Press Release

Over $1 Million Achieved | Modern & Contemporary Art Auction

We are delighted to announce the results of our highly successful Modern & Contemporary Art auction—our first online fine art sale of 2020.

With an impressive sell-through rate of 95%, the 58-lot sale achieved over $1 million, just shy of its pre-sale high estimate. Strong prices were achieved for Latin American, English, and iconic American Pop artists. With many consignments from private New York collectors, the auction included notable works by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, and Andy Warhol.

“We were delighted to see that the market remains competitive for top works by blue chip artists, and to achieve an enviable sell-through rate in our first online fine art sale,”

Said Dunham Townend, Head of our Modern & Contemporary Art Department. With this most recent success, we raise our average sell-through rate for our 2020 fine auctions to 93.5%.

SECOND HIGHEST PRICE ACHIEVED AT AUCTION FOR “CHANEL” BY ANDY WARHOL

The sale was led by Chanel, an iconic print from Andy Warhol’s, Ads series, which sold for $175,000—nearly the high end of its pre-sale estimate. This price is the second highest ever fetched at auction for this important screenprint.  Robust pre-sale interest and spirited bidding from the East and West Coasts, as well as from Europe, culminated in one of the highest auction prices ever achieved for this iconic Pop image.

ROBUST PRICES ACHIEVED FOR BRITISH MODERNISTS

Skoob Assemblage by British Modernist John Latham was a runaway success. Bidders from the United Kingdom, Europe and America competed vigorously for this fresh-to-market assemblage by one of England’s most celebrated Conceptual artists. The work more than quintupled its pre-sale low estimate, realizing $27,500.

Similar spirited bidding drove Lynn Chadwick’s Pair of Cloaked Figures to sell for $43,750. This quintessential example by the revered British sculptor had been in a private New York collection since 1978.

These robust results continue our long-established history of success with Modern British artists including William Scott, Henry Moore and John Hoyland.

GROUP OF OSWALDO VIGAS WORKS FROM PRIVATE COLLECTION EXCEED PRE-SALE ESTIMATES

Two paintings and two works on paper by renowned Venezuelan artist Oswaldo Vigas drew significant attention from bidders worldwide. These works were acquired over many years of friendship between the artist and Freeman’s consignor. Caraqueña, and Merideña, two oil on canvases from 1967, exceeded their pre-sale estimates of $10,000-15,000, realizing $16,250 and $12,500, respectively; while two Untitled works on paper each exceeded their pre-sale high estimate, achieving $4,063 and $4,688.
 

WORKS BY PICASSO, RIVERA, KATZ, RODRIGUE & MATISSE EXCEED EXPECTATIONS

Strong prices were also achieved for works by many other internationally renowned and sought after artists. Other notable results include $46,875 for Pablo Picasso’s Face with Black Nose and Alex Katz’s Yellow Road; $32,500 for Diego Rivera’s Seated Woman; $25,000 for George Rodrigue’s Blue Over You; and $18,750 for Henri Matisse’s Soldat Marocain et Hamido.