London Contemporary Week Lurches Into Action at Phillips

NEW YORK—The contemporary auction season here lurched into action at Phillips de Pury and Company on Sunday evening, with 34 percent of the 91 lots offered failing to find buyers.

Worse yet for Phillips, many of those casualties carried financial guarantees, including Chinese art star Zhang Xiaogang's Amnesia and Memory (One Week) from 2004, which flopped at £850,000 (est. £1–1.5 million).

On the frothy side, a late and spare untitled Willem de Kooning abstraction from 1984 sold to London dealer Ivor Braka for the evening's top lot price of £3,513,250 (est. £1.5–2.5 million).

Five works out of the 60 lots sold made over a million pounds, but the evening's £24,483,000 tally fell shy of the £29.2-41.6 million pre-sale estimate.

"My expectations were much higher," said Michael McGinnis, head of contemporary art for Phillips, speaking moments after the sale in the firm's stunning new quarters, "and I have no reason to give you. It was a total curveball."

The action resumes this evening at Christie's on King Street with a whopping sale estimated to bring in £80-115 million.

Judd Tully is Editor at Large of Art+Auction.