The Art Market Is Alive And Well For The Very Rich

Eliot and I walked around Art Basel and some of the other art fairs last week (Untitled, Design Miami, Art Miami and Scope) thinking that the exhibitors were going to be somewhat disappointed with their sales results this year. We saw some of the galleries that we know fairly active while others admitted that they lost money exhibiting. 

I was stunned when I read Artsy a few days ago which reported, that there was a healthy number of galleries who sold paintings in the millions. Artsy is a newsletter about the world’s emerging and established artists. They make it easy for new and experienced collectors to discover, buy, and sell art. Everything you’ll ever need to collect art, you’ll find on Artsy

I am giving you the list of activities from Artsy because it’s a good one to reference for your own interest and also to have when talking to others about the artists that did well this year. You will sure to impress others. 

Artsy

What Sold at Art Basel Miami Beach 2024

BMaxwell Rabb

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Art Basel registered more than 75,000 visitors this year, down from last year’s reported attendance figure of 79,000).

There were 286 galleries from 28 countries—up from last year’s 277—and included 34 first-time exhibitors, the largest batch of newcomers in over a decade. South and Central America had a strong showing, with 19 galleries from Brazil alone. 

Leading the reported sales was Hauser & Wirth, which sold David Hammons’s Untitled (2014) for $4.75 million during the VIP preview on Wednesday. 

Several galleries also secured seven-digit sales during the art fair’s first VIP day, including Thaddaeus RopacDavid Zwirner, and White Cube. Meanwhile, the City of Miami’s Legacy Purchase Program, now in its fifth year, acquired Nina Surel’s ceramic wall installation, presented by Spinello Projects—one of Artsy’s best booths from the fair.

Top sales at Art Basel Miami Beach 2024

Hauser & Wirth reported several seven- and six-figure sales, including: 

David Zwirner’s sales were led by a $3.5 million painting by Yayoi Kusama. Other sales reported by the gallery included: 

Thaddaeus Ropac’s sales were led by Georg Baselitz’s Dresdner Frauen – Die Elbe (1990/2023), which sold for €2.5 million ($2.64 million). 

Other sales reported by the gallery included: 

  • Robert Rauschenberg’s Everglade (Borealis) (1990) for $2.3 million.
  • Baselitz’s Die Seine, die Seine, die Seine (2023) for €1.2 million ($1.26 million).
  • Sturtevant’s Flag after Jasper Johns (1967) for $1.1 million.
  • Andy Warhol’s Hammer and Sickle(1976) for $750,000.
  • Robert Longo’s Untitled (F-16 American Jet for Ukraine Ascending)(2024) for $650,000.
  • Antony Gormley’s SUSPECT(2024) for £500,000 ($638,000).
  • Martha Jungwirth’s Ohne Titel, aus der Serie “Francisco de Goya, Stillleben mit Rippen und Lammkopf” (2022) for €430,000 ($454,000), Ohne Titel, aus der Serie “Australidelphia” (2020) for €420,000 ($444,000), and Ohne Titel (2022) for €310,000 ($327,000).
  • Daniel Richter’s Mausefalle des Gewissens (2023) for €420,000 ($443,000).
  • David Salle’s New Pastoral, Floral Dress (2024) for $350,000.
  • Tom Sachs’s Portrait de Dora Maar(2024) for $190,000.
  • Other works by Jungwirth, Longo, Joan Snyder, and Erwin Wurm sold for five-figure sums. 

David Hammons

Rock Head, 2000

White Cube

Ilana Savdie

Revenge Fantasies, 2024

White Cube

White Cube’s reported sales were led by David Hammons’s Rock Head(2000) for $2.35 million. 

