Jean-Michel Basquiat artwork fetches $46.5m at New York auction
This week, major art sales have been conducted as part of the New York marquee auctions. Following Sotheby’s two sales on May 13th, which brought in $267.3 million, landing directly between the presale estimate of $241.8m and $350.4m, Phillips took the floor with several exciting transactions, including a piece by the legendary Jean-Michel Basquiat.
The late modern artist’s lot was the 1982 artwork titled Untitled (ELMAR). It was one of 13 lots on May 14th, with a third-party guarantee. Phillips estimated that the piece would bring in $60m for a high estimate, one of the most expensive Basquiat valuations to date.
Although the lot highlighted the evening’s sales, Untitled (ELMAR) failed to reach its upper estimate of $60 million, falling short at $40.2m (with fees $46.5m). Despite the $20m difference, the sale was met with a round of applause since it is still an astonishing milestone for the Basquiat portfolio and a warm tribute to the late artist.
As for the rest of the evening’s sales, most lots landed within their estimated ranges. Fadojutimi’s 2022 painting The Pour impressed pundits with a $850,000 ($1m with fees) sale, doubling its low estimate of $400,000. Meanwhile, Canadian Cree artist Kent Monkman set a new personal record with a $300,000 ($381,000 with fees) sale for his 2020 painting The Storm.
Elsewhere, Barkley L. Hendricks’s artwork Vendetta, created in 1977, also drew significant attention leading up to the auction. The painting portrays a woman wearing a tank top with the word “bitch” prominently displayed. It was consigned by Richard D. Segal, a trustee of the Whitney Museum, with a high estimate of $3.5m.
Despite the anticipation, Vendetta did not surpass Hendricks’s previous record of $8.4m set at Sotheby’s in New York in November 2023. The final sale price for Vendetta was $3.2m, falling within the expected range but not reaching the heights anticipated before the auction.
Throughout the remainder of May, the New York marquee auctions will witness several more high-profile art auctions. Following the Phillips sale at Park Avenue last night, many prospective buyers rushed a few blocks away to attend the two-part sale of the de la Cruz collection at Christie’s.
