The Magazine Antiques

June 26, 2009  |  *  On June 23 the pop culture sale at Christie's New York totaled $650,863 with 193 of 268 lots sold. The top lot was an autographed Sgt. Pepper Beatles Fan Club of Great Britain poster that sold for  $52,500 (estimate $30,000-40,000). Another top sale was a bass guitar from Sears, model number 20180, used by Kurt Cobain for early demo recordings that sold for $43,750 (estimate $40,000-45,000).

*  The June 23 impressionism and modern art evening sale at Christie's London totaled £37 million with 30 of 44 lots sold. The top lots were Monet's Au Parc Monceau from 1878 that sold for £6.3 million (estimate £3.5-4.5 million); Picasso's Homme à l'épée from 1969 that sold for £5.7 million (estimate £5-7 million); and Miró's Peinture (Femme se poudrant) that sold for £3.9 million (estimate £2.2-2.8 million).

*  The June 24 sale of books and manuscripts at Christie's New York totaled $2.2 million. The top lot was a 1st Boston and 10th broadside edition of the Declaration of Independence that sold for $722,500 (estimate $450,000-650,000). Another top lot was an archive of Edith Wharton's letters that sold for $182,500 (estimate $80,000-120,000). On the same day, the top lot of the sale of botanical books, which totaled $727,250, was a first edition copy of Hernandez and Faber's Animalia Mexicana from 1628 that sold for $37,500 (estimate $35,000-45,000).

*  At Christie's London on June 24 the sale of impressionist and modern works on paper totaled over £3.4 million, and the day sale of impressionist and modern art totaled £9.3 million. The top lot of the first sale was Picasso's Tête de femme that sold for £313,250 (estimate £110,000-150,000). Also notable was Kurt Schwitters' Merzz. 80. Zeichnung 130 that sold for £217,250 (estimate £50,000-70,000). The top lot of the latter sale was Eugène Robert Pougheon's Amazones that sold for £1.1 million (estimate £150,000-250,000). Other top sales included Giorgio de Chirico's Il trovatore that sold for £481,250 (estimate £200,000-300,000), Henre Moore's Three Way Piece Carving that sold for £313,250 (estimate £150,000-250,000); and Kees van Dongen's Recuerdo del Toledo that sold for £289,250 (estimate £100,000-150,000).

*  On June 24 the impressionism and modern art evening sale at Sotheby's London totaled £33.5 million with 23 of 27 lots sold. The top lot was Picasso's Homme à l'épée from 1969 that sold for just under £7 million (estimate £6-8 million). Other top sales were Picasso's Nu debout that sold for £4.2 million (estimate £3-4 million); Giacometti's Diego that sold for £2.7 million (estimate £1-2 million); and Miró's Personnages devant l'oiseau-fusée qui s'enfuit that sold for £959,650 (estimate £400,000-600,000).

*  The June 25 day sale of impressionist and modern art at Sotheby's London totaled £12.4 million. The top lot was a painting by Henri Martin that sold for £493,250 (estimate £200,000-300,000). Other top lots included Miró's Femme that sold for £313,250 (estimate £220,000-280,000), and Chagall's Pendule au ciel embrasé that sold for £289,250 (estimate £80,000-120,000).

*  At Sotheby's London on June 25 the evening sale of contemporary art totaled £25.5 million with 37 of 40 lots sold. The top lot was Andy's Warhol's Mrs. McCarthy and Mrs. Brown (Tunafish Disaster) that sold for £3.7 million (estimate £3.5-4.5 million). The next highest prices were an Alexander Calder mobile that sold for £2.6 million (estimate £1.2-1.8 million) and a Peter Doig painting that sold for over £2 million (estimate £1.4-1.8 million).

*  The day sale of contemporary art at Sotheby's London today (June 26) totaled £8.7 million. The top lot was Barry Flanagan's Nijinsky Hare that sold for £505,250 (estimate £180,000-250,000). 

Images from above: Sgt. Pepper poster from the Beatles Fan Club of Great Britain, c. 1967.  Amazones by Eugène Robert Pougheon, 1926. Courtesy of Christie's Images Ltd. 2009; Homme à l'épée by Pablo Picasso, 1969; Almost Grown by Peter Doig, 2000. Courtesy of Sotheby's.