Impressionist/Modern and Contemporary Art

With buyer confidence rattled by a gauntlet of disturbing economic indicators portending recession, and a weak U.S. dollar stunting purchasing power, the spring sale season poses a crucial question: Can the Impressionist/modern and contemporary art categories survive the jittery financial markets, or will they suffer the same fate as other asset classes that have been unable to find traction in these uncertain times? Answers vary, but a number of observers believe that all the financial negatives may actually combine to benefit the market, with collectors, especially those spending in pounds and euros, seeing fine art as a relatively safe haven in which to park their excess wealth.

Emmanuel Di-Donna, Sotheby’s director of Impressionist and modern evening sales, confirms that blue-chip Impressionist and modern art is in very high demand. “We’re competing not only with Christie’s for property,” he says, “but also with collectors who are very eager to buy, and at aggressive levels, either alone or through agents.” Lots to watch for at Sotheby’s May 7 auction include Fernand Léger’s Cubist masterwork Étude pour “La femme en bleu,” 1912–13 (est. in excess of $35 million), and an Alberto Giacometti bronze, Femme de Venise VIII, conceived in 1958 (est. $8–10 million).

Highlights at Christie’s May 6 auction include a Joan Miró painting, La caresse des étoiles, 1938 (est. $12–16 million), and Kees van Dongen’s full-length 1908 femme fatale, Anita en Almée (est. $12–16 million). Asked about the number of guarantees in the evening sale, Guy Bennett, Christie’s head of Impressionist and modern art, says they are up a bit from last season. “It’s whatever the client wants,” he explains.

As for contemporary art, Tobias Meyer, the worldwide head of that department at Sotheby’s, points to the success of the February sales in London as evidence of the strength of the market. “Great things did fantastically well and were bought and underbid by financially very savvy people who were well aware of the credit crisis and how deep it was,” he says. “They actually take great comfort in buying great quality.” Amy Cappellazzo, Christie’s international cohead of postwar and contemporary art, agrees: “The market is very strong at the high end, and there’s a flight to quality. People absolutely want quality under all and every circumstance.”

Sotheby’s May 14 evening sale of contemporary art features a trove of just such top-tier works consigned by Greenwich publishing magnate Peter Brant. The Brant lots, which are not identified as such in the catalogue, are rumored to be guaranteed for about $80 million. They include Richard Prince’s Millionaire Nurse, 2002 (est. $5–7 million).

The house has also managed to secure what is being billed as the finest Francis Bacon painting remaining in private hands, the ritualistic and bloody Triptych, 1976 (est. around $70 million). The picture was consigned by the family of the late French wine merchant Jean-Pierre Moueix, who acquired it in 1977 from Galerie Claude Bernard, in Paris. Among other featured lots are 21 Pop, Minimalist and Conceptual works from German collectors Helga and Walther Lauffs, such as Donald Judd’s first metal sculpture, Untitled, 1964 (est. $5–7 million). The group is expected to bring a total of more than $47 million.

Christie’s May 13 evening sale contains a choice selection of Abstract Expressionist works from a private American collector, including Mark Rothko’s masterful No. 15, 1952 (est. on request, about $35–45 million), and Sam Francis’s amorphous abstraction Black, 1955 (est. $4–6 million). Of more recent vintage is Jeff Koons’s New Hoover Convertibles, New Shelton Wet/Dry 5-Gallon Doubledecker, 1981–86 (est. $10–15 million), consigned by New York collectors B. Z. and Michael Schwartz.

Koons also makes an appearance at Phillips De Pury & Company, on May 15, with his white marble Self-Portrait, 1991 (est. $6–8 million). Another lot to look for at Phillips is Gerhard Richter’s seven-and-a-half-foot-square Abstraktes Bild (“Abstract Painting”), 1986 (est. $5–7 million).