Jean-Michel Basquiat Portrait of a Wandering Young Artist (1982) sold for £16 million ($20 million) last night at Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Evening Sale in London. The sale totaled £84 million ($106 million), exceeding its pre-sale estimate of £69.6 million to £98.9 million ($88 million to $125.1 million).
Portrait of a Wandering Young Artist The work was originally scheduled to be sold at Christie’s in New York in May 2022. However, it was reportedly withdrawn at the last minute after the auction house’s undisclosed estimate for the work was $30 million (£23.6 million).
The total sales for the sale were down significantly from last year’s Sotheby’s summer sale, which brought in £190.3 million ($241.9 million). Notably, the 2023 sale was dominated by Gustav Klimt’s Lady holding a fan (1917-18) sold for £85.3 million ($108 million), breaking the artist’s record. No record was set for any artist at auction this summer.
Despite lower auction totals this year, some major works still fetched seven- and eight-figure prices. For example, Pablo Picasso’s Guitar on the red carpet (1922), which had not been offered at auction for 20 years, sold for £10.7 million ($13.5 million). No sitting (1960) sold for £5.7 million ($7.3 million) after being in a private collection for more than 50 years. Lilac bouquet (1878) sparked a bidding war that lasted 10 minutes and was eventually sold for £6.8 million ($8.7 million).
Meanwhile, the Contemporary Art auction was also very eye-catching. Seven bidders competed for Lucy Bull’s 10:00 (2021), sold for £900,000 ($1.13 million), exceeding its estimate of £350,000-550,000 ($442,000-695,000). Following a record-breaking $1.81 million, the sale showed that interest in Bull’s work continues to grow. 16:10 (2020) was held at Sotheby’s in New York in May this year.
Three works by three prominent female artists – Loie Hollowell, Emily Kame Kngwarreye and Tamara de Lempicka – were withdrawn.
