Lady Gaga was among the buyers
during a week of contemporary art and fashion auctions in London
that raised more than 250 million pounds ($392 million).
The U.S. singer was represented in the room at Christie’s
International’s June 27 charity sale of fashion items belonging
to the model and designer Daphne Guinness. The auction house
confirmed that Gaga was a buyer, though it wouldn’t specify
which, or how many, items she bought.
The 102-lot evening sale was held to establish a foundation
in memory of Guinness’s friend, Isabella Blow, the fashion
editor credited with discovering Alexander McQueen. The event
raised 476,800 pounds, more than four times the estimate.
“Having taken an auction away from Christie’s, I decided
to give them another in its place,” Guinness said at the
presale preview.
Blow died on May 6, 2007. Her wardrobe, including the
clothes McQueen created for his college graduation, had been
scheduled to be auctioned by Christie’s in September 2010.
Guinness bought her friend’s collection before the sale with the
long-term intention of putting it on public display.
An Alexander McQueen ivory silk tulle empire-line gown was
among the items Guinness offered in its place. Dating from the
fall/winter of 2008-2009, it sold for 85,250 pounds, a record
for the designer at auction. Lady Gaga’s management hasn’t
commented on reports that she bought the gown.
The top price of the evening was 133,250 pounds given by a
telephone bidder for Mario Testino photograph of Guinness
published in the March 2008 edition of U.K. Vogue magazine.
Basquiat Painting
The night after Christie’s sale, Phillips de Pury Co.
offered a 1981 painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, a friend of
Blow’s when she worked at Vogue in New York during the early
1980s.
Estimated at 6 million pounds to 8 million pounds, the
acrylic and oilstick “Irony of Negro Policeman” was the most
highly-valued work in Phillips’s 28-lot auction of contemporary
artworks. It fell to a telephone bidder for 8.2 million pounds
with fees, having been sold privately earlier in the year for
about $8 million, dealers said.
A 1984 acrylic-on-canvas of Olympic rings and heads painted
by Basquiat and Andy Warhol fetched a further 6.8 million pounds
with fees.
Another version of this collaboration, prompted by the 23rd
Olympiad in Los Angeles, is currently on show at Gagosian in
Davies Street in the Mayfair district of London.
Selling Rate
Phillips’s sale raised 23.4 million pounds with fees
against an estimate of 15.1 million pounds to 21.2 million
pounds, based on hammer prices. The evening’s selling rate of 86
percent was similar to those at the equivalent contemporary-art
auctions held by Sotheby’s and Christie’s on June 26 and June 27
respectively.
Christie’s 132.8 million-pound offering was the most
valuable contemporary-art auction held in Europe, surpassing the
108.8 million pounds raised by Sotheby’s from a mixed-owner sale
combined with the Durkheim Collection in London in June 2011.
“The trophies are more expensive than ever,” the London-
based art adviser Wendy Goldsmith said in an interview. “Works
in the range of $200,000 to $600,000 are more difficult. People
like bankers don’t have the same levels of disposable income,
and the feel-good factor isn’t there any more.”
Sotheby’s (BID) and Christie’s day sales of contemporary works on
June 27 and June 28 raised 13.8 million pounds and 15.5 million
pounds respectively. Sotheby’s found buyers for 69 percent of
its lots. The corresponding Part II London auctions in June
2008, at the height of the last art market boom, took 26.8
million pounds and 22.4 million pounds.
“Fatigue is another factor,” Goldsmith said. “We’ve just
had art fairs in New York, Hong Kong and Basel. We’ve never had
quite so much of a run-up to these auctions.”
(Scott Reyburn writes about the art market for Muse, the
arts and culture section of Bloomberg News. Opinions expressed
are his own.)
Muse highlights include Robert Heller on rock music, Jason
Harper on cars and Rich Jaroslovsky on technology.
To contact the writer on the story:
Scott Reyburn in London at sreyburn@hotmail.com.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Manuela Hoelterhoff at
mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
Alexander McQueen gown
Christie’s Images Ltd. 2012 via Bloomberg.
An Alexander McQueen ivory silk tulle empire-line gown. Dating from the fall/
winter of 2008-2009, it sold for a record 85,250 pounds at Christie’s June 27
Daphne Guinness Collection sale to benefit the Isabella Blow Foundation. Reports said it was bought by singer Lady Gaga.
