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Here Are the 15 Most Expensive Artworks Sold at Auction Around the World in April 2022
Sotheby's Hong Kong sales made up the majority of the top lots in April.
Sotheby's Hong Kong sales made up the majority of the top lots in April.
Caroline Goldstein ShareShare This Article
Just before the start of the multi-billion dollar auction bonanza in New York this month, the top lots of April 2022 were mostly achieved at Sotheby’s Hong Kong sales, which set records despite market uncertainty. The modern and contemporary auctions brought in a respectable $164.2 million, within the expected range, with a number of lots exceeding the HK$100 million litmus test.
As Artnet News’s Vivienne Chow reported after the sales, almost half the bidders participated online, and a good portion of phone bidders called in to Sotheby’s specialists in London and New York, although Asian collectors accounted for the majority of buyers (about 73 percent according to Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s chair of Modern and contemporary sales in Asia).
A portrait of Dora Maar by Pablo Picasso—the first painting of Maar to be offered in Asia—was among the star lots, surpassing its presale estimate to bring in HK$169.4 million ($21.6 million) to become the second most expensive Picasso work sold in Asia.
Another star lot, also by a Western artist, was Louise Bourgeois’s Spider IV, a nearly seven-foot-tall, wall-mounted work that boasts a nearly 80-inch wingspan. Meant to whet the appetite for Western art in Asia, the sculpture sold for HK$129.2 million ($16.5 million), just within its presale estimate of $15 to $20 million, making it the most expensive sculpture ever sold at auction in Asia.
Below, see the full list of the top 15 most expensive lots sold in April 2022.
Estimate: Undisclosed
Final Price: HK$370,495,000 ($47,217,266)
Where & When: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, April 30, 2022
Estimate: Undisclosed
Final Price: HK$169,420,000 ($21,590,967)
Where & When: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, April 27, 2022
Estimate: HK$120 million to HK$150 million ($15,292,858 to $19,116,072)
Final Price: HK$129,205,000 ($16,465,947)
Where & When: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, April 27, 2022
Estimate: HK$80 million to HK$120 million ($10,195,234 to $15,292,858)
Final Price: HK$111,970,000 ($14,269,511)
Where & When: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, April 27, 2022
Estimate: HK$90 million to HK$120 million ($11,469,644 to $15,292,858)
Final Price: HK$103,927,000 ($13,244,507)
Where & When: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, April 27, 2022
Estimate: Undisclosed
Final Price: HK$54,520,000 ($6,948,055)
Where & When: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, April 27, 2022
Estimate: HK$40 million to HK$60 million ($5,097,619 to $7,646,429)
Final Price: HK$51,073,000 ($6,508,768)
Where & When: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, April 27, 2022
Estimate: €1,800,000 to €2,200,000 ($1,955,034 to $2,389,486)
Final Price: €5,185,500 ($5,632,128)
Where & When: Christie’s Paris, April 13, 2022
Estimate: $4 million to $5 million
Final Price: $5,596,000
Where & When: Saffronart, New York, April 6, 2022
Estimate: HK$35 million to HK$45 million ($4,460,474 to $5,734,895)
Final Price: HK$41,515,000 ($5,290,759)
Where & When: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, April 29, 2022
Estimate: HK$23 million to HK$30 million ($2,931,131 to $3,823,215)
Final Price: HK$38,490,000 ($4,905,184)
Where & When: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, April 27, 2022
Estimate: HK$35 million to HK$45 million ($4,460,417 to $5,734,822)
Final Price: HK$36,675,000 ($4,673,879)
Where & When: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, April 27, 2022
Estimate: €2.5 million to €3.2 million ($2,710,027 to $3,468,835)
Final Price: €4,136,800 ($4,484,336)
Where & When: Sotheby’s Paris, April 21, 2022
Estimate: HK$20 million to HK$30 million ($2,548,809 to $3,823,215)
Final Price: HK$34,255,000 ($4,365,474)
Where & When: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, April 27, 2022
Estimate: €1.2 million to €1.8 million ($1,303,356 to $1,955,034)
Final Price: €4,002,000 ($4,346,693)
Where & When: Christie’s Paris, April 13, 2022