The evening sale of the first part of Gerald Fineberg’s collection laid bare developments in the market for prime post-war and contemporary art.
With no guarantees or irrevocable offers to back things up, we’ve seen the market adjust to the larger economic reality. Batch after batch sold for less – sometimes much less – than pre-sale estimates, which were set months earlier and reflected a more robust market. The auction house and the Fineberg estate have agreed to reduce reserves. Savvy collectors, dealers and advisers saw an opportunity and went shopping. In the end, 91% of the 65 lots offered found buyers while the event was only sold at 76% if we compare its hammer price to the low estimate.
Below is the story in numbers…
“A Century of Art: The Gerald Fineberg Collection, Part I”
- Total sales after fees: $153 million
- Lots sold (including guaranteed lots): 59
- Lots offered before withdrawals: 65
- Lots withdrawn Presale: 0
- Lots purchased: 6
- Sale rate including withdrawals: 91 percent
- Sale rate excluding withdrawals: 91 percent
- Total Hammer: $124.7 million
- Low pre-sale estimate before withdrawals: $163 million
- Hammer Total vs Presale Low Estimate: -$38.3 million
- Total low estimate of withdrawn batches: $0
- Total Low Estimate of Guaranteed Lots: $0
- Lots with house guarantees: 0
- Total low estimate of guaranteed third-party prizes: $0
- Lots with third-party guarantees: 0
- Top rated seller: Christopher Wool’s 1993 untitled painting spelling “Fuck ’em if they can’t take the joke,” hammered in at $8.4 million (or $10 million with fees). It was estimated between 15 and 20 million dollars.
- Quote of the night: “Is there an impact of the macro environment on the art market? Yes,” Christie’s CEO Guillaume Cerutti said after the sale. “It’s confirmation. We’ve adjusted the reserves to make this work. Is the art market still alive? Yes.
Afterwards : Sotheby’s evening sale, The Now, May 18. Check back throughout the week for our continuing coverage of this spring’s sales slate.
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