Auction Results: July

This July was quite the pop art fiesta! The pop-art market is still a crowd favourite and we honestly can’t judge. Pop art is just what we all need under this gloomy british weather. Markets appear to have been covered in a deluge by the likes of Andy Warhol, David Hockney and even Bansky, to name a few. In addition to all this, there was also the sale of an unprecedented rare piece created by the renowned master, Leonardo Da Vinci.

Ready to discover this month’s juicy picks? Let’s go!

Andy Warhol

Despite his somewhat controversial career, Andy Warhol has become a staple name in the art world. Loved by most, hated by some, his works have done consistently well at auction and July was no different. Topping the charts for Warhol this month was his Sunset, which smashed estimates of 60,000 – 80,000 USD and ended up selling at 151,200 USD at Sotheby’s Contemporary Prints and Multiples New York-based auction. This was followed up closely by 1 of 50 unique, unnumbered screenprints of his Vesuvius, created as a trial proof, and sold for 125,000 USD.

David Hockney

Another crowd favourite is  David Hockney. In July, his piece “A Neat Lawn” was the star of the auction at Phillips 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale. “A Neat Lawn” is a primary piece from Hockney’s experimentation with light and water, seen within the piece in the glistening grass and shimmering sprinklers. “A Neat Lawn” transforms the mundane to the monumental, transmuting the front yard of the Californian home into a grand lawn and supersizing the bland structure to the majestic proportions of his imagination. It goes without saying that for such an outstanding picture comes an outstanding price. It is, therefore, no wonder that the piece sold for 11 million USD.

A second of Hockney’s acclaimed pieces put on auction, this time at Christie’s, was Boodge, which depicts a meek-looking sausage dog. If you are a fan of Hockney, you may have come across his dozens of pictures with his beloved dachshunds. Booge was one of his beloved dogs that passed away in the mid-’90s. This painting resembles a postcard and makes us think that this was originally a gift to someone close to Hockney. Perhaps not as breathtaking as A Neat Lawn but surely an emotional piece. The piece still sold for 350,00 USD, shattering the original estimate of 20,000 – 30,000 USD. 

Banksy

Banksy is no longer a surprise, right? The artist market has calmed down quite a bit over the past months. Maybe because Banksy is no longer as affordable as he was in the past? Anyhow,  his auction results are still worth keeping on your radar. Donuts is one of his only works that has never been painted on the street. Instead, 299 chocolate and 299 strawberry colourways of the print, distinguished by the brown or pink colouring of the doughnut, respectively, made their way onto the art market in 2009. It is rumoured that the numbering of 299 per colourway is a reference to the Krispy Kreme financial troubles in 2007, where they shut down 299 stores - a clear reference by Banksy to comment on capitalist events, as he has throughout his works. The screenprint is signed in brown crayon by Banksy and sold for 88,200 USD. A truly unique piece to add to any collection, and congratulations to whoever snapped the piece up.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Rounding things off is the rarest lot we’ve ever seen, an absurdly tiny silverpoint created by Leonardo Da Vinci that measures a mere 3 inches by 3 inches. Many experts believe that this is quite possibly the last opportunity to purchase a piece by the artist, and as befitting such a momentous piece, the silverpoint sold for 12 million USD at Christie's Exceptional sale, by far the most expensive piece on this list. 

This is truly a once in a lifetime auction, and we are immensely jealous of the new owner of the piece.

That concludes our top picks at auction this July. If you think we’ve missed something off this list we’d love to hear from you, comment below or find us on Instagram as @artscapy.

#popart #AndyWarhol #auction #DavidHockney #Bansky #LeonardoDaVinci