Helena Newman, auctioneering Gustav Klimt's record-breaking Dame mit Fächer (Lady with a Fan) by Gustav Klimt. Photo by Haydon Perrior, Image courtesy Sotheby's.
Helena Newman, auctioneering Gustav Klimt's record-breaking Dame mit Fächer (Lady with a Fan) by Gustav Klimt. Photo by Haydon Perrior, Image courtesy Sotheby's.

The big art market news last month was the sale of Gustav Klimt’s final portrait, Dame mit Fächer (Lady with a Fan) at Sotheby’s London on June 27. The work, which was found still on the easel in the artist’s studio when he died, at the age of just 55, is now the most expensive artwork ever sold in Europe, where it went for a whopping (premium-inclusive) €85.3 million ($108.4 million).

The colorful canvas depicts an unknown woman standing in front of a flora-and-fauna-filled backdrop with a decorative robe falling from one shoulder. “Full of freedom and spontaneity, it reflects Klimt’s joy in painting it and in celebrating beauty in its purest form,” read a statement from the auction house, which assigned the painting a presale estimate of around $80 million, a bar that was not just cleared but trounced by bidders.

As Artnet News’s Katya Kazakina wrote, the winning bid came from Patti Wong, formerly of Sotheby’s, who bought the work on behalf of an anonymous client based in Hong Kong.

Other auction highlights from June include Chen Jiru’s Yunyan Xiao Temple Map at Shanghai Jiahe Auction Co., which far exceeded the presale estimate of CNY 25 million to CNY 35 million ($3.5 million to $4.9 million) and sold for CNY 59.2 million ($8.2 million); and Qi Baishi’s  Book of Flower and Vegetables and Pests, also at Shanghai’s Jiahe Auction Co., which was estimated to sell for CNY 15 million to CNY 25 million ($2.1 million to $3.5 million) and fetched a staggering CNY 55.2 million ($7.7 million).

Below, see the full list of the most expensive works sold at auction around the world last month.

 

1. Gustav Klimt, Dame mit Fächer (Lady with a Fan) (1917–18)

Gustav Klimt, Dame mit Fächer (Lady with a Fan) (1917-18). Courtesy of Sotheby’s London.

Estimate: $80 million

Final Price: €85.3 million ($108.4 million)

Where & When: Sotheby’s London, June 27, 2023

 

2. Dong Qichang et al, Resounding through the Mountains: Landscapes and Calligraphy by ‘Hua Zhong Jiu You’ (The Nine Friends in Painting) Album of 108 Leaves

Dong Qichang and others, Resounding through the Mountains: Landscapes and Calligraphy by ‘Hua Zhong Jiu You’ (The Nine Friends in Painting) Album of 108 Leaves. Courtesy of China Guardian Auctions, Ltd.

Estimate: Undisclosed

Final Price: HK$ 191 million ($24.4 million)

Where & When: China Guardian (Hong Kong) Auctions Co., Ltd., June 12, 2023

 

3. Fu Baoshi, Yuntai Mountain Scroll

Fu Baoshi, 云台山记图卷. Courtesy of China Guardian Auctions, Ltd.

Estimate: CNY 88 million to CNY 98 million ($12.3 million to $13.7 million)

Final Price: CNY 92 million ($12.9 million)

Where & When: China Guardian Auctions Co., Ltd., June 12, 2023

 

4. Lucian Freud, Night Interior (1968–70)

Lucian Freud, Night Interior (1968–70). Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

Estimate: €8 million to €12 million ($10.2 million to $15.3 million)

Final Price: €9.58 million ($12.2 million)

Where & When: Sotheby’s London, June 27, 2023

 

5. Cy Twombly, Untitled (1970)

Cy Twombly, Untitled (1970). Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

Estimate: €8 million to €12 million ($10.2 million to $15.3 million)

Final Price: €8.9 million ($11.4 million)

Where & When: Sotheby’s London, June 27, 2023

 

6. Wu Guanzhong, Harvest 

Wu Guanzhong, Harvest. Courtesy of China Guardian Auctions Co., Ltd.

