What are the ten most expensive works of art in 2020?

Earlier this week, Christie’s unveiled its annual report. In France, auctions fell by 13.5% compared to last year despite 25% of new buyers, especially online. Same story with Sotheby’s which fell by 31% and Artcurial with a drop of 24% despite good auctions, like recently The penitent Magdalene de Salaì, the pupil and lover of Leonardo da Vinci, awarded 1.7 million euros. At the international level, the decline is also significant. The house of François Pinault (owner of Point) recorded a decrease of 25% while that of Patrick Drahi bought last year fell by 27% for a total amount of auctions exceeding 3 billion euros.

Nevertheless, these heavyweights of the art market have pulled out of the game thanks to the great forced transhumance, Covid-19 obliges, from the sector to the digital. According to a recent survey carried out by the insurance company Hiscox, 55% of collectors turned to auctions for their purchases in 2020. This, due to the lack of competition, that is to say the abrupt closure of galleries across the globe, the loss of their turnover is estimated at more than 30% according to the Art Basel UBS report and the cancellation of international fairs which took a long time to reinvent themselves on the Internet, unlike to auction houses, very responsive. Thus, and as the Artnews site points out, the beautiful auctions were at the rendezvous, particularly in the strongholds of the art trade, namely Hong Kong, London and New York. Inventory of the 10 most important auctions of the year.

Barnett Newman, « Onement V » (1952)
© Christie’s

10. Barnett Newman, Onement v (1952): 25.2 million euros

Awarded by Christie’s during its “One” sale which circulated around the world in July, this painting by the American painter and art critic is part of a group of six works. Only two had not yet gone to auction and were in private collections. This lot was one of those two works and constitutes the third best prize for the artist.

Christie's © Christie's
Brice Marden, « Complements » (2004-2007)
© Christie’s

9. Brice Marden, Complements (2004-2007): 25.2 million euros

Tied with Newman, Brice Marden achieves his highest auction under the hammer at Christie’s, still during the “One” vacation. The explanation? The origin of the diptych surely, the work being the former property of the chairman of the board of directors of MoMA in New York.

Christie's © Christie's
Mark Rothko, « Untitled » (1967)
© Christie’s

8. Mark Rothko, Untitled (1967): 25.5 million euros

Sold in October in New York and again at Christie’s, the painting did not reach the artist’s current auctions, which normally exceed 50 million euros like last year when Rothko was already present in the top 10 global. The canvas sold this year had already been auctioned in 1998 for nearly a million euros. The artist’s rating has therefore been multiplied by 26 in more than twenty years.

Sotheby's © Sotheby's
Sanyu, “Four Nudes” (vers 1950)
© Sotheby’s

7. Sanyu, Four Nudes (around 1950): 27.1 million euros

The third best result for the artist, nicknamed the “Chinese Matisse”, at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong last July. Note that on December 2, another of his paintings with an aquatic subject, very rare in his work, sold for 17.9 million euros at Christie’s Hongkong.

Christie's © Christie's
Cy Twombly, « Untitled {Bolsena} », (1969)
© Christie’s

6. Cy Twombly, Untitled {Bolsena}, (1969): 31.5 million euros

Return to Christie’s in New York with a piece from a series of works produced by Twombly following the Apollo 11 space mission. The canvas was part of Charles Saatchi’s art collection and was auctioned in 1992 for 1.5 million euros.

Sotheby's © Sotheby's
Ren Renfa, « Five Drunken Princes Returning on Horseback » (XIIIe-XIVe century). © Sotheby’s

5. Ren Renfa, Five drunken princes returning on horseback (XIIIe-XIVe century): 32.1 million euros

Scrolls dating from the Yuan Dynasty are almost impossible to find on the market. No wonder then to observe this fine auction at Sotheby’s Hong Kong after a bidding battle lasting more than an hour won by the Long Museum in Shanghai.

Phillips © Phillips
David Hockney, « Nichols Canyon » (1980).
© Phillips

4. David Hockney, Nichols Canyon (1980): 33.4 million euros

Recently, the most famous living English painter has been talked about often. In 2018, he became the most expensive living artist in the world with a record set at 73.6 million euros for one of his pool scenes, the most popular with collectors. Last year in London, at Christie’s, Hockney was in tenth place in the ranking of the best auctions with 40.3 million euros. On December 7, it was one of his landscapes that the Phillips house in New York sold for more than 33 million euros, a record for this theme of the artist, quite rare under the hammer.

Christie's © Christie's
Roy Lichtenstein, « Nude with Joyous Painting » (1994)
© Christie’s

3. Roy Lichtenstein, Nude with Joyous Painting (1994): 37.6 million euros

Not very present at auction, masterpieces of pop art often score very high. Last year it was the double of Elvis painted by Warhol which flew at Christie’s to more than 50 million euros. This year, the same operator unveiled a late painting of the other major figure in the art movement, never before seen on the market and the artist’s third most important auction.

Poly Auction © Poly Auction
Wu Bin, « Views of a Lingbi stone » (1610).
© Poly Auction

2. Wu Bin, Views of a Lingbi stone (1610): 62.4 million euros

Wun bin is a famous landscape painter from the end of the Ming Dynasty and the second most expensive Chinese artist of all time with the dispersion of this scroll of more than ten meters in length by the Beijing house Poly Auction. The work had only been auctioned once, in 1989 for nearly a million euros, or 75 times less.

Art © Sotheby's
Francis Bacon, « Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus » (1981).
© Sotheby’s

1. Francis Bacon, Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus (1981): 68.9 million euros

The British painter takes first place in this list after Claude Monet last year and his painting Grinding wheels sold over 110 million euros. It was at Sotheby’s last June that the triptych, which appeared at auction for the first time, was sold. It is the artist’s third most expensive work, far behind his 2013 record for Three Studies of Lucian Freud, a painting auctioned at Christie’s for more than 140 million euros.

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