{"id":1808265,"date":"2026-03-04T23:42:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T20:42:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1808265"},"modified":"2026-03-04T23:42:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T20:42:33","slug":"sothebys-spring-evening-sale-in-london-achieves-175-m-white-glove-result","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1808265","title":{"rendered":"Sotheby\u2019s Spring Evening Sale in London Achieves $175 M. White-Glove Result"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Sothebys-London-Modern-Contemporary-Evening-Sale-2026.-Credit-Rayan-Bamhayan.-Courtesy-Sothebys-11.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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Editor\u2019s Note:<\/strong>\u00a0This story originally appeared in\u00a0On Balance,\u00a0<\/em>the ARTnews\u00a0newsletter about the art market and beyond.\u00a0Sign up here<\/em>\u00a0to receive it every Wednesday.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n\tIt is officially March, which means I was back at the Windmill pub, just around the corner from Sotheby\u2019s New Bond Street location, on Wednesday. My pre-sale pint before the house\u2019s spring modern and contemporary evening sale has become a certainty in a world of uncertainties. I only had 15 minutes to neck it because\u00a0David Rothschild\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0James Francis Fox\u00a0<\/strong>, co-heads of private sales, had just given me a tour of \u201cThe Apartment,\u201d a private exhibition of 11 works in one of Sotheby\u2019s stately backrooms. Paintings by David Hockney, Luciano Fontana, and Helen Frankenthaler hung alongside furniture by designer and gallerist Rose Uniacke, all of it for sale. The art was valued at around \u00a340 million all in; at the time of writing, five works had sold. One buyer had already signed off on an Andy Warhol\u00a0Dollar Sign<\/em>\u00a0work and taken it away.<\/p>\n

\n\tMy tardiness meant there were no specialists to collar in the pub for intel; they were in position, flanking auctioneer\u00a0Oliver Barker<\/strong>\u00a0on the phones. When I slipped into the saleroom a few minutes late, it was packed with more than 300 people, and bidding on the opening lots was frenetic. The energy carried through\u00a0the 54-lot sale,\u00a0which achieved white-glove status\u2014every lot sold (with one withdrawn beforehand). The total hit \u00a3131 million, or about $175 million, a few million shy of the high estimate, but no one seemed to mind. Team Sotheby\u2019s was jubilant. (All prices include fees.)<\/p>\n

\n\tA year ago, the equivalent sale brought in \u00a362.5 million from 38 lots against a \u00a366.6 million high estimate (about $83.6 million). Wednesday\u2019s result marked a 110 percent increase.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis is the first various-owner white-glove sale in my 22 years at Sotheby\u2019s,\u201d said a beaming\u00a0Alex Branczik<\/strong>, head of modern and contemporary art, Europe, in the press room afterward. \u201cThe sale was underpinned by three collections: the Lewis Collection and two other private collections from Germany and Italy. Quality drives bidding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe first three lots set the tone: Josef Albers\u2019s\u00a0Study for Homage to the Square: Gobelin<\/em>\u00a0sold for \u00a31.1 million (high estimate \u00a3830,000). Another Warhol\u00a0Dollar Sign<\/em>\u00a0made \u00a3770,000 (high estimate \u00a3570,000). Warhol\u2019s\u00a0Flowers\u00a0<\/em>brought \u00a32.4 million (high estimate \u00a31.7 million).<\/p>\n

\n\tWere celebrations tinged with relief? A few hours before the auction,\u00a0Jussi Pylkk\u00e4nen<\/strong>, Christie\u2019s former CEO and founder of Art Pylkk\u00e4nen, reminded me that \u201cwar creates uncertainty,\u201d citing the bombs raining down on Iran and retaliation across the Gulf. \u201cAny major conflict impacts bidding,\u201d he said, pointing to market drops during the Iraq War in 2003 and after Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine just under 20 years later. Art adviser\u00a0Pernilla Holmes<\/strong>\u00a0of London-based Wedel Art echoed the cautious mood.<\/p>\n

\n\tIf Sotheby\u2019s felt jittery, it didn\u2019t show. \u201cWe haven\u2019t lost a single pre-sale bid,\u201d a spokesperson said before launch. Buyers kept spending. Warhol\u2019s\u00a0Four Marilyns (Reversal Series)<\/em>\u00a0sold for \u00a34.3 million against a \u00a33.2 million estimate. Fernand L\u00e9ger\u2019s\u00a0Les Hommes dans la Ville<\/em>\u00a0fetched \u00a34.8 million.<\/p>\n

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Andy Warhol\u2019s Four Marilyns (Reversal Series<\/em>), which\u00a0sold for \u00a34.3 million against a \u00a33.2 million estimate at Sotheby\u2019s London on Wednesday.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tIt got better. Leon Kossoff\u2019s\u00a0Children\u2019s Swimming Pool, 11 o\u2019clock Saturday Morning, August\u00a0<\/em>sold for \u00a35.2 million after a 10-bidder battle, obliterating its \u00a3800,000 estimate and setting a new auction record\u201420 times its 1992 price at Sotheby\u2019s. Sold through Asia chairman Wendy Lin, it was one of four School of London works from the Lewis Collection, consigned by businessman Joe Lewis.<\/p>\n

\n\tI asked Pylkk\u00e4nen if the distinct lack of wet-paint artists in the sale reflected the market\u2019s mood. \u201cThe wet-paint market is going through a revision, it\u2019s being reassessed by major collectors, who are leaning more on classic canon artists. Tonight\u2019s material is deep and rich, it\u2019s all very positive. You can also expect some good things coming up in the May sales,\u201d he said. You heard it here first.<\/p>\n

