Pi-eX TOP 10

New York & London Art Evening Sales at
Sotheby's, Christie's and Phillips

YEAR 2016

TOP 10 worst performing artworks
or best opportunistic purchases?
In the business of fine art auctions, there is nothing worse for a seller than having a bought-in (***). The following top 10 worst performing artworks did not have that terrible fate as they all found buyers. However the Hammer Prices they reached for their sales were much lower than their initial Low Estimates (LE), making their HP/LE (**) ratios some of the lowest of 2016. Given that there are always two parts to a trade, this also means that the buyers of these artworks may have been able to get an amazing discount on their art.
Source: Pi-eX Ltd proprietary database of auction results
1. "Pittura (Verde)", Toshimitsu Imai
  • LE - HE (*): 150,000 - 200,000 GBP
  • Hammer Price (HP): 70,000 GBP
  • HP/LE: 47%
  • PHILLIPS Contemporary evening sale, London
    • 5. "Culture Internationale", Marcel Broodthaers
  • LE - HE (*): 300,000 - 400,000 GBP
  • Hammer Price (HP): 160,000 GBP
  • HP/LE (**): 53%
  • Sotheby's Contemporary evening sale, London
    • 5. "Untitled #9", Willem de Kooning
  • LE - HE (*): $2,000,000 - $3,000,000
  • Hammer Price (HP): $1,100,000
  • HP/LE (**): 55%
  • Sotheby's Contemporary evening sale, New York
    • 7. "Urinal" by Robert Gober
  • LE - HE (*): $2,000,000 - $3,000,000
  • Hammer Price (HP): $1,200,000
  • HP/LE (**): 60%
  • Christie's Contemporary evening sale, New York
    • 9. "If, If", Edward Ruscha
  • LE - HE (*): $2,000,000 - $3,000,000
  • Hammer Price (HP): $1,250,000
  • HP/LE (**): 63%
  • Christie's Contemporary evening sale, New York
    		•
    2. "Nine Campbell's Soup Cans", Andy Warhol
  • LE - HE (*): $1,500,000 - $2,500,000
  • Hammer Price (HP): $700,000
  • HP/LE (**): 47%
  • Christie's Contemporary evening sale, New York
    • 4. "J.Y.M in the Studio V", Franck Auerbach
  • LE - HE (*): 500,000 - 700,000 GBP
  • Hammer Price (HP): 270,000 GBP
  • HP/LE (**): 54%
  • Sotheby's Contemporary evening sale, London
    • 6. "Frankentstein", Joe Bradley
  • LE - HE (*): $500,000 - $700,000
  • Hammer Price (HP): $280,000
  • HP/LE (**): 56%
  • PHILLIPS Contemporary evening sale, New York
    • 8. "Rose", Gary Hume
  • LE - HE (*): 80,000 - 120,000 GBP
  • Hammer Price (HP): 50,000 GBP
  • HP/LE (**): 63%
  • PHILLIPS Contemporary evening sale, London
    • 10. "Fillette debout", Henri Matisse
  • LE - HE (*): $800,000 - $1,500,000
  • Hammer Price (HP): $520,000
  • HP/LE (**): 65%
  • Christie's Contemporary evening sale, New York
    		•
    (*) LE - HE: Low Estimate - High Estimate
    (**) HP/LE: Hammer Price over Low Estimate
    (***) Bought-in: artwork that failed to sell at auction because no offer were made above its reserve price (set by the seller)
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