Sotheby’s began the auction season with $433 million in sales, including an 11-lot group from Bob Mnuchin’s collection led by an $86 million Mark Rothko. The three major auction houses are offering about $1.8 billion in art by low estimate, a 50% increase from the prior year’s $1.2 billion expectation, supported by consignments from estates of prominent figures such as Mnuchin, Agnes Gund, and Marian Goodman. Christie’s is set to stage a Monday evening sale from publisher S.I. Newhouse’s collection, expected to reach $450 million and potentially set records for Jackson Pollock and Constantin Brancusi. Abstract Expressionist works are abundant, but buyers remain cautious after recent market losses, and auction houses emphasize deals and reduced estimates.
"Sotheby's sold $433 million of art, including an 11-lot group from the late New York dealer Bob Mnuchin's collection, led by a fiery $86 million Mark Rothko painting."
"The big three houses are offering $1.8 billion worth of art by low estimate, a 50 percent jump from the $1.2 billion they anticipated last year. (They fell short of that, totaling only $1 billion before fees.) Driving the change are consignments from the estates of key art world figures like Mnuchin, philanthropist Agnes Gund, and dealer Marian Goodman."
"There's suddenly an embarrassment of Abstract Expressionist riches: Multiple Rothkos, Willem de Koonings, Joan Mitchell s, and more are available. I can't recall a Pollock of the Newhouse caliber at an auction in the past 20 years. Maybe ever."
""Even though those guys who can walk out with $500 million of art in a season, they won't," a top art advisor told me. "Just like you would never go to a restaurant and order four entrées, just because you could afford to.""
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