Van Gogh painting auctioned for $27.6 million

HONG KONG – There were few fireworks at the inaugural evening sale of 20th and 21st century art at Christie’s new Asia headquarters in Hong Kong on Thursday, as the economic malaise that has cast a pall over the art market in the past two years continues to make itself felt.
The closely watched sale, led by auctioneers Adrien Meyer and Georgina Hilton, began at 7pm on the 7th floor of The Henderson, the Zaha Hadid Architects-designed tower in the city’s Central business district.
The auction house controlled by French billionaire Francois Pinault has taken up the four lowest floors of the curvilinear glass tower.
The high-profile expansion will see Christie’s holding year-round auctions in its own venue instead of being limited to two weeks of marquee sales each spring and autumn at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai.
The top lot was Les canots amarres (1887) by Vincent van Gogh, a painting owned by Princess Camilla of Bourbon Two Sicilies and which was heavily promoted as a rare work by the artist to be sold in Asia.
It sold at a hammer price of HK$215 million (US$27.6 million), or HK$250.6 million with fees, which was below the presale estimate of HK$230 million to HK$380 million (the estimates exclude fees).
However, independent art adviser Alexandre Errera said it was still a good price considering that it was one of van Gogh’s early works, which are not as easy to sell as his later pieces.
“The sale today shows that the market is definitely readjusting. Bidding was thin at the top end. But that being said, there is still appetite for Western art and art in general. And globally, Asia is still where most new buyers are coming to the market.”
This first evening sale was seen as a major test of the Asian art market amid a global downturn that saw an 88% decline in Sotheby’s core earnings and a 25% drop in auction sales in the first half of 2024, according to a Financial Times report.
Christie’s Asia has also seen a two-year decline in sales. In May this year, its spring sales brought in HK$2.3 billion, down from HK$3 billion in 2023 and HK$3.7 billion in 2022.
Compared with the spring sale at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in May 2024, Thursday’s evening combined sale of 20th and 21st century art had 35 fewer lots.
However, the event attracted strong interest, with a sizeable crowd showing up for an auction that featured a mix of blue-chip Western names and some of the most important artists from different parts of Asia. However, bids were slow apart from for the lower-priced items where the starting prices were set well below the estimates.
A murmur swept through the room when Nympheas (1897-1899) by Claude Monet was brought in to be auctioned, with dozens of hands raised – not to bid, but to take photos with their phones.
The painting sold for HK$200 million (excluding fees) to a client of Cristian Albu, deputy chairman and head of 20th/21st century art at Christie’s Asia-Pacific. The price was at the bottom of the estimated range.
Zao Wou-Ki’s monumental 05.06.80 – Triptyque (1980), the top work by an Asian artist in the auction, sold at a hammer price of HK$80 million against an estimate of HK$78 million to HK$128 million.
One of 25 editions of British street artist Banksy’s Girl and Balloon (2003) sold for HK$8.6 million including fees. The famously shredded version of another edition is on show nearby at Sotheby’s Maison at the Landmark Chater building, where Christie’s arch-rival will also begin year-round sales starting next month.
There were moments when there were sparks in the room, for example when Ronald Ventura’s State of Bloom sold for HK$30 million (HK$36.7 million with fees), far exceeding the top estimate of HK$2.8 million. And Lucy Bull’s 18:50 was sold for HK$18.5 million (with fees), a new world record for the American artist.
Christie’s Asia-Pacific president Francis Belin said 93% of the 46 lots in the evening sales were sold, which was a strong level given today’s economy and showed that the market remained resilient.
Earlier, the first sale conducted at Christie’s new venue – of the Au Bak Ling Collection of Chinese ceramics – finished as a “white glove sale” amid loud cheers from an enthusiastic crowd. A “white glove sale” is one where all the lots sell.
It was the first sale by the estate of one of Hong Kong’s most esteemed collectors.
With well-known collectors such as Robert Chang and Anthony Cheung Kee-wee looking on and bidding, the top lot, a blue and white pear-shaped vase from the Yongle Period (1403-1425) was sold at a hammer price of HK$22.5 million to a phone bidder.
The presale estimated sale price for the vase was between HK$18 million and HK$25 million.
The one lot that failed to hit its reserve price initially, a Yongzheng Period ceramic basin made to look like it is wooden, was reoffered by auctioneer Liang-lin Chen at the end of the sale and went for a hammer price of HK$2.4 million, below the low estimate of HK$3 million, thus achieving a 100% sell-through rate for the historic sale.
Auctions at Christie’s continue on Friday with 20th century and 21st century art day sales.