Other sales reported by the gallery included: 

Pace Gallery’s reported sales were led by Sam Gilliam’s Whispering Wind(1972), which sold for $1 million. Other sales reported by the gallery included:

Kasmin’s sales were led by Mark Ryden’s Regina Terra (#179) (2024) for $1.5 million. Other sales reported by the gallery included: 

Mennour’s sales were led by Lee Ufan’s Response (2024) for €1 million ($1.05 million). The gallery also reported the following sales:

  • Three works by Anish Kapoor for £675,000, £500,000, and £200,000 apiece ($862,000, $638,000, and $255,000, respectively).
  • Keith Haring’s Untitled (Brasil)(1986) for $650,000.
  • Three works by Ugo Rondinone for €110,000 ($116,000) apiece. 
  • Alicja Kwade’s Principium (2023) for $90,000.
  • Dhewadi Hadjab’s Untitled (2024) for €80,000 ($84,000)
  • Francis Picabia’s Sans titre (ca. 1940) for €65,000 ($68,000)

MASSIMODECARLO’s sales were led by a work by Jennifer Guidi for “around” $300,000. Other sales by the gallery included:

Almine Rech’s sales were led by a work by Tom Wesselmann, which sold for a price in the range of $1.25 million–$1.5 million. Other sales reported by the gallery included: 

Lisson Gallery’s reported sales were led by Lee Ufan’s Response (2024) for $850,000. Other sales reported by the gallery included: 

  • Anish Kapoor’s Cobalt Blue to Mipa Blue 5 to Clear (2021) for £775,000 ($991,000), and Cobalt Blue to Mipa 5 (2024) for £700,000 ($895,500).
  • Sean Scully’s Wall Red Pink (2024) for $675,000 and Small Cubed 10(2021) for $250,000. 
  • Carmen Herrera’s Habana Series #11 (1951) for $500,000.
  • Hélio Oiticica’s Untitled (1955) for $400,000, and Untitled (1958) for $180,000.
  • Tony Cragg’s Incident Upwards(2022) for €300,000 ($317,000).
  • Hugh Hayden’s Skittles (2024) for $160,000.
  • John McCracken’s Untitled (1981) for $150,000.
  • Tunga’s Untitled (Steel Pod Series)(2013) for $120,000.
  • Leiko Ikemura’s Peace in Spring(2020) for €110,000 ($116,000).
  • Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Sea of Buddha 007 (1995) for $100,000.
  • Works by Ikemura, Hayden, Tony BecharaJoanna Pousette-DartKelly AkashLaure Prouvost, and Van Hanos also sold for five-figure sums. 

Galleria Continua’s sales were led by Carlos Cruz-Diez’s Physichromie 637(1973) for $695,000. Additional reported sales from the gallery included: 

Xavier Hufkens’s sales were led by a painting by Nicolas Party for “approximately” $600,000. The gallery also sold the following: 

 The Untitled Art Fair 

David Kordansky Gallery’s sales were led by Fred Eversley’s Untitled (cylindrical lens) (2024) for $600,000. Other works sold by the gallery included: 

Nara Roesler’s sales were led by Julio Le Parc’s Mobile losange doré(2024) for €375,000 ($396,000). Other sales reported by the gallery included: 

Sprüth Magers’s reported sales were led by Richard Artschwager’s Exclamation Point (Yellow) (2001) for $425,000. Other sales reported by the gallery included:

BLUM’s sales were led by a pair of Yoshitomo Nara Untitled works from 2024 for $450,000 apiece. Further sales reported by the gallery included: 

Lehmann Maupin’s sales were led by Teresita Fernández’s Astral Sea 2 (2024) for $375,000. Other works sold by the gallery included: 

Galerie Lelong & Co.’s sales were led by Mildred Thompson’s Radiation Explorations (1994) for “approximately” $275,000. Other sales reported by the gallery included: 

 

Further top sales from Art Basel Miami Beach 2024 included the following: 

Mai 36 Galerie’s sales were led by H.R. Giger’s Necronom / Alien III(1990–2005) for $1 million. Other sales at the gallery included: 

 

Perrotin’s sales were led by Lee Bae’s Issu du feu-27cd (2004) for $175,000–$200,000. The gallery also sold other works, including: 

Timothy Taylor’s sales were led by a painting by Hilary Pecis, which sold for $180,000. The gallery also sold: 

 

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