Art Market: Sex Sells - Impressions From New York`s Spring Auctions

(Drivebycuriosity) - Last week`s art auctions in New York had a clear winner: Sotheby’s sold Amadeo Modigliani’s nude "Nu couche (sur la cote gauche)" (painted 1917) for $157.2 million, about half of their Impressionist & Modern Art Sale. Sex sells!

"Nu couche" is the fourth most expensive work of art sold at auction, trailing another Modigliani nude, Picasso`s painting of a brothel ("The Women of Algiers") and Leonardo da Vinci`s Jesus (artnews). Three out of four deal with sex. Yes, sex sells!

No wonder, that last week`s auctions of impressionists, modern - contemporary art had a lot of sex. As I visited the auction houses galleries I could see very different styles (here my general review driveby ).

Above three paintings by pop artist Tom Wesselmann.   Christie`s sold "Little Great American Nude" for $552,500 and  "Blue Nude Drawing for $756,000. Sotheby´s "Pat Nude (Blue) for $675,000.

I spotted "Venus with Watch" by John Currin @ Christie`s (Estimate $3 million -  $5 million).

Christie`s sold George Condo`s "Nude and Forms" for $6.1 million and his "Figure Composition 6" for $312,500.

Cecily Brown`s "Girl Trouble" was sold @ Christie´s for $1.81 million (estimates $700,000 - $1 million).

Phillips sold  David Salle`s cool "Untitled" for $52,500.(estimated $10,000 - 15,000).

"The sound of the Shamisen", by Aya Takano, a Japanese Superflat artist, manga artist, and science fiction essayist (wikipedia   aya-takano.tumblr), was auctioned @ Sotheby`s for $37,500.

Christie`s auctioned Californian expressionist painter Richard Diebenkorn`s  "Nude—Elbow on Knee" for $1.15 million.

Sotheby`s sold French cubist Lhote André Lhote`s "Les Baigneuses à Thonon" for $447,000 and his "Nu allongé" got an estimate of $50,000 - $70,000.

And another cubist:  Sotheby`s estimated "Les Masques" by Jean Metzinger for $250,000 - $350,000.

Nicolas de Stael’s created an abstract version. Christie`s sold his beautiful "nu Debout" (1953) sold for  $12.1 million.

I discovered John William Waterhouse`s "The Siren" @ Sotheby´s, earmarked for the auction of "Victorian, Pre-Raphelite & British Impressionist Art" in London on July 12.

Sotheby´s auctioned Moïse Kisling impressionist painting "Jeune fille assise" for $591,000 (estimated $200,000 — $300,000).

Above a detail from William Bougerou`s "Les quatre Saisons". Christie`s estimates $600,000 - $800,000 for their upcoming auction of 19th Century European Art.

At Phillips I spotted to works by the Nicaraguan painter Armando Morales: "Deux nus assis" (estimated $70,000 - $90,000) & "Dos mujere frente al espejo" (estimated $40,000 - $60,000).



Enjoy!