Editor’s Note
Sotheby’s recent contemporary art auction in London, held during Frieze Week, achieved a strong result of £47.6 million, significantly surpassing last year’s equivalent sale. This performance underscores a resilient market, characterized by more realistic estimates and measured bidding.
The atmosphere of Frieze Week in London was reflected in the recent contemporary art auction organized by Sotheby’s, which achieved a final result of £47.6 million ($63.3 million), surpassing the equivalent edition from the previous year by approximately £10 million ($13.3 million).
The auction presented 27 lots, of which 24 found buyers, representing a sales rate of 89%. Three lots remained unsold and none were withdrawn before the event. Approximately three-quarters of the works were new to the auction circuit, and just over half had guarantees, which assured Sotheby’s a favorable evening from the start. The combined low estimate value of the guaranteed lots amounted to £27.1 million ($36.2 million), equivalent to 80% of the total pre-sale low estimates.
The most notable lot of the evening was Portrait of a Dwarf (1975) by Francis Bacon, which reached a final price of £13 million ($17.5 million), significantly exceeding its high estimate of £9 million ($12 million). The work, which had an irrevocable bid, attracted intense competition.
Two Sotheby’s specialists, one French and one British, bid on behalf of telephone clients from £4.5 million up to over £7 million, at which point two additional bidders joined. Finally, Johan Nauckhoff, head of fine arts for the house in Switzerland, secured the piece for a hammer price of £11 million ($14.7 million). During the bidding, Eddison commented that it was a “cross-channel competition,” and upon announcing the winner’s entry, he exclaimed: “Switzerland has entered the battle,” a striking reference given the country’s traditional neutrality.
The total auction result, including commissions, was £47.6 million ($63.3 million), while the hammer total reached £39.3 million ($52.5 million). The previous year, the equivalent sale had totaled £37.6 million ($49.2 million). The pre-sale low estimate was £33.5 million ($44.7 million), so the hammer result exceeded that figure by £5.8 million ($7.75 million).
Of the 27 lots offered, 14 were guaranteed, one by the house itself and 13 by third parties. The low estimate value of the third-party guaranteed lots was £26.6 million ($35.5 million), representing 79% of the total pre-sale low estimates.
The auction marked Eddison’s debut as the principal auctioneer for an evening of this caliber at Sotheby’s. Despite his responsibilities on the podium, he told Artnet News that he was able to enjoy the fair and noted a larger-than-expected American presence.
During the bidding for the main lot, Eddison compared the tension to a sports tournament.
The success of the auction adds to the results obtained the previous month, when Sotheby’s sold a selection of works from the Pauline Karpidas collection in London, reaching a total of $136 million.