New Roles for John Good and Amy Cappellazzo at Christie's

John Good has left his longtime post as director of Gagosian Gallery to join Christie's as senior vice president in the private sales department. The appointment indicates an increased emphasis on private sales at the auction house.
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Phillips de Pury Sets Records for Basquiat, Schutz and Price

Phillips de Pury & Company rounded out New York's May evening contemporary art auctions with strong results last night, bringing in $86.9 million. This was within the projected range, and 80% of offerings found buyers. Three works sold in excess of $10 million, and a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting fetched $16.3 million, setting a record for that artist, as did works by Seth Price and Dana Schutz.


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Bacon, Lichtenstein and Warhol Lead at Sotheby's Contemporary Auction

A trio of contemporary masters led Sotheby's contemporary art auction last night in New York. A Roy Lichtenstein canvas of a dozing blond, selling for $44.9 million, set an artist record, as did works by Cy Twombly, Glenn Ligon and Mark Bradford. The sale was a solid performance, totaling $266.6 million, straight down the middle of the house's estimated take, with 80% of the offerings finding buyers. The same sale last year brought $128 million. Christie's Tuesday night sale totaled $388.5 million, setting a record for any contemporary art auction.

"The market is super-strong for top works," New York art advisor Allan Schwartzman told A.i.A. "If they're the highest-quality works of significant date by the most important artists, there doesn't seem to be much of a ceiling on the bidding. It was stunning how, particularly at Christie's, on the top lots—of which there were many—there was deep bidding at the highest price levels."
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Christie's Contemporary Sale Shatters Records, Led by Rothko

As the Dow fell for the sixth consecutive day, the world's wealthiest rallied to spend a record $388.5 million on art at Christie's last night. The haul made this the most successful auction of contemporary art, edging by the previous record of $384.6 million set at Christie's in 2007.

"It was very high-quality material," art advisor Mary Hoeveler told A.i.A., "the likes of which the market hasn't seen in 10 years." The caliber of the works for sale confirmed that buyers are out there for top-shelf works--as evidenced by the numerous bidders on some of the highest-priced lots--even though Christie's Impressionist and modern auction the week before, widely thought to contain lackluster offerings, netted just $117 million.

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