, November 30)
4) Ansicht Der Caracalla-Thermen in Rom, Italian School, 18th Century. Against an estimate of $3,000-3,700, it sold for $104,749 - 2,733% above the high estimate (Hampel Fine Art Auctions, June 16)
5) Buste en Marbre Blanc en Hermès Représentant Marie-Joseph-Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de la Fayette (1757-1834), Pierre Jean David d'Angers. Against an estimate of $49,000-73,000, it sold for $1,859,988 - 2,435% above the high estimate (Christie's Paris, June 23)
6) Broken Egg, Irving Penn, 1959. Against an estimate of $7,000-9,000, it sold for $206,500 - 2,194% above the high estimate (Christie's New York, April 14)
7) Calligraphy Couplet, Wu Zuoren. Againat an estimate of $12,000-15,000, it sold for $337,375 - 2,140% above the high estimate (Beijing ChengXuan Auctions Co., Ltd, November 21)
8) Peony and Narcissus, Zhang Daqian. Against an estimate of $15,000-23,000, it sold for $512,000 - 2,111% above the high estimate (Sotheby's Hong Kong, April 6)
9) Bildnis Frau Mosthaff, Moritz von Schwind. Against an estimate of $4,000-5,300, it sold for $100,147 - 1,790% above the high estimate (Villa Grisebach Auktionen, November 27)
10) Mynah and Tricolour Amaranth, Qi Baishi. Against an estimate of $6,600-10,000 it sold for $187,456 - 1,780% above the high estimate (Christie's Hong Kong, May 29)
Compiled by MutualArt.com staff; prices converted to USD when applicable; some prices have been rounded off
