Last night's Evening Sale of Impressionist and Modern Works at Christie's realized $335.5 million for the auction house, confirming predictions and talk to that art is back. The wunderkind of the evening was Pablo Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust, from the collection of L.A. collector Mrs. Sidney F. Brody. The piece catapulted past its $70-90 million estimate and was bought by an anonymous telephone bidder for $106,482,500, setting a new record for a price achieved at auction.
The evening was not without disappointments, however. Fertility by Edvard Munch, which was heralded as one of the most important works by Munch still in a private collection and was the catalog's cover lot with an estimate of $25-35 million didn't attract a single bid.
The demographics of the buyers were evenly split between Americans and Europeans, with each comprising 36%. Middle Easterners and Russians made up 24%, and Asians just 4%. Overall the sale was a smash. Can't wait to see what happens at tonight's evening sale at Sotheby's. Stay tuned!
