Christie’s 20/21 Marquee Week Kicks Off with Record-Breaking £130M
Christie’s 20/21 Marquee Week opens with £130M in sales, led by Magritte’s £10.3M masterpiece & record-breaking results across key artists.
Christie’s London kicked off its 20/21 Marquee Week with remarkable success, achieving a combined total of £130,251,700 ($166,591,924 / €156,302,040). The auctions saw 94% of lots sold by volume and 97% by value, with 43% of works surpassing their high estimates.
Notable Sales & Records
- René Magritte’s La reconnaissance infinie was the highest-priced artwork of the season, selling for £10,315,000 in The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale.
- Michael Andrews’ School IV: Barracuda under Skipjack led the 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale, setting a new auction record at £6,060,000.
- Three rare works by Paul Delvaux outperformed estimates in The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale.
- Seven auction records were set, including for Michael Andrews, Danielle McKinney, Emmi Whitehorse, and Tamara de Lempicka.
- International participation was strong, with buyers from EMEA (53%), the Americas (34%), and APAC (13%).
Highlights of the 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale
This sale totalled £82,180,500 ($105,108,860 / €98,616,600), with 94% of lots sold by volume and 96% by value. Notable results included:
- Portrait du Docteur Boucard by Tamara de Lempicka (£6,635,000)
- Knabe in Matrosenanzug (Boy in a Sailor Suit) by Egon Schiele (£3,307,000)
- Schwarze Begleitung by Wassily Kandinsky (£2,218,000)
- Portrait de Lunia Czechowska by Amedeo Modigliani (£6,290,000)
- Between Kilham and Langtoft by David Hockney (£5,122,000)
- Portrait of Man with Glasses III by Francis Bacon (£6,635,000)
The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale
This segment realised £48,071,200 ($61,483,065 / €57,685,440), exceeding expectations. Magritte’s La reconnaissance infinie (£10,315,000) led the sale, while three Paul Delvaux works from a private collection also saw exceptional results.
“We are delighted to be leading the market with our 20/21 sales tonight, with 94% of lots sold across these sales. Tonight the room had energy with strong competition throughout, responding to a well-curated and fairly estimated sale.”
- Katharine Arnold, Vice-Chairman, Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art, Europe, and Keith Gill, Vice-Chairman, Head of Impressionist and Modern Art, Europe at Christie’s
Christie’s continues its 20/21 series with upcoming sales, including the Post-War and Contemporary Day Sale on 6 March and the Impressionist and Modern Art Day and Works on Paper Sale on 7 March.