\n\tClaude Monet\u2019s\u00a0Maison du Jardinier\u00a0<\/em>made \u00a38.2 million (estimate \u00a38.5 million). \u201cThis is going quite well,\u201d grinned honorary chairman\u00a0Harry Dalmeny<\/strong>\u00a0as the hammer fell. CEO\u00a0Charles Stewart<\/strong>\u00a0agreed: \u201cIt\u2019s shaping up to be the best Spring London sales we\u2019ve had.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLucian Freud\u2019s\u00a0A Young Painter<\/em>\u00a0sold for \u00a37.1 million, above its \u00a36 million estimate. Then came Francis Bacon\u2019s\u00a0Self-Portrait<\/em>. Bidding opened at \u00a37 million and climbed past its \u00a312 million estimate, finally selling for \u00a316 million to wild applause. The record for a Bacon self-portrait is $34.6 million, set by his 1969\u00a0Self-Portrait<\/em>\u00a0which sold at Christie\u2019s New York in May 2023.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat did\u00a0The Baer Faxt<\/em>\u2019s\u00a0Josh Baer\u00a0<\/strong>think about proceedings? \u201cRetail therapy,\u201d he told me. \u201cNo jangling nerves on account of the Middle East pandemonium,\u201d I offered. \u201cIt always goes the other way,\u201d he replied. In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity, a great man once said. Afterwards, I asked Branczik if he agreed with Baer. \u201cThe art world is fairly well insulated, at least in the short term,\u201d he said. \u201cJust look at what happened the day Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008\u2014Sotheby\u2019s sold over \u00a3100 million of Damien Hirst\u2019s work here in London.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOther standout results on the night included Frank Auerbach\u2019s\u00a0Study for a Tree on Primrose Hill<\/em>\u00a0(\u00a3704,000), Constantin Br\u00e2ncu\u0219i\u2019s\u00a0Une Muse<\/em>\u00a0(\u00a33.9 million), and Vilhelm Hammersh\u00f8i\u2019s\u00a0The Balcony<\/em>, which sold for \u00a31.8 million. Alberto Giacometti\u2019s\u00a0Femme debout<\/em>\u00a0almost doubled its high estimate, selling for \u00a35 million.<\/p>\n

\n\tChristie\u2019s now has a tough act to follow on Thursday in London. It\u2019s hosting a three-pronged evening sale, starting with the 20th\/21st Century evening sale and followed by \u201cArt of the Surreal\u201d and \u201cModern Visionaries: The Roger and Josette Vanthournout Collection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBefore Wednesday\u2019s sale, I asked\u00a0Keith Gill<\/strong>, Christie\u2019s head of Impressionist and modern art, if he had any concerns about the conflict in the Middle East impacting bidding. \u201cWe\u2019re not seeing any impact at this stage,\u201d he said. \u201cThe view was extremely busy over the weekend and remains so today\u2014phone activity and general interest are on par with October, if not stronger. Of course, events are affecting some of our clients and colleagues personally, but in market terms we haven\u2019t seen a slowdown.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThere are several standout lots across Christie\u2019s three sales. The top one is no doubt Wassily Kandinsky\u2019s\u00a0Le Rond Rouge<\/em>, which has a \u00a315.5 million high estimate, or about $21.3 million. It last sold eight years ago,\u00a0for $20 million, when it appears to have been acquired by Swiss billionaire\u00a0Georg von Opel<\/strong>, who has now consigned it for sale.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn September, Christie\u2019s filed a Uniform Commercial Code financing statement securing several artworks from Hans Aktiengesellschaft, an investment company owned by von Opel. Among the works listed was the Kandinsky, as well as pieces by Fernand L\u00e9ger, Gerhard Richter, and Roy Lichtenstein, the\u00a0latter of which\u00a0appears to have sold at a Christie\u2019s day sale in November. Christie\u2019s declined to comment in September, and Hans Aktiengesellschaft did not respond to requests.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlso headlining Christie\u2019s 20th\/21st Century evening sale is a fresh-to-auction Henry Moore sculpture titled\u00a0King and Queen<\/em>\u00a0(1952\u201353). The 64-inch-tall bronze carries a \u00a315 million ($20.5 million) high estimate.\u00a0Katherine Arnold<\/strong>, Christie\u2019s vice chairman of 20th\/21st century art and head of post-war and contemporary art for Europe, told\u00a0ARTnews<\/em>\u00a0that the bronze is \u201cthe most exciting sculpture I\u2019ve ever seen brought to market.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/art-news\/market\/sothebys-spring-modern-contemporary-evening-sale-london-result-1234775783\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Sothebys-London-Modern-Contemporary-Evening-Sale-2026.-Credit-Rayan-Bamhayan.-Courtesy-Sothebys-11.jpg?w=1024″] Editor\u2019s Note:\u00a0This story originally appeared in\u00a0On Balance,\u00a0the ARTnews\u00a0newsletter about the art market and beyond.\u00a0Sign up here\u00a0to receive it every Wednesday. It is officially March, which means I was back at the Windmill pub, just around the corner from Sotheby\u2019s New Bond Street location, on Wednesday. My pre-sale pint before the house\u2019s spring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,226],"class_list":["post-1808265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-artnews-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1808265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1808265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1808265\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1808265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1808265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1808265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}