Christie’s sales were up considerably in 2017, thanks in large part to Salvator Mundi, Asian buyers, and concentration at the top end of the market. But while total revenue hit $6.6 billion, a 21 percent increase compared to 2016, private sales dropped significantly, according to the latest report released in January 2018.
Overall, auction sales totaled $5.9 billion, a 33 percent increase over 2016.
Accounting for an outsize proportion of the global total was the November sale of Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi (circa 1500), which, after a marketing blitz and worldwide tour, smashed all previous auction records to sell for $450.3 million with premium. We estimate that the sale can be credited with 37.5% of Christie’s revenue increase from 2016.
Asia continues to be a vital region for business growth, with Chinese collectors accounting for a full one-third of the Impressionist and modern buying contingent. As part of its ten-year plan in Asia, particularly in China, the house launched its Rockefeller collection tour at the Hong Kong Convention Center in December.
“It’s the first time that we have ever launched a major American or European collection in Asia,” Porter says.
Rival auction house Sotheby’s, which is publicly held, released a report at the end of 2017 noting an annual sales total of $4.7 billion, representing a 13.1 percent increase over our 2016 results. Among its top lots was a record-setting painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (1982), which sold for $110 million, far exceeding its $60 million estimate.
Extracted from artnet.com. images courtesy of the internet