💰 Art Auctions in July

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why hello there The Bossy Mealz Newsletter link to past newsletters and to subscribe Blockbuster Auctions in July Usually the dog days of summer are the much needed pause between the heady auction season in May in New York quickly followed by the Basel Art Fair in June, before things kick back into gear with the fall auction seasons.  But this year is most unlike the others and all of the Spring auctions were moved to the end of June into mid-July.  It was a surreal experience to be "in the saleroom" in New York bidding with clients when I was in fact across the country in my living room -- it was certainly an auction season not to be forgotten! "May" Auction Season Roundup It is clearly a brave new world for the auction houses with no bidding happening in the room, only on the telephone and online.  The usual event-driven client engagement strategies were replaced with viewings of artworks by appointment only.  Here is a brief synopsis on my take for the week, featuring each auction house and overall market trends: Sotheby's went first with their auctions beginning on June 29th which they branded as an international telecast with their representatives bidding with clients on the telephone from New York, London and Hong Kong.  The sales go much slower as a result of this new form of bidding with the auctioneer finishing at 4am local, as he was based in London.  The Basquiat Head drawing (pictured above left) sold for just over $15M and set a new record for a work of art bought through online bidding. Their sales totaled $363.2m with 69 lots across 3 sales.  For comparison, Sotheby's November 2019 Evening Sales saw a combined $479.6m across 88 lots sold.    Bonhams went next on July 1st with a strong sale result, featuring an early Ruth Asawa sculpture (pictured above right) that sold for $2.2M.  Representatives from the company were bidding with clients on the telephone from around the country--including yours truly in my living room.  Phillips Evening sale the next day totaled $41.1M across 25 lots; for comparison, Phillips November 2019 Evening Sale totaled $108.1M across 40 lots sold. (Market data care of Lobus.io.) Work by women artists continued to perform well, with Joan Mitchell's Noël, pictured above center, selling for $11M.  Christie's "ONE" sale on July 10th will take place in London, Paris, New York and Hong Kong simultaneously with an auctioneer in each location. These sales are smaller by lot count and value than they would have been if COVID-19 had not happened, but are still very strong results that demonstrated the strength of the art market during this time. The sale season that happens in November every four years during a presidential election is always a challenging one and the continued pandemic will only make this coming one harder.  I'm looking forward to seeing how many of the trends that were started this May will continue into November.  I am confident that some of the digital innovations will continue into the fall and even after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.  Send Me Your Predictions for the Fall Auctions Copyright © 2020 Bossy Mealz Inc. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 601 California Street Suite 150 San Francisco, CA 94108 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.