Contemporary Proves Its Mettle

Andy Warhol John Chamberlain Willem de Kooning Mark Rothko Lucian Freud Robert Ryman Wayne Thiebaud Fred Tomaselli

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That firm’s smooth sailing in a jittery market helped set the stage for Sotheby’s magnificent result the following evening. Buyer confidence was evident right out of the gate, as Robert Ryman’s masterful circa 1960–62 pastel abstraction, Untitled (est. $300–400,000), sold to New York dealer Philippe Ségalot for $769,000.

Not even difficult subject matter deterred buyers. Warhol’s shiver-inducing Suicide, a unique 1964 silkscreen of a grainy newspaper photograph showing a figure plummeting from a blazing skyscraper (est. $3.5–4.5 million), went to Zurich dealer Doris Ammann for $5,193,000.

Among the 13 artists who achieved records was Chamberlain, whose 1962 sculpture made from crushed car parts, Big E (est. $2–3 million), was bought by Robert Mnuchin, of New York’s L&M Arts, for $4,633,000. New artist highs were also set for Chinese talents Fang Lijun, Yan Pei Ming and Zhang Xiaogang.

Two remarkable 1969 paintings by Francis Bacon, both guaranteed, proved good wagers for the house. Damien Hirst, bidding on the phone through specialist Oliver Barker, purchased Self Portrait (est. in excess of $15 million) for $33,081,000. A similar-size self-portrait from the same year sold at Christie’s London in February 2006 for a then-astonishing £5,160,000 ($9 million).

But even that staggering price paled in comparison with the $45,961,000 paid for Bacon’s Second Version of Study for Bullfight No. 1 (est. in excess of $35 million), which recalls the finest works of Goya and Picasso, with a matador locked in mortal (or coital) combat with a ferocious bull. Five people chased the prize until Ségalot offered the successful bid, making it the most expensive work in the two weeks of sales, although still trailing the artist‘s record of $52,680,000, set at the same house this past May for his Study from Innocent X, from 1962.

And then there was the Koons. It was a giant gamble for Sotheby’s to guarantee the 3,600-pound Hanging Heart (Magenta/Gold), 1994–2006 (est. $15–20 million), also from “Celebrations,” which, when installed, looks light as a feather. The sculpture represented about 10 percent of the $200 million in guarantees Sotheby’s made for the evening, although it’s impossible to determine how much risk was shared by third-party guarantors.

Seller Adam Lindemann had acquired the stainless-steel behemoth through Gagosian four years ago, while it was still in production, for $2.5 million, according to a source. Three bidders went after the work until Gagosian snagged it—reportedly on behalf of Ukrainian oligarch Victor Pinchuk—for $23,561,000, setting a record not just for Koons but for any work by a living artist, an honor held since June 2007 by Hirst.

“There’s a global hunger for contemporary art of the highest quality,” says Tobias Meyer, auctioneer and worldwide head of contemporary art. “If it’s extraordinary, the sky is the limit.”

Sotheby’s success didn’t lend much momentum to Phillips de Pury’s run-of-the-mill sale on November 15. The night began with a 90-minute charity auction that raised $8.2 million for the New Museum, and attention fatigue was evident by the time the various-owner portion began.

Even so, the firm managed to sell its guaranteed cover lot, Willem de Kooning’s Untitled XVI, 1982 (est. $5–7 million), to a phone bidder for $5,865,000. Prince’s Registered Nurse, 2002 (est. $1.5–2.5 million), also guaranteed, went to an unidentified buyer for $4,297,000. The underbidder was Moscow-based newbie collector Oleg Baibakov, who had more luck with Hirst’s spin painting Beautiful Where Did All the Colour Go Painting, 1992 (est. $600–800,000), winning it for $690,600.