A sale of 40 major works of art stretching from the modern period through today from the collection of billionaire Liu Yiqian and his wife,
Wang Wei,
fell short of expectations at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong on Thursday, generating HK$544.5 million (US$69.5 million).
The auction was among three evening sales at Sotheby’s, including a single-lot auction of a “fancy vivid” blue diamond and a contemporary sale that delivered softer-than-expected results. The larger meaning of the back-to-back sales is unclear, but could hint that appetite is softening from Asia heading into the major auctions in London and New York this fall.
Several works from Liu and Wang’s extensive collection failed to sell, including paintings by David Hockney, Stanley Whitney, Zao Wou-Ki, and a sculpture by Yayoi Kusama. Still, the auction—which was expected to realize at least HK$745 million—represents the highest total for a single-owner sale in Asia, and included records for the region for several Western artists, including Jonas Wood, Mark Bradford, and Alex Katz, Sotheby’s said.
The most expensive lot was Amedeo Modigliani’s Paulette Jourdain, which was anticipated to fetch more than US$45 million; instead, the work sold for the equivalent of US$34.9 million, with fees. That is still the highest price paid for a work by the artist in Asia, Sotheby’s said.
René Magritte’s Le miroir universel, 1938-39, sold for HK$77.6 million, with fees, a price within its estimate range that achieved a record for the artist in Asia. The Magritte did not include a guarantee, although the Modigliani did.
Though the overall results fell short, Sotheby’s specialists noted it was an ambitious sale. Liu and Wang, who have been avid collectors of both Chinese and Western art for 30 years, and who founded the private Long museum in Shanghai, said they were putting several prized works on the auction block to fund future acquisitions. They also seek to foster “cultural dialogues between different artists, geographies, and generations,” according to a previous statement from Sotheby’s chairman for Asia, Nicholas Chow.
The subsequent auction of a fancy vivid blue diamond and diamond ring achieved HK$198.2 million, with fees, short of a HK$208 million low estimate.
The 23-lot contemporary sale that followed included some strong results, but fell just shy of presale estimates, realizing a total of HK$352.7 million, with fees. Two works by Kusama failed to sell, as did works by contemporary Chinese artists Zeng Fanzhi and Zhang Xiaogang.
Lucy Bull’s Flash Chamber, however, realized HK$13.7 million, more than double a high presale estimate. A 1970 untitled work by Julie Mehretu achieved HK$72.9 million, while Gerhard Richter’s Abstraktes Bild, 1994, achieved HK$84.5 million. The prices realized for the works by Mehretu and the Richter were within estimates, and were sold with irrevocable bids.
Auction sales in Hong Kong were down 11.6% in the first half of the year, according to an analysis by ArtTactic, but the London-based art analysis firm saw signs of strength for the region in a late September Christie’s sale in Shanghai. Four sales conducted in honor of the auction house’s 10th year in the city realized US$181 million, with fees, at the higher end of presale estimates, ArtTactic said in a third-quarter market review.
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