Estimate: CNY 68 million to CNY 88 million ($9.5 million to $12.1 million)

Final Price: CNY 78.2 million ($10.9 million)

Where & When: China Guardian Auctions Co., Ltd., June 12, 2023

 

7. Paul Signac, Calanque des Canoubiers (Pointe de Bamer), Saint-Tropez (1896)

Paul Signac, Calanque des Canoubiers (Pointe de Bamer), Saint-Tropez (1896). Courtesy of Christie’s Images, Ltd.

Estimate: €5.5 million to €8 million ($6.9 million to $10.1 million)

Final Price: €8 million ($10.1 million)

Where & When: Christie’s London, June 28, 2023

 

8. Zhang Jizhi, Regular Script Volume 

Zhang Jizhi, Regular Script Volume. Courtesy of China Guardian Auctions Co., Ltd.

Estimate: CNY 60 million to CNY 80 million ($8.4 million to $11.2 million)

Final Price: CNY 69 million ($9.7 million)

Where & When: China Guardian Auctions Co., Ltd., June 12, 2023

 

9. Zhang Daqian, Evening Color (1970)

Zhang Daqian, Evening Color (1970). Courtesy of Holly’s International Auctions Co., Ltd.

Estimate: Undisclosed

Final Price: CNY 62.1 million ($8.8 million)

Where & When: Holly’s International Auctions Co., Ltd., June 4, 2023

 

10. Chen Jiru, Yunyan Xiao Temple Map

Chen Jiru, Yunyan Xiao Temple Map. Courtesy of Shanghai Jiahe Auction Co., Ltd.

Estimate: CNY 25 million to CNY 35 million ($3.5 million to $4.9 million)

Final Price: CNY 59.2 million ($8.24 million)

Where & When: Shanghai Jiahe Auction Co., Ltd., June 24, 2023

 

11. Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (Pablo Picasso) (1984)

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (Pablo Picasso) (1984). Courtesy of Christie’s Images, Ltd.

Estimate: €4.5 million to €6.5 million ($5.7 million to $8.2 million)

Final Price: €6.5 million ($8.16 million)

Where & When: Christie’s London, June 28, 2023

 

12. Qi Baishi, Lao She’s Old Collection of Flowers and Insects

Qi Baishi, Lao She’s Old Collection of Flowers and Insects. Courtesy of China Guardian Auctions Co., Ltd.

Estimate: CNY 48 million to CNY 68 million ($6.7 million to $9.5 million)

Final Price: CNY 55.2 million ($7.7 million)

Where & When: China Guardian Auctions Co., Ltd., June 12, 2023

 

13. Qi Baishi, Book of Flower and Vegetable Workers and Pests

Qi Baishi, Book of Flower and Vegetables and Pests. Courtesy of Shanghai Jiahe Auction Co., Ltd.

Estimate: CNY 15 million to CNY 25 million ($2.1 million to $3.5 million)

Final Price: CNY 55.2 million ($7.7 million)

Where & When: Shanghai Jiahe Auction Co., Ltd., June 24, 2023

 

14. Frank Auerbach, Mornington Crescent (1969)

Frank Auerbach, Mornington Crescent (1969). Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

Estimate: €3.5 million to €4.5 million ($4.5 million to $5.7 million)

Final Price: €5.6 million ($7.1 million)

Where & When: Sotheby’s London, June 27, 2023

 

15. Alberto Giacometti, Buste de Diego au col roulé (ca. 1951)

Alberto Giacometti, Buste de Diego au col roulé (ca. 1951). Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

Estimate: €4 million to €6 million ($5.1 million to $7.6 million)

Final Price: €5.6 million ($7.09 million)

Where & When: Sotheby’s London, June 27, 2023