Savour International

London is still a gateway to the world
At the end of 2009, despite the obvious decline in contemporary art sales, it was clear that art collectors and dealers – old and new – are still interested in, and have funds to purchase, highly desirable artworks.

Auction houses want to take advantage of price consolidation and the new arrivals of works ready to hit the market and previously difficult to sell or perhaps even with higher estimates during recent months. The weak pound may prove a blessing here. Although the economic forecasts are not exactly optimistic for England, a temporary respite after eighteen months of constant recession means that London is still a gateway to collectors from all over the world.

On 10 February, Sotheby's invitation was for a Contemporary Art Evening on New Bond Street. Eighty lots were to come under the hammer for an estimated 32 million pounds. In February 2008, the auction house set a European record for contemporary artists sales when 56 lots achieved 95.03 million pounds. Then the top lot by Francis Bacon, "Study of Nude with Figure in a Mirror", was sold for 17.8 million pounds – the same figure achieved for all 25 lots at the February 2009 evening auction.

A small self-portrait by Lucian Freud

This latest evening kicks off with 49 pictures from the Lenz Schönberg collection – one of the most important collections of European post-war art dedicated to artists working after the war. Works for sale are a representative cross-section from this collection of over 600 works and soon to be under administration of a foundation. The nine most expensive lots are by Yves Klein, Lucio Fontana and Piero Manzoni; the top lot is marked "F 88" from Klein's series of fire paintings. This is the most important work ever up for auction with an estimated value of 2.8 to 3.5 million pounds.

01 | Willem de Kooning, "Untitled XIV", dated 1983, oil on canvas, 177 x 203 cm (est. 2/3 million pounds)

02 | Gerhard Richter, "Abstraktes Bild", dated 1988, oil on canvas, 200 x 180 cm (est. 2/3 million pounds)

03 | Peter Doig, "Saint Anton (Flat Light)", dated 1995/1996, oil on canvas, 275 x 275 cm (est. 2/3 million pounds)

04 | Neo Rauch's oil painting "Vorrat" ("Supply/Stock"), dated 1998, 250 x 200 centimetres, at Christie's (est. 500,000/700,000 pounds)

05 | Richard Prince, "Very Private Nurse #1", dated 2003, ink jet and acrylic on canvas, 175 x 106 cm (est. 1.2/1.8 million pounds)

06 | Peter Doig, "Concrete Cabin West Side", dated 1993, oil on canvas, 199 x 275 cm (est. 2/3 million pounds)

Thirty other lots are in this auction of post-war artworks. The top lot is a painting by Lucian Freud – "Self-Portrait with a Black Eye", dated 1978 (est. 3/4 million pounds), and only measuring 18.8 by 14.3 centimetres. Freud painted this after an argument with a taxi driver. Willem de Kooning is still attractive: his "Untitled XIV", dated 1983, is up for auction at Sotheby's (est. 2/3 million pounds); the current owner acquired the work from the artist's estate after his death in 1997. An "Abstraktes Bild" dated 1988 was purchased by its seller directly from its creator, Gerhard Richter (est. 2/3 million pounds).

Two to three million pounds are also estimated for Peter Doig's snowscape – "Saint Anton (Flat Light)", dated 1996. Andreas Gursky presented the popstar, Madonna, with this gift of his photograph of her concert in Los Angeles on 13 September 2001 – two days after the terror attack on the World Trade Center in New York.

In the catalogue, "Madonna I" (lot 6) is therefore described as a masterpiece in the tradition of history painting. This work should achieve between 900,000 and 1.3 million pounds for its owner who purchased it from Madonna. Rounding off the auctioned works are four more small-size portraits by Lucian Freud, alongside works by Blinky Palermo and Karel Appel, Sean Scully and Leon Kossoff. Warhol and Hirst this time only have one work each – a small "Jackie" by Warhol, dated 1964 (800,000/1.2 million), and Hirst's butterfly painting, "Por and Tor of Distances" (350,000/ 450,000).