Abstract Expressionist Hedda Sterne breaks artist record at Sotheby’s modern evening auction.

Maxwell Rabb

© Sotheby’s. Courtesy of Sotheby’s New York.

 
 

The Takeaway: Sotheby’s modern evening auction was an uneven affair, achieving $223.6 million after fees. Notably, eight lots were withdrawn from the sale.

The evening began with ’s Road #7 (1956), which sold for $650,000, a new auction record for the  artist. The auction also set a new record for a work on paper on a green-and-blue colorblock piece, Untitled (1968). Initially estimated at $10 million, the hammer dropped well over its estimate to fetch $23.9 million.

Several sales throughout the night, however, were relatively lukewarm. This was highlighted by a  work on paper, Buste de Femme (1909), which sold for $13.6 million—significantly below its $18 million to $25 million estimate.

Leading the night was ’s Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, temps couvert (1891), which Sotheby’s estimated at between $30 million and $40 million. The work hammered only slightly above its low estimate to fetch $30.7 million.

 
 
 
 

Claude Monet, Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, temps couvert, 1891. Courtesy of Sotheby’s New York.

 
 

The top five sales were as follows:

  • ’s Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, temps couvert (1891) sold for $30.7 million.
  • Claude Monet’s Le Moulin de Limetz (1888) sold for $25.6 million.
  • Mark Rothko’s Untitled (1968) sold for $23.8 million.
  • Pablo Picasso’s Compotier et guitare (1932) sold for $23.4 million.
  • ’s Au-dessus de la ville (1924) sold for $15.6 million.

Besides Buste de Femme and Compotier et guitare, three other Picasso works sold last night with mixed results. These included:

  • Buste d’homme (1967) sold for $4.6 million, above its low estimate of $4 million.
  • La Glace (1912) sold for $3.8 million, slightly above its $ 3 million low estimate.
  • Le Cirque (1933) sold for $1.3 million, below its low estimate of $1.5 million.
 
 
Maxwell Rabb
Maxwell Rabb is Artsy’s Staff Writer.
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