During the summer, for the first time in years, old master paintings outsold contemporary, modern and impressionist works at a number of London auctions.
From The Art Newspaper:
Christie’s sale on 7 July reached a total of £20m, with 76% of the 63 lots selling–a 10% improvement on sell-through rates in recent years, bolstered by the inclusion of 19th-century paintings for the first time.
At Sotheby’s, the evening old master sale on 8 July brought in a total of £36m, compared with £33m for the summer impressionist auctions and £25m for the modern and contemporary sales. Both major auction houses have struggled in the latter categories to find strong material, reducing pre-sale price estimates.
This has not been the case for old master paintings, according to Sotheby’s department co-chairman George Gordon. “Estimates are no lower than two years ago–the market has been maintained,” he said…
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