New York - Friday, March 15, 2024, Chirstie’s New York concluded a successful series of contemporary art live and online sales: Latin American Art live and online, Post-War to Present, and Contemporary Edition: New York. In total, the four sales achieved $39,131,579. 

The Latin America Art live auction on Tuesday, March 12 totaled $15,630,206. The sale was 83% sold by value, 73% sold by lot, and 108% sold by low estimate. Leading the sale were strong results by Colombian master, Fernando Botero. His larger-than-life bronze sculpture, Dancers was Tuesday’s top lot, realizing $3,922,000, more than 260% of its low estimate. Botero’s Hombre que fuma, a bronze bust from the Estate of Jerry Ganz also surpassed expectations, realizing $428,000 – over four times its low estimate. Top-selling paintings by Botero included Hombre fumando which achieved $1,744,000, more than three times its low estimate, and Dancers which realized $1,197,000.Other noteworthy lots included Diego Rivera’s El copetón which achieved $522,900 and Argentinian artist, Julio Le Parc’s Serie 13 N° 14-9 which realized $81,900, more than twice its low estimate. The auction ended on a high note with Cuban artist, Roberto Fabelo’s Arte culinario achieving $630,000. 

Kristen France, Head of Latin American Art, commented: “We are beyond pleased with the results of the sales this week, which witnessed some very spirited bidding on works of art from across the region. The strong results achieved for works ranging from colonial era paintings to top quality pieces by modern and contemporary greats such as Fernando Botero, Diego Rivera, Julio Le Parc, Olga de Amaral, Amelia Peláez, and Francisco Oller, demonstrate the continued strength of the market, and further reflects Christie’s dedication to and passion for the category. We look forward to presenting other key pieces in our spring sales season, and to hosting our next dedicated Latin American art auctions this fall at Rockefeller Center.” 

The Post-War to Present auction took place Wednesday, March 13, and totaled $21,498,918. The sale was 78% sold by low estimate, 81% by value, and 76% by lot. The auction kicked off with a strong start, with a new artist record for Lois Dodd’s Green Door and Bed selling for a price of $239,400, four times its low estimate. The top lot of the sale was Cy Twombly's Untitled (Roman Note), which realized $1,623,000. Alma Thomas’s Pink of Spring also saw a phenomenal result, achieving $1,405,200, far surpassing its estimate.  Elaine de Kooning’s Untitled (Black Mountain #13) exceeded expectations when it realized $207,900, more than eight times its low estimate. A charitable group sold to benefit American Friends of the Moderna Museet achieved $153,090 led by Igshaan Adams’s Study for Kicking Dust which achieved $100,800, well over its low estimate and a new record for the artist.

Julian Ehrlich, Head of the Post-War to Present Sale remarked: “This season, the Post-War to Present sale saw great success for fresh-to-market artworks and collections across new and established names. From impressive results for the paintings and sculptures held in the collection of Shirley Ross Davis, including artworks by Cy Twombly, Wayne Thiebaud and Donald Judd, to the Alma Thomas painting ‘Pink of Spring,’ held in the same private collection for the past fifty years. We were also honored to raise funds for the American Friends of the Moderna Museet - and are doubly glad to have set the record for Igshaan Adams at auction as part of the fundraiser.” 

Thursday, March 14 saw the final live sale of the week. The Contemporary Edition: New York auction totaled $2,002,455, selling 103% by low estimate, 89% by value, and 84% by lot. The sale’s top lot was Julie Mehretu’s Entropia (review) which realized $110,880. Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Charles the First, from ‘Portfolio II’ was the second highest lot, realizing $107,100, more than twice the low estimate. Sol LeWitt’s Irregular Zig Zag Bands had an exceptional result, selling for $20,160, over one hundred times its low estimate. 

Emma Santucci, Prints Junior Specialist, said: "In this season’s March Contemporary Edition sale, we had the privilege of offering a selection of prints and works on paper from the Collection of Brooke and Carolyn Alexander, where we saw strong results for lots by Barnett Newman, Ken Price, and Jasper Johns. We are also very happy to announce the new auction record for Julie Mehretu’s 'Entropia,' which was sold by the Minneapolis Institute of Art to benefit their acquisitions fund. An exciting spring season is still to come with our marquee Prints and Multiples auction on 15-16 April, where we expect to see the same enthusiasm from our collectors."  

Latin American Art Online closed on Friday, March 15, with a total of $1,391,166. The final sale in the series was 100% sold by value, 74% sold by lot, and 74% sold by low estimate. The top lot was Joaquín Torres-García’s Busto de hombre entre estructura con relieve, which realized $75,600. Anonymous (Peruvian Viceroyalty, 18th Century)’s San Juan Bautista con donante achieved $69,300 – over three times its low estimate. Diego Rivera’s Con la carga a espaldas also saw a fantastic result, realizing $60,480 – more than double its low estimate.