OWNED BY THE WORLD’S BIG SHOTS, THE FIRST MAJOR MARK ROTHKO PAINTING OFFERED AT AUCTION IN ASIA SELLS FOR US$32.5M AT SOTHEBY’S
On November 11, the Sotheby’s Hong Kong Modern and Contemporary evening auction took place, with a Mark Rothko painting selling for HKD 252.5 million (around USD 32.5 million). Untitled (Yellow and Blue) (1954) held an estimate of HKD 225 to HKD 275 million. With Rothko’s works an uncommon sight at auctions in Asia, the event was a particular triumph as the work became the fourth most expensive Western artwork ever sold in Asia. The winning bidder was Patti Wong, co-founder of art advisory firm Patti Wong & Associates and former International Chairman of Sotheby’s. In addition, the provenance of the piece is significant due to its previous array of owners, from the French tycoon who owns Kering to the infamous 1MDB financier. This piece is significant not only with regard to its auction price, but also in the way it reflects the growing interest in international art in Asia.
Sotheby's footage of the Rothko at auction
NEW YORK FALL 2024 AUCTIONS PREVIEW: KEY PIECES AND HIGHLIGHTS
Auction season has arrived in New York, bringing with it a range of works, from 20th century masters to big contemporary names. Starting off with the Christie’s 20th Century Evening Sale on November 19, key pieces by Ed Ruscha and Pablo Picasso will headline the auction. Following this, the Christie’s 21st Century Evening Sale on November 21 includes a number of contemporary icons from Jean-Michel Basquiat to Jeff Koons, and Yayoi Kusama. In addition, a highlight of the auction is The Butcher and the Policeman (2013) by Cecily Brown, valued at $4 million - $6 million. Sotheby’s The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction will be headlined by a Stuart Davis piece titled Contranuities (1963), with an estimate of $12 million - $18 million. The Modern Evening Sale will see a return of some of the biggest Modernist artists, with Henri Matisse’s Torse de jeune fille (1921-22) expected to fetch between $12 million - $18 million. Some other highlights include a Jackson Pollock piece set to sell at the Phillips Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Sale. Current trends highlight an interest in established 20th century artists, with collectors seeking “safer” investments due to market volatility. However, contemporary artists are growing in appeal due to the increasingly relevant themes explored within the work, such as issues of identity, race, and gender.
Cecily Brown (b. 1969), The Butcher and the Policeman, 2013
GERMAN BRITISH PAINTER FRANK AUERBACH HAS DIED AGED 93
On November 11, the celebrated artist Frank Auerbach passed away. Auerbach first came to England in 1939 at 8 years old as a refugee of the Nazi regime, becoming naturalized as a British citizen in 1947. Having studied at St. Martin’s School of Art and the Royal College of Art, he spent most of his life working in London. Known for his ability to capture the intricacies of the human experience through his deeply psychological portraits, Auerbach once said that “it’s possibly true that our deepest experiences are other people.” He has also sat for portraits for his artist friends, notable painters within their own right, such as Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. 1978 marked his first retrospective, held at the Hayward Gallery, and he has since had numerous exhibitions across the world. Auerbach was known to be an elusive presence in the art world, often spending days on end working in his studio. He told Prospect magazine in 2012, “I repaint pictures again and again and again. I think there’s an underlying secret structure to things and I’m trying to get to it, I’m trying to burrow towards it.”
Frank Auerbach, (b. 1931)
AT WEST BUND ART & DESIGN 2024, DEALERS REPORT STRONGER-THAN-EXPECTED SALES
Founded in 2014 by artist Zhou Tiehai, West Bund Art & Design has become a key base for international galleries to reach collectors in mainland China. A number of internationally renowned galleries such as Almine Rech, Thaddaeus Ropac, and Hauser and Wirth, return each year. The fair spans 5 venues across the West Bund (西岸) Xuhui district, offering a range of booths, from international blue-chip galleries to local Chinese galleries. However, this year’s fair was unique in its connection with the wider Chinese cultural ecosystem, museums in particular. There was a number of artists featured simultaneously at both the fair and at major museum exhibitions, such as Marina Abramović , Timothy Taylor, and Bernar Venet. Due to the general high spending of Chinese collectors, West Bund saw a focus on internationally established artists and sales that exceeded expectations.
KEITH HARING’S DRAWINGS FOR THE LEGENDARY LUNA LUNA AMUSEMENT PARK HEAD TO AUCTION
Once the dream of Austrian artist André Heller, the Luna Luna theme park will reopen on November 20 at The Shed in New York. Originally debuting in 1987 in Hamburg, Germany, the amusement park featured a number of celebrated artists. Attractions included a fun house designed by Salvador Dalí, a Jean-Michel Basquiat ferris wheel, and a David Hockney wooden pavilion. By 1990 most of the theme park was sold to an American nonprofit due to lack of funding, and the works sat in shipping containers in the desert for 35 years. However, $100 million was invested back into the theme park by rapper Drake in 2019, restoring Luna Luna through his company DreamCrew. Coinciding with this opening, Bonham’s will be presenting a set of four Keith Haring drawings, made for the amusement park’s banners, at the 20th/ 21st Century Art Evening Sale on November 21. The drawings were first created in 1986, with Haring sharing similar values with Heller regarding the inclusivity and simplicity of art. The works hold a pre-sale estimate of $300,000 to $400,000 and include Haring’s signature bold characters.
Luna Luna drawings by Keith Haring (b. 1958)
ONE CITY, THREE GREAT ARTISTS: REUNITING LEONARDO, MICHELANGELO AND RAPHAEL
Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael is currently showing at the Royal Academy in London, until February 16, capturing the Renaissance era of art during early 16th century Florence. The exhibition starts in 1504, when government officials began to emphasise representing the fresh and independent attitude of a new era through art, following the election of Piero Soderini as head of the city government. In January that year, Michelangelo’s David was unveiled and placed at the doors of the Palazzo Vecchio. The era also marked Leonardo Da Vinci’s return to Florence where he was working on the Mona Lisa, and the two artists would soon undertake parallel commissions for the Great Council Hall at the town hall. Later that year, Raphael arrived in Florence to study the works of Michelangelo and Da Vinci. The exhibitions proceeds to weave a narrative of rivalrous influence between the three artists, and how this is reflected throughout their works. With Raphael’s sketches of a slightly altered David, the works shown alongside each other highlight how imitation can sometimes result in the artist’s ability to hone their individual styles and techniques.
SOTHEBY’S ANNOUNCES NEW OUTPOST IN SAUDI ARABIA
In February 2025, Sotheby’s is launching an outpost in Saudi Arabia, opening offices at the Al Faisaliah Tower in Riyadh. With the state’s Vision 2030 culture project launched in 2016, there has been a strong push towards the arts in the region. Sotheby’s has also reported a 74% increase in Saudi buyers and bidders rose by 125% between 2019 and 2023. This news follows the announcement of a $1bn investment that made ADQ a minority shareholder. There has been a growing interest in the region with Christie’s announcing in September that it had been granted a license to conduct auctions in Saudi Arabia.
Jordan Tan holds an MA in History of Art from the prestigious Courtauld Institute of Art. With a passion for fine art and the art market, Jordan plays a key role at Art Works by researching and interpreting trends across the primary and secondary markets, delivering valuable insights and business intelligence for the fine art department.
