Art Market · Review 2009

A brief review of the Art market for year 2009, with the stars of the season and the main successes and disappointments

by G. Fernández – theartwolf.com

THE SUPERSTARS OF THE YEAR

Raphael: “Head of a muse”
Sold for $47.9 million (€32.2 million / £29.2 million) at Christie’s London, December 2009
World record price for any work on paper
The drawing was executed as a study for a figure in “Parnassus”, one of the series of four frescoes in the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican which was commissioned by Pope Julius II; widely considered to be the artist’s greatest masterpiece.

Henri Matisse: “Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose”
Sold for $46.4 million (€35.9 million / £31.5 million) at Christie’s Paris, February 2009
The top lot at the “auction of the century” (the sale of the Yves Saint Laurent collection), this colorful still-life painting set a world record for the artist at auction.

Andy Warhol: “200 One Dollar Bills”
Sold for $43.8 million (€33.8 million / £29.7 million) at Sotheby’s New York, November 2009
Described by the auctioneer as “one of the starting points of Pop Art”, this Warhol was the star of the fall season at Sotheby’s. The seller had acquired it in 1986 for just $385,000. Nice timing.

Constantin Brancusi: “Madame L.R. (Portrait de Mme L.R.)”
Sold for $37.7 million (€29.1 million / £25.9 million) at Christie’s Paris, February 2009
Sold at the same auction than the Matisse, this bronze is a magnificent example of Constantin Brancusi’s earliest and enigmatic sculptures, and also set a world record for the artist at auction.

THE SUCCESSES

Andy Warhol: “Self-portrait”
Sold for $6.1 million (€4.3 million / £4.1 million) at Sotheby’s New York, November 2009
pre-sale estimate of $1-1.5 million
Sold at the same auction that the $43.8 million “200 One Dollar Bills” (see above), this typical and attractive self-portrait by Warhol carried a really, really conservative pre-sale estimation.

Kono mask, Bamana
Sold for $2,1 million (€1.4 million / £1.3 million) at Sotheby’s Paris, December 2009
pre-sale estimate of €300,000 – 400,000
A world record price for a West African mask. Measuring 48 cm. high, the Kono mask was the star of a very successful fall sale of African Art at Sotheby’s Paris.

Anselm Feuerbach: “Medea an der Urne”
Sold for $660,000 (£457,250 / €507,640) at Sotheby’s London, November 2009
pre-sale estimate of £15,000-25,000
Recently restituted to the heirs of Wilhelm Freund, the painting is a example of the work of symbolist painter Anselm Feuerbach

THE DISAPPOINTMENTS

Pablo Picasso: “La Fille de l’Artiste à Deux Ans et Demi Avec Un Bateau”
Unsold at Sotheby’s New York, May 2009
pre-sale estimate of $16-24 million
Arguably the most important, famous and sought-after modern artist, we are used to observe how minor, unattractive works by Picasso usually fetch more than $10 million at any auction. This painting, however, is a petite jewel, a colorful and brilliant work which was passed at $12.25 million.

Alberto Giacometti: “Le chat”
Unsold at Sotheby’s New York, May 2009
pre-sale estimate of $16-24 million
The Picasso was not the only major casualty at Sotheby’s spring sale of modern art. While not as attractive as the Picasso, this bronze is a very important work by one of the most important 20th century sculptors. Nevertheless, it was passed at $14.75 million.

Jean-Michel Basquiat: “Brother sausage”
Unsold at Christie’s New York, November 2009
pre-sale estimate of $9-12 million
Basquiat is one of the most important artists in post-war Art, and this work, measuring more than 15 feet long, is one of his seminal masterpieces; but failed to sell and was passed at $7.5 million

Assyrian gypsum relief fragment, Nineveh, 704-681 b.c.
Unsold at Sotheby’s New York, December 2009
pre-sale estimate of $125,000-175,000
Such as Cycladic statuettes or Egyptian coffins, Assyrian royal relief fragments are one of those kinds of antiquities that an important collector would never ignore. This fragment is a small but very powerful example of Assyrian Art.