Contrary to how much ink was spilled on the tropical temperatures in Frieze New York’s big tent last week, the sales reports have been somewhat lukewarm. The overall view is that, by the second VIP preview day on Randall’s Island, those mega-collectors willing to drop serious money on art had come and gone, leaving some dealers to continue wondering whether the whole art-fair shebang just “isn’t working anymore.”

In years past, dealers have used the Randall’s Island event to place works edging into the seven-figure range—but this year, they found more success with works by emerging and established artists alike that dipped into a lower price bracket. David Hockney’s iPad works at Pace’s booth were scooped up quickly, perhaps pushed along by the announcement of an upcoming lot in the May auctions that could set a new artist record. The appetite for less expensive items was also apparent at P.P.O.W,, where more than 200 ceramic shoes by Ann Agee were for sale at accessible prices—underscoring the fact that galleries tended to succeed by offering works in the four to five figures.

Sales reports are, of course, slippery in the art world. Some purchases may have been finalized long before the fair, while others might only be handshake deals, still waiting on paperwork and cash. But prices themselves are more reliably telling. They provide a snapshot of where individual artists stand in the matrix of the art market today (even if some dealers occasionally offer inflated figures). Meanwhile, some dealers prefer to report ranges or the “asking price,” to obscure the actual selling price or to cover up favorable treatment that one buyer may have received over another.

Here is a (partial) roundup of notable sales at the fair—take it with a pinch of salt—as they were reported to artnet News, sorted by medium and price. Any prices reported in GBP or Euros were converted to USD for consistency and ease of reading.

PAINTINGS

$850,000: Georg Baselitz’s Sie werden gehen, sie sind gegangen (2017) at Thaddaeus Ropac

$500,000: Painting by Emilio Vedova, also at Thaddaeus Ropac

$400,000: Mary Corse’s Untitled (White Light Band) (1991) at Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Los Angeles

$250,000: Emma Amos’s self-portrait on display in Ryan Lee’s booth in the Spotlight section

$275,000: A large canvas by Mary Heilmann at 303 Gallery

$200,000 each: Works by Forrest Bess at Parrasch Heijnen

$175,000: William N. Copley’s Untitled (1987) at Paul Kasmin Gallery

$150,000–175,000: McArthur Binion’s DNA: Study Zero (2018) at Lehmann Maupin

$135,000–340,000: New works by Iranian artist Shirazeh Houshiary at Lehmann Maupin

$125,000: Sterling Ruby’s VERT.POWWOW (2018) at Sprüth Magers

$100,000–150,000 each: Two paintings by Obama portraitist Kehinde Wiley at Stephen Friedman Gallery. (Just before Frieze, the gallery announced that Wiley’s Ship of Fools had been acquired by the Royal Museum Greenwich.)

$100,000: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s Parchment Flowers (2017) at Jack Shainman

$100,000: A painting by Sue Williams at 303 Gallery

$100,000: A painting by Eddie Martinez from Mitchell-Innes & Nash

$95,000 each: Three paintings by the late New York School painter Clinton Hill, who was a fan favorite at Royale Projects in the Spotlight section

$80,000–100,000: McArthur Binion’s Ink: Work: Vermillion (2018) at Lehmann Maupin

$78,000: Thomas Scheibitz’s painting Porträt Marco Dente at Sprüth Magers

$65,000–75,000 each: Cecilia Vicuña’s paintings, including Gabriela Mistral (1979), sold at Lehmann Maupin

$50,000–75,000: McArthur Binion’s Ink Work: iv (2018) at Lehmann Maupin

$45,000: A painting embedded with graphite by Analia Saban at Sprüth Magers

$40,000 each: Two paintings by Eddie Martinez at Mitchell-Innes & Nash

$24,000–35,000 each: Ghebaly Gallery sold out of works by Farah Atassi

$18,000: Strauss Bourque-LaFrance’s No Sun, No Mars, No Man (2018) at Rachel Uffner Gallery

