Auctions : Drouot, Christie’s, Sotheby’s…
Parisian auction “big three” report breaking record sales
For French auction places, 2011 has already topped previous year in sales, from 10 to 20% progression. If the second semester has been harder than the first, the ending year will be remembered for its record breaking sales for very rare objects purchased by a more and more select international society.
Drouot claims an 8% progression, to a 12 month result of 475 M€. 15 of their auction topped 1 M€, and two of them topped 3 M€ : a painting by Monet, ” La promenade d’Argenteuil, un soir d’hiver” , is one of two.
Christie’s saw their sales progress by 13% to reach 199 M€. 21 sales reached more than a million of euros, the leading one being the XIII’s century Ivory sculpture of a Virgin with child, sold by phone to an undisclosed investor.
Sotheby’s comes third with a 190 M€ worth sold in one year, a french record for that English based company which claims an impressing total of 29 sales over 1 M€. Guillaume Cerutti, CEO of Sotheby France, states that the economic crisis stroke during the second semester of 2011, and first impacted the lower or middle range auctions.
For Francis Briest, Co-CEO of Artcurial, french auction company that claim a 23% progression for the twelve last month, 2012 will be a more “complicated” year.
[question]Which are the most attractive pieces? [/question]
[answer]There’s a real trend for XX’s century artists, metal workers as Lyonel Feininger, Jean Prouvé or decorator Louis Majorelle. But also for people as Basquiat. The old motorcars also went classic. With time this type of objects acquired more interest.[/answer]
[question]Who are the buyers?[/question]
[answer]Of course, our clients are very wealthy, maybe the most wealthy, and very international. The US, England, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, but also France are represented. Let’s mention Qatar, Morocco and Asia, for a small part. It’s maybe a point of detail, but we didn’t see Spaniards this year.[/answer]
[question]Aren’t your afraid the world crisis will lower next year’s sales?[/question]
[answer]For middle range pieces, it’s always harder with the crisis. So, we may see a more complicated year in 2012. Still, in 1993, when the market was down, we got very high prices for the great Raynal collection [contemporary painter Jean Raynal]. Which demonstrates that a very rare piece of art, unique in some way, will always raise interest and therefor resist to crisis.[/answer]
{Interview by Bruno Mazurier for “Le Parisien”}