We’re getting close to the major art auctions in NY and a lot of people are paying attention. Last week we analyzed Sotheby’s upcoming Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale scheduled for next Thursday, May 7. Overall the sale has potential to beat last year’s May Impressionist and Modern Evening sale. If that happens, wait for the frenzy to continue with the Contemporary Evening Sale on May 14. After looking at the Sotheby’s catalogue, I’m pretty excited about it. It should set a lot of records. Below is a quick look at the auction.
This year’s Sotheby’s Contemporary Evening Sale will have 83 lots with a low estimate of $186,850,000 and a high estimate of $256,860,000. There are two additional lots whose estimates were not released, a Francis Bacon triptych and a signature Mark Rothko canvas. Last year, Sotheby’s sold a comparable Rothko for $72,840,000 and they sold an outstanding Bacon for $52,680,000. The Bacon on the block this year is superior to the one at auction last year and should easily surpass the 2007 figure. Look for this sale to potentially top $315.0M – $350.0M.
The upcoming auction has an even distribution of artists ranging from Hans Hoffmann to Banksy. In fact there are 42 artists represented by two or fewer lots. Works by artists who have been more popular in recent years are still plentiful though. There is a variety of works by Hirst, Koons, Richter, Klein, Rauschenberg, Judd and Prince. And Warhol is still the most represented with eight works for auction. Below is a listing of the number of lots and estimates for each artist.
| Artist | Lots | Low Estimate | High Estimate |
| Andy Warhol, 1928-1987 | 8 | $28,700,000 | $39,800,000 |
| Robert Rauschenberg, b. 1925 | 3 | $13,500,000 | $19,700,000 |
| Yves Klein, 1928-1962 | 3 | $13,000,000 | $18,000,000 |
| Gerhard Richter, b. 1932 | 3 | $10,400,000 | $14,800,000 |
| Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1960-1988 | 2 | $10,000,000 | $13,500,000 |
| Joan Mitchell, 1925-1992 | 2 | $9,500,000 | $13,000,000 |
| Roy Lichtenstein, 1923-1997 | 2 | $9,000,000 | $12,000,000 |
| Jeff Koons, b. 1955 | 4 | $8,800,000 | $11,200,000 |
| Donald Judd, 1928-1994 | 3 | $7,750,000 | $10,750,000 |
| Tom Wesselmann, 1931-2004 | 1 | $6,000,000 | $8,000,000 |
| Richard Prince, b. 1949 | 3 | $5,800,000 | $7,700,000 |
| Frank Stella, b. 1936 | 2 | $5,000,000 | $7,000,000 |
| Georg Baselitz, b. 1938 | 2 | $5,300,000 | $6,700,000 |
| Piero Manzoni, 1933-1963 | 1 | $4,500,000 | $6,500,000 |
| Damien Hirst, b. 1965 | 3 | $3,600,000 | $5,000,000 |
| Takashi Murakami, B. 1962 | 1 | $3,000,000 | $4,000,000 |
| Agnes Martin, 1912-2004 | 1 | $2,500,000 | $3,500,000 |
| Carl Andre, b. 1935 | 1 | $2,500,000 | $3,500,000 |
| Robert Indiana, 1928 | 1 | $2,500,000 | $3,500,000 |
| Brice Marden, b. 1938 | 1 | $2,000,000 | $3,000,000 |
| Ellsworth Kelly, b. 1923 | 1 | $2,000,000 | $3,000,000 |
| Hans Hofmann, 1880-1966 | 1 | $2,000,000 | $3,000,000 |
| Claes Oldenburg, b. 1929 | 2 | $2,100,000 | $2,800,000 |
| Robert Smithson, 1938-1973 | 2 | $2,100,000 | $2,800,000 |
| Lee Krasner, 1908-1984 | 1 | $1,800,000 | $2,500,000 |
| Alexander Calder, 1898-1976 | 1 | $1,500,000 | $2,000,000 |
| Cy Twombly, b. 1928 | 1 | $1,500,000 | $2,000,000 |
| Jean Dubuffet, 1901-1985 | 1 | $1,500,000 | $2,000,000 |
| John Chamberlain, b. 1927 | 1 | $1,500,000 | $2,000,000 |
| Philip Guston, 1913-1980 | 1 | $1,500,000 | $2,000,000 |
| Yue Minjun, B. 1962 | 1 | $1,400,000 | $1,800,000 |
| Dan Flavin, 1933-1996 | 2 | $1,300,000 | $1,700,000 |
| Sol LeWitt, 1928 2007 | 2 | $1,200,000 | $1,600,000 |
| Keith Haring, 1958-1990 | 1 | $1,300,000 | $1,600,000 |
| Sigmar Polke, b. 1941 | 1 | $1,000,000 | $1,500,000 |
| Yoshitomo Nara, b. 1959 | 1 | $1,000,000 | $1,500,000 |
| Bruce Nauman, b. 1941 | 1 | $800,000 | $1,200,000 |
| Joseph Beuys | 1 | $750,000 | $950,000 |
| Erik Bulatov, B. 1933 | 1 | $700,000 | $900,000 |
| Joseph Cornell, 1903-1972 | 1 | $650,000 | $850,000 |
| Banksy, b. 1975 | 1 | $600,000 | $800,000 |
| David Hammons, b.1943 | 1 | $600,000 | $800,000 |
| Jeff Wall, b. 1946 | 1 | $600,000 | $800,000 |
| Richard Artschwager, b. 1923 | 1 | $600,000 | $800,000 |
| Robert Mangold, b. 1937 | 1 | $600,000 | $800,000 |
| Jean Arp | 1 | $500,000 | $700,000 |
| Subodh Gupta, b. 1964 | 1 | $500,000 | $700,000 |
| Mike Kelley, b. 1954 | 1 | $450,000 | $650,000 |
| Matthew Barney, b. 1967 | 1 | $400,000 | $600,000 |
| Christo, b.1935 | 1 | $400,000 | $500,000 |
| Richard Tuttle, b. 1941 | 1 | $350,000 | $450,000 |
| George Segal, 1924-2000 | 1 | $300,000 | $400,000 |
| Francis Bacon, 1909-1992 | 1 | Upon Request | Upon Request |
| Mark Rothko, 1903-1970 | 1 | Upon Request | Upon Request |
| Total | 85 | $186,850,000 | $256,850,000 |