An Alexander McQueen ivory silk tulle empire-line gown. Dating from the fall/
winter of 2008-2009, it sold for a record 85,250 pounds at Christie’s June 27
Daphne Guinness Collection sale to benefit the Isabella Blow Foundation. Reports said it was bought by singer Lady Gaga. Source: Christie’s Images Ltd. 2012 via Bloomberg.
Francis Bacon Self Portrait
Sotheby’s via Bloomberg.
“Study for Self-Portrait,” a 1980 painting by Francis Bacon. The work sold in a 79-lot auction of contemporary artworks at Sotheby’s in London on June 26.
“Study for Self-Portrait,” a 1980 painting by Francis Bacon. The work sold in a 79-lot auction of contemporary artworks at Sotheby’s in London on June 26. Source: Sotheby’s via Bloomberg.
“Warrior”
Sotheby’s via Bloomberg
“Warrior,” a 1982 acrylic and oilstick-on-wood panel painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Sotheby’s sold the piece in its June 26 auction of contemporary artworks in London.
“Warrior,” a 1982 acrylic and oilstick-on-wood panel painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Sotheby’s sold the piece in its June 26 auction of contemporary artworks in London. Source: Sotheby’s via Bloomberg
“The Tragic Conversion of Salvador Dali”
Sotheby’s via Bloomberg
“The Tragic Conversion of Salvador Dali (After John Martin),” a 1998 canvas by Glenn Brown. The painting sold in Sotheby’s evening auction of contemporary artworks in London on June 26.
“The Tragic Conversion of Salvador Dali (After John Martin),” a 1998 canvas by Glenn Brown. The painting sold in Sotheby’s evening auction of contemporary artworks in London on June 26. Source: Sotheby’s via Bloomberg
“Study for Self-Portrait”
Christie’s Images Ltd. 2012 via Bloomberg
“Study for Self-Portrait,” a 1964 painting by Francis Bacon. The work sold in a 69-lot auction of post-war and contemporary artworks at Christie’s International in London on June 27.
“Study for Self-Portrait,” a 1964 painting by Francis Bacon. The work sold in a 69-lot auction of post-war and contemporary artworks at Christie’s International in London on June 27. Source: Christie’s Images Ltd. 2012 via Bloomberg
“Struktur (2)”
Christie’s Images Ltd. 2012 via Bloomberg
“Struktur (2),” a 1989 abstract painting by Gerhard Richter. It was among 69 postwar and contemporary artworks being offered by Christie’s International auction in London.
“Struktur (2),” a 1989 abstract painting by Gerhard Richter. It was among 69 postwar and contemporary artworks being offered by Christie’s International auction in London. Source: Christie’s Images Ltd. 2012 via Bloomberg
Basquiat Self-Portrait
Christie’s Images Ltd. 2012 via Bloomberg.
A 1981 untitled self-portrait by Jean-Michel Basquiat. The acrylic, oilstick and spray-paint canvas sold for a record in an auction of post-war and contemporary works at Christie’s International in London on June 27.
A 1981 untitled self-portrait by Jean-Michel Basquiat. The acrylic, oilstick and spray-paint canvas sold for a record in an auction of post-war and contemporary works at Christie’s International in London on June 27. Source: Christie’s Images Ltd. 2012 via Bloomberg.
“Le Rose du bleu (RE 22)”
Christie’s Images Ltd. 2012 via Bloomberg
“Le Rose du bleu (RE 22),” a 1960 sponge relief by the French conceptual artist Yves Klein. The work, encrusted with nine sea sponges, was sold for an artist record by Christie’s International in its June 27 auction of post-war and contemporary artworks in London.
“Le Rose du bleu (RE 22),” a 1960 sponge relief by the French conceptual artist Yves Klein. The work, encrusted with nine sea sponges, was sold for an artist record by Christie’s International in its June 27 auction of post-war and contemporary artworks in London. Source: Christie’s Images Ltd. 2012 via Bloomberg
Hirst Medicine Cabinet
Sotheby’s via Bloomberg.
A work by Damien Hirst. The early medicine cabinet “My Way,” dating from 1990-1991, failed against a low estimate of 1.2 million pounds at a sale in Sotheby’s London.
A work by Damien Hirst. The early medicine cabinet “My Way,” dating from 1990-1991, failed against a low estimate of 1.2 million pounds at a sale in Sotheby’s London. Source: Sotheby’s via Bloomberg.
Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-30/lady-gaga-boosts-392-million-fashion-contemporary-art-sales.html