$15,000–35,000: Works by Thomas Trosch at Fredericks & Freiser’s booth

$15,000 each: A selection of photorealist paintings by Van Hanos at Château Shatto, on view in the Frame section

$12,000: Juan Tessi’s large canvas drawing at Galerie Nora Fisch

$8,000 each: Four of six paintings from a new body of work by Justin Fitzpatrick at Seventeen Gallery

$6,000–30,000: Paintings by Tom Anholt at Josh Lilley Gallery

$6,600–10,000 each: Embroidered panels by artist Jordan Nasser at Anat Ebgi gallery

SCULPTURE AND INSTALLATION

$725,000: A patinated bronze assemblage work by Robert Rauschenberg at Thaddaeus Ropac

$550,000 each: Two of James Turrell’s Medium Glass Circle works (both 2017)—inspired by objects orbiting the sun beyond Neptune—sold at Kayne Griffin Corcoran Gallery

$550,000: Barry Flanagan’s Musical Hare on Crescent and Bell at Paul Kasmin Gallery

$225,000: A lightbox work by Doug Aitken at 303 Gallery

Around $210,000: Tony Cragg’s bronze sculpture at Thaddaeus Ropac

$190,000: A metal-and-wood piece by Jack Pierson at Thaddaeus Ropac

Around $160,000: Alicja Kwade’s sculptural work at 303 Gallery

$150,000: Matthew Day Jackson’s scorched-wood work LIFE, April 6, 1959 at Grimm Gallery

$135,000: Hank Willis Thomas’s stainless-steel bust at Jack Shainman

$100,000–200,000: A sculpture by Seung-taek Lee at Gallery Hyundai

$95,000: Marian Goodman sold William Kentridge’s bronze Shadow Figure II (2016)

$90,000: Barbara Bloom’s Vanity (2017) at David Lewis

$40,000–100,000: Two wall pieces created out of paper by Minjung Kim at

$28,000–42,000: Multiple Artur Lescher hanging Pendulums at Galeria Nara Roesler

$20,000–300,000: Sculptures by Anne Truitt, Ken Price, and Rebecca Warren at Matthew Marks Gallery

$18,000 each: Ceramic sculptures by Jesse Wine at Mary Mary Gallery

Around $9,500: 3D printed sculptural works by Carlos Motta at Mor Charpentier

$5,000–6,000 each: Ceramic works by Julia Haft-Candell at Parrasch Heijnen

$1,500 each: Ann Agee’s ceramic shoes at PPOW gallery

 

WORKS ON PAPER, PRINTS, AND PHOTOGRAPHS

$850,000: A Robert Longo drawing of a ram at Thaddaeus Ropac

$675,000: Robert Rauschenberg’s Star Park (Borealis) (1990) at Thaddaeus Ropac

$220,000: A set of Wolfgang Tillmans vintage portraits at Maureen Paley

$60,000: Barbara Kruger’s Untitled (We Are Notifying You of a Change of Address) (1982–86) at Sprüth Magers

$54,000 each: Cyprien Gaillard’s photographs from Jinxed Variation (2017) at Sprüth Magers

Around $53,500: Saâdane Afif’s The Fountain Archives (2008–) at Mor Charpentier

$29,000: Alexander Apóstol’s Color Is My Business (2012–2015) at Mor Charpentier

$26,000–40,000: David Hockney’s colorful iPad works sold like hotcakes at Pace. By the end of the first VIP preview day, 30 were spoken for. By Sunday, a total of 38 had sold; the gallery made sales each day of the fair.

$25,000–45,000 each: Four of the late Italian artist Bruno Munari’s prints sold at Andrew Kreps

$14,000–28,000 each: Torbjørn Rødland’s moody photographs at David Kordansky, including The Song of the Wind

$10,000–25,000 each: Works by Tom of Finland at David Kordansky’s booth in “For Your Infotainment,” the curated homage to the late art dealer Hudson.

$3,000–15,000: Dana Lixenberg’s photographs of rapper Biggie Smalls at Grimm Gallery‘s booth