Christie’s New York records first ever
The sizzling New York art market has set another stunning record the first $1 billion (630m) week for an auction house just two days after a Pablo Picasso became the costliest painting to go under the hammer.
The identity of the buyer who placed the winning bid of $179.4 million for Picasso’s 1955 masterpiece Les canada goose outlet canada goose outlet canada Femmes d’Alger by telephone remained the subject of speculation as feverish as the market.
One earlier bidder in the sale room at Christie’s did identify himself. Steve Wynn, the Las Vegas casino tycoon and famed art collector, raised his bidding paddle canada goose outlet jackets at $125 goose outlet canada million, but then bowed out.
“I bid early on,” he told Bloomberg News outside the Rockefeller Centre auction house. “I think $179 million is a price you sell a picture at, not the price you buy it at.”
Steve Wynn had raised his bidding paddle at $125 canada goose coats million (Getty Images)
Christie’s followed up its $706 million sales of 20th century works canada goose outlet uk sale on Monday with an auction that raised $685 million on Wednesday evening for post war and contemporary pieces.
The combined https://www.st-edwards-cam.org.uk weekly sale tally canada goose outlet shop of nearly $1.4 billion for Christie’s easily set a new high, while its rival Sotheby’s also brought canada goose clearance sale in $397 million at an auction of contemporary American artwork on Tuesday.
The vast sums, driven up by new buyers from Asia, stunned even canada goose outlet toronto factory the high end art dealers, deep pocketed collectors and buy canada goose jacket cheap celebrities official canada goose outlet who packed the salesrooms.
“We are in a fantasy land out here,” said Michael Ovitz, collector and former Walt Disney president, as he left Christie’s in Rockefeller Plaza. “It’s unbelievable.”
Known sellers included Steve canada goose outlet Cohen, the billionaire hedge fund manager, and Sheldon Solow, New York property mogul, and Mr Wynn.
But the buyers all remained anonymous, with Christie’s only revealing that bidders came from 35 countries in Monday and 40 on Wednesday.
Many were new to the market in the last five years, it added. That was an indication that major buyers this week may have come the burgeoning Asian market, and particularly canada goose store China, whose canada goose outlet uk new rich bought 22 per cent of global art last year.
Two major buyers on Monday the purchaser of another Picasso that went for $67.4 million and canada goose outlet online uk a Mark Rothko canvas hat fetched $40.5 million were represented on the sales floor by senior Christie’s executives for Asia canada goose and China.
People take phone bids for Alberto canada goose outlet black friday Giacometti’s Pointing man at Christie’s (EPA)
The Picasso was one of six artists whose works sold for new records this week. Another world auction record, for a sculpture, was established with the sale of an Alberto Giacometti piece $141.3 million.
Among the famous names seen at New York auctions in recent days have been Leonardo DiCaprio, Ivanka Trump and Greek shipping magnate George Economou.
Jay Jopling, founder of the powerhouse London gallery White Cube, was among the canada goose clearance art dealers to the mega canada goose outlet reviews rich who attended.
The art crowd Canada Goose Jackets has moved from the auctions to Frieze New York, the US edition of the British based art fair that draws contemporary galleries from across the canada goose uk shop globe.
