Austrian auction house Dorotheum had its most successful contemporary and modern art auctions ever this week, led by Marc Chagall’s Fleur going for a whopping €1,022,500 ($1,083,057).
The auctions, which took place from November 22-25, started with a sale of Kompozicija no. 12 (1969) by Julije Knifer for €161,600 ($171,171), after a battle between phone bidders brought the price up to a record for Dorotheum and the artist.
Julije Knifer, Kompozicija No. 12 (1969). Image courtesy Dorotheum
Italian Modern works also did well, with Tano Festa’s Rosso Nero n. 44 (1961) snapped up for €295,800 ($313,318), Lucio Fontana’s Concetto spaziale, Teatrino (1964) fetching €259,200 ($290,811), Enrico Castellani’s Superficie Bianca (1969) selling for €320,200 ($339,163), and Intersuperficie curva dall’ azzurro (1966) by Paolo Scheggi going for €204,300 ($216,399).
World records were set for Italian Modernists Rodolfo Aricò at €137,200 ($145,325), and for Emilio Scanavino at €118,750 ($125,500). Other Italian artists whose works were among the auction’s highlights were Giuseppe Uncini, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Guiseppe Capogrossi, and Dadamaino.
Tano Festa, Rosso Nero n. 44 (1961). Courtesy Dorotheum
Other high-priced works sold at part one of the auction include Valori Plastici by Giacomo Balla, which fetched €320,200 ($339,163), among works by Günther Uecker, Gerhard Richter, and Ludwig Wilding.
Representatives for Dorotheum declined to confirm the total amount reached at the auction, stating only that the sale was the “best auction of modern art turnover-wise at Dorotheum.” However, the auction results for individual works can be accessed on the auction house’s website.