MAGRITTE’S SURREALIST MASTERPIECE SETS $121.2 MILLION AUCTION RECORD
René Magritte’s L’empire des Lumières (1954) sold for $ 121.2 million at the Christie’s 20th Century Evening Sale on Tuesday night. Not only did the lot significantly exceed estimates, but it also set a new auction record for the Belgian surrealist painter. Previously part of the estate of Mica Ertegun, the late interior designer and art collector, the painting was estimated at $ 95 million. Having surpassed the estimates and broken Magritte’s record at auction, the piece is poised to become the top-selling lot of the major auctions in New York this week. Magritte has created 17 versions of L’empire des lumières in oil and several more in gouache; four of such works are included in Magritte’s top ten lots on the Artnet Price Database. Ertegun acquired the lot in 1968, and it has since been exhibited across the world in France, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, and Japan.
René Magritte (b. 1898), L'empire des Lumières, 1954
$65.5 MILLION MONET WATER LILIES PAINTING LEADS SOTHEBY’S FALL EVENING AUCTIONS
Claude Monet’s Nymphéas (1914-17) fetched $ 65.5 million, leading the Sotheby’s evening auctions this week in New York. A classic subject for Monet, the water lilies sale was among the highest prices achieved for Monet’s later “Nymphéas” works. The evening was split into two sections: the Sydell Miller Collection and the modern evening auction. The second highest priced lot of the Sydell Miller Collection was Pablo Picasso’s La Statuaire (1925) which sold for $ 24.8 million, and the top lot of the modern evening auction was Alberto Giacometti’s Buste (Tête tranchante) (Diego) (1954) which sold for $ 13.3 million. Other top lots of the auction included a work by Wassily Kandinsky titled Weisses Oval (White Oval) (1921) that sold for $ 21.6 million, and Yves Klein’s Relief Éponge bleu sans titre, (RE 28) (1961) that sold for $ 14.23 million. Overall, the evening totaled $ 309 million with the Sydell Miller Collection achieving a “white glove” sale in which every lot was sold.
Claude Monet (b. 1840), Nymphéas, 1914-17
BRITISH MUSEUM RECEIVES $1.2 BILLION WORTH OF CHINESE CERAMICS, THE LARGEST GIFT IN ITS HISTORY.
The British Museum has just been gifted a 1,700-piece collection worth £1 billion ($ 1.27 billion) by the trustees of the Sir Percival David Foundation. The collection has been on long-term loan to the museum since 2009, and includes a ceramic wine cup from the Ming Dynasty. The Director of the British Museum, Nicholas Cullinan, shared that, “these celebrated objects add a special dimension to our own collection and together offer scholars, researchers and visitors around the world the incredible opportunity to study and enjoy the very best examples of Chinese craftsmanship anywhere in existence.” With regard to Sir Percival David himself, the collector was born in 1892 in present day Mumbai and moved to London at the age of 22, where he became an avid collector of Chinese art and literature. Often accumulating pieces for his collection during his travels, one trip to Beijing in 1924 was particularly significant, where he was able to view the Imperial collection. In 1927, Sir Percival David officially became an advisor to China’s National Palace Museums. This gift to the British Museum appears to fulfil the wishes of Sir Percival David, who, before his death in 1964, stated that he wished to share his collection with the public.
RAUSCHENBURG FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS
Robert Rauschenberg, born in 1925 in Port Arthur, Texas, is being celebrated through exhibitions across the world for his centenary in 2025. Courtney J. Martin, the Executive Director of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, has said that, “The Centennial serves as not only a moment to reflect on Rauschenberg's indelible legacy, but also as a catalyst for the century ahead. Through these celebrations, our vision is to move his ethos forward and reinforce his relevance to artists, changemakers, and communities today and in the future.” Exhibition highlights include an exhibition at Museum Brandhorst in Munich, titled, Five Friends: John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, that will run from 10 April 2025 until 17 August 2025. The exhibition is set to move to Museum Ludwig in Cologne in October 2025 until the following January. M+ in Hong Kong will be presenting Robert Rauschenberg and Asia from November 2025 until April 2026. The Rauschenberg Foundation will also be providing grants to institutions to celebrate the artist’s works from their permanent collections.
EMERGING ARTIST LI HEI DI BREAKS AUCTION RECORD AT PHILLIPS IN NEW YORK
At Phillips’ Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Sale on November 19th, Li Hei Di’s Unfolding a flood (2022) sold for USD 127,000. This sale was Li Hei Di’s debut at an evening sale and set a new record at auction for the up and coming artist. In addition, the result exceeded the recent record that was set at Cuppar Auction House in Beijing last weekend. The evening sale brought in $54.1 million and included lots by a number of blue-chip artists, including Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol. The top performing lot was Jackson Pollock’s Untitled (ca. 1948), which sold at $15.33 million. This was also the first time the work has been on public view since its feature in the 1998-99 Pollock retrospective which travelled to the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Tate Britain in London. Despite many of the blue chip artists selling below their estimate, the auction still achieved a number of top sales. Derek Fordjour’s Twelve Tribes (2021) sold for double its estimate at $1.14 million. Elizabeth Peyton’s Kurt (sunglasses) (1995) significantly exceeded its estimate of $800,000 and sold for $2.35 million.
Li Hei Di (b. 1997), Unfolding a flood, 2022
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.
