The start of the calendar year is often a relatively quiet time for auctions, so many of the most-expensive lots sold in January 2024 were featured in tightly focused sales of private collections, including some choice American art and Italian Renaissance bronzes.
The top price at auction, according to the Artnet Price Database, was the $6 million paid for Giambologna’s circa 1584 bronze Sleeping Nymph, which was offered as part of the Quentin collection of early European sculpture at Christie’s in January. The rare bronze “juxtaposes a smooth and elongated body with exquisitely fine details, the carefully relaxed torso complementing the more complex compositional elements of both the drapery and the couch on which the nymph rests,” Christie’s says in its catalogue entry.
Also in the top-selling lots were a self-portrait by the French Revolution-era painter Elizabeth Vigée Le Brun (the subject of a major solo show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2016) and not one but two portraits of George Washington, one by Gilbert Stuart and the other by Charles Willson Peale, who are both famous for depicting the first U.S. president. Thomas Moran’s stunning, sweeping depictions of the Green River in Wyoming also made two appearances, with seven-figure paintings showing up at Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
Read on for the full list of the most expensive lots sold around the world at auction in January.
1. Giambologna, Sleeping Nymph (Probably cast in 1584)
Giambologna, Sleeping Nymph (probably cast in 1584). Image courtesy Christie’s.
Estimate: $800,000 to $1.2 million
Final Price: $5.9 million
Where & When: Christie’s, New York, January 30, 2024
2. Martin Johnson Heade, Cattleya Orchid with Two Brazilian Hummingbirds (1871)
Martin Johnson Heade, Cattleya Orchid with Two Brazilian Hummingbirds (1871). Image courtesy Christie’s.
Estimate: $1.2 million to $1.8 million
Final Price: $3.4 million
Where & When: Christies, New York, January 18, 2024
3. Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Self-Portrait with Traveling Coat (1816)
Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, Self Portrait in Traveling Costume (1816). Image courtesy Sotheby’s.
Estimate: $700,000 to $1 million
Final Price: $3 million
Where & When: Sotheby’s New York, January 31, 2024
4. Gilbert Stuart, George Washington (Vaughn Type) (circa 1795)
Gilbert Stuart, George Washington (1795). Image courtesy Christie’s.
Estimate: $1.5 million to $2.5 million
Final Price: $2.8 million
Where & When: Christie’s New York, January 19, 2024
5. Maso Finiguerra, Hercules and Antaeus (15th century)
Maso Finiguerra, Hercules and Antaeus (15th century). Image courtesy Christie’s.
Estimate: $600,00 to $1 million
Final Price: $2.47 million
Where & When: Christie’s New York, January 30, 2024
6. Thomas Moran, Afterglow, Green River, Wyoming (1918)
Thomas Moran, Afterglow, Green River, Wyoming (1918). Image courtesy Christie’s.
Estimate: $1.2 million to $1.8 million
Final Price: $2.22 million
Where & When: Christie’s New York, January 18, 2024
7. Edmonia Lewis, Hiawatha’s Marriage (1870)
Edmonia Lewis, Hiawatha’s Marriage (1870). Image courtesy Sotheby’s.
Estimate: $250,000 to $350,000
Final Price: $1.63 million
Where & When: Sotheby’s New York, January 19, 2024
8. Charles Willson Peale, George Washington (circa 1795)
Charles Willson Peale, George Washington (circa 1795). Image courtesy Sotheby’s.
Estimate: $2 million to $3 million
Final Price: $1.63 million
Where & When: Sotheby’s New York, January 19, 2024
9. Giovanni di Ser Giovanni Guidi (called Lo Scheggia), The Story of Coriolanus: A cassone front (15th century)
Giovanni di Ser Giovanni Guidi, called Lo Scheggia The Story of Coriolanus: a cassone front (15th century).
Image courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd.
Estimate: $1.2 million to $1.8 million
Final Price: $1.56 million
Where & When: Christie’s New York, January 31, 2024
10. Thomas Moran, Green River, Wyoming (1883)
Thomas Moran, Green River, Wyoming (1883). Image courtesy Sotheby’s.
Estimate: $800,000 to $1.2 million
Final Price: $1.45 million
Where & When: Sotheby’s New York, January 19, 2024