A caucasian man holding a gavel up at a Christie's auction of a Monet waterlilies painting, with the crowd held their smart phones up snapping the moment.
An enthusiastic crowd armed with camera phones capture the moment of auctioneer Adrien Meyer selling Claude Monet's Nymphéas at Christie's Hong Kong 20th/21st Century Art Inaugural Evening Sale at the Henderson on September 26, 2024.

After months of promotion, Christie’s held a glitzy grand opening for its new Asian headquarters at the Henderson in Hong Kong’s Central district last week. The first big test for the new venture came on Thursday when it held its inaugural evening sales there.

The evening featured two back-to-back sales from two different categories; together, they delivered mixed results. First came a white-glove sale of the famed Au Bak Ling collection of Chinese ceramics, which totaled HK$87 million ($11.2 million, with fees), well above its fees-free presale high estimate. However, the hammer total of the 20th/21st Century Inaugural Evening Sale, which this report focuses on, fell short of the lower end of its presale estimate.

That sale’s top two lots, Vincent van Gogh’s Les Cantos Amarrés (1887) and an early Claude Monet “water lilies” painting, found buyers, though but both hammered below their low presale estimates. The Monet, from 1897–99, hammered at HK$180 million ($23 million) against a low estimate of HK$200 million ($25 million).

Works by Asian blue-chip names Zao Wou-Ki and Kim Whan-Ki hammered above their low estimates. Zao’s abstract painting 05.06.80 – Triptyque (1980) hammered at HK$80 million ($10.3 million), or HK$95.3 million with fees. Kim’s 1971 blue painting 9-XII-71 #216 (1971) hammered at HK$46 million ($5.9 million), HK$56 million ($7.2 million) after fees.

Despite the lukewarm response to some lots, the sale still set several records. The van Gogh and Monet set new Asian auction records for those Western names. In total, eight artist got new high marks, including Filipino artist Ronald Ventura, Chinese-French artist Lalan (the wife of Zao for more than two decades, before their divorce in 1956), and the New York-born, Los Angeles-based rising star Lucy Bull.

Christie’s strategy was obvious, focusing on well-established names from around Asia as well as the West. Ultra-contemporary figures were largely absent, and its Post-Millennium Sale, launched in 2022 to sell emerging names, has vanished from this year’s auction calendar.

“Asian collectors, of great sophistication, have always been exploring Western and historical Asian classics art as they broaden their collections,” Cristian Albu, deputy chairman and head of 20th/21st Century art for Christie’s Asia Pacific, said. “Today’s collectors are drawn to art that resonates on a deeper level—art pieces that carry emotional weight, cultural significance, and captivating narratives.” Millennials accounted for 30 percent of the new buyers, Albu added.

Vincent van Gogh, Les canots amarrés (1887). Courtesy Christie’s Image Ltd.

Below, the story by the numbers…

Total Sales After Fees: HK$1.04 billion ($134 million)

Total Sales of Equivalent Sale Last Year: HK$694 million ($89 million), with 57 lots offered and a sell-through rate of 81 percent, including withdrawals.

Hammer Total: HK$883.1m ($113.4m)

Top Seller: Vincent van Gogh’s Les Canots Amarrés (1887) sold for HK$250.6 million ($32.4 million), including fees. The guaranteed work was hammered at HK$215 million ($27.6 million), just below the fees-free presale estimate of HK$230 million ($30 million). It set a new Asian auction record for van Gogh.

Lots on Offer: 46

Lots Withdrawn: 3

Lots Sold: 40

Lots Bought In: 3

Sell-through Rate: 87 percent

Sell-through Rate Excluding Withdrawals: 93 percent

Presale Low Estimate: HK$884.4 million ($114.3 million)

Presale Low Estimate Excluding Withdrawals: HK$852.4 million ($110 million)

Hammer Total vs. Presale Low Estimate: -HK$1.3 million (-$0.9 million)

Hammer Total vs. Presale Low Estimate (revised after withdrawals): HK$30.7 million ($3.4 million)

Lots Guaranteed: 11

Lots With House Guarantees: 1

Lots With Third-Party Guarantees: 10

Total Low Estimate of Withdrawn Lots: HK$32 million ($4 million)

Total Low Estimate of Guaranteed Lots: HK$588.6 million ($75.5 million)

Total Low Estimate of Third-Party Guaranteed Lots: HK$586.6 million ($75.2 million)

Parting Shot: The skyline of Hong Kong, seen from the large windows of Christie’s new salesroom, was still spectacular, and the crowd was at times enthusiastic. The house’s specialists, in black bowties or glittering outfits, looked relieved when the gavel came down on the last lot, ending a night of bidding that sometimes dragged. In trying times, behind a glamorous facade, the house had managed to hold the fort.