In 2023, the art market has witnessed a variety of high-profile auctions featuring impressive sales and record-breaking artworks.
The most notable auctions in 2023 include:
1. Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Auction in London: This auction presented works by several 20th-century heavyweights and saw five artworks sell for more than $18 million each. The top lots included Wassily Kandinsky’s Murnau With Church II (1910), which sold for $44.8 million.
2. Baroque: Masterpieces from the Fisch Davidson Collection at Sotheby’s New York: This sale featured Peter Paul Rubens’s Salome presented with the head of Saint John the Baptist (1609), which hammered for $26.9 million, marking the third-highest auction total for the Flemish master. Other significant sales from this auction included Penitent Saint Mary Magdalene (ca. 1620s) by Orazio Gentileschi and Christ Crowned with Thorns (1616/17) by Valentin de Boulogne, both selling for $4.89 million apiece.
3. Phillips’s 20th-century and contemporary art sale in Hong Kong: This auction marked the first sale at the auction house’s new Hong Kong headquarters and featured Yoshitomo Nara’s Lookin’ for a Treasure (1995), which sold for $10.7 million.
4. Sotheby’s “Contemporary Discoveries” in London: This auction saw a new record set for Belgian ultra-contemporary artist Albert Willem, whose acrylic on canvas piece, The mountain air provided a pleasant atmosphere (2020), hammered for £239,400 ($295,586), 1,815% higher than its low estimate of £10,000.
In addition to these major auctions, several artists made their debut at major auction houses, such as American painter Dominic Chambers with Untitled (Karrine in Red) (2020), which sold for $73,315 at Sotheby’s. Other notable sales included works by ultra-contemporary women artists like Caroline Walker’s Threshold (2014), which sold for $1.1 million at Phillips, setting a new record price for the artist.
These auctions and sales highlight the dynamic and ever-evolving art market in 2023, showcasing the demand for both established masters and emerging talents.