The Art Market Post-Pollock

A Hyperallergic analysis of spring marquee auctions argues that headline results—such as a Jackson Pollock selling for $181.2 million and a Constantin Brancusi for $107.6 million at Christie’s—mask broader market softness. In Christie’s $1.1 billion evening sale, roughly 30% of works reportedly hammered below low estimate or went unsold, including a Cy Twombly from Agnes Gund, and many lots carried third-party guarantees. The piece notes similar patterns elsewhere: five of 12 lots in Christie’s McNeil Minimalist collection sale hammered at or below low estimate, and more than a third of lots at Phillips’s Modern and Contemporary evening sale and Sotheby’s Now and Contemporary evening sale performed at or below estimate, went unsold, or were withdrawn. It also highlights how conservative estimates, buyer’s premiums of about 27–28% up to roughly $1–2 million, and consignor fees up to 10% can leave sellers disappointed despite seemingly strong published totals.

Read the full article at Hyperallergic