"The evening's 54 lots totalled £106.4m (£131m with fees), falling comfortably within the pre-sale estimate of £96.1m to £136.4m. This is more than double the £63m (with fees) it made from last year's equivalent sale and just shy of the £136m (with fees) made in 2023."
"The crowds had gathered, in part, for a small trove of School of London paintings from the collection of the billionaire currency trader Joe Lewis, whose family trust owns Tottenham Hotspur football club. The four works-all unguaranteed- included the evening's top lot, Francis Bacon's 1972 self-portrait, which the artist had gifted to his doctor in a paper bag as a thank you for stitching up his face after a drunken brawl."
"The art market can exist in a bubble. But two years on, I think people are more used to insecurity. The evening's sale not only signalled stability amid geopolitical tremors but also a renewed vitality for the London trade, which is still suffering a prolonged bout of the post-Brexit blues."
Sotheby's Modern and contemporary evening sale in London achieved £106.4m (£131m with fees) from 54 lots, significantly exceeding the previous year's performance and signaling market stability amid Middle East tensions. The sale featured a 98% sell-through rate, with only one work withdrawn. A notable collection of School of London paintings from billionaire Joe Lewis's collection drove attendance, including Francis Bacon's 1972 self-portrait that sold for £13.5m. Leon Kossoff emerged as the evening's standout artist. The strong results indicate London's art market is recovering from post-Brexit challenges and adapting to sustained geopolitical uncertainty.
Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
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