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Here Are the 15 Most Expensive Artworks Sold at Auction Around the World in June 2021
We combed the data to find the top 15 lots of June 2021.
We combed the data to find the top 15 lots of June 2021.
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With major auctions in London, Beijing, and Hong Kong, June was a not-so-quiet month for the art market. The top lots include set pieces by the likes of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Wassily Kandinsky, Lucian Freud, and, of course, old faithful: Pablo Picasso. Chinese painters ranging from the 14th century (Yáng Wéizhēn) to the present (Liu Ye) also make appearances.
Price points were considerably lower than in May, when five works sold for over $50 million each; last month, only one work broke that barrier. But big buyers and sellers were active, as Bill Acquavella and Jose Mugrabi, two powerful New York dealers, offloaded a Basquiat triptych from 1985 at a Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction organized by Jay Chou, the “King of Mandopop.” The family of the late Swiss collector Frieder Burda, who died in 2019, was behind the sale of Picasso’s L’Étreinte (1969), which sold at Christie’s London for $20.4 million.
Meanwhile, the Telegraph reported that the Reuben family, the U.K.’s second richest family, were the buyers of Lucian Freud’s 2002 painting of David Hockney for more than $20 million, making it the sixth most expensive work by the late British artist to sell at auction.
Below, we’ve combed the data from Artnet’s Price Database to highlight the top 15 lots that sold at auction around the globe in June 2021.
Final Price: RMB 414 million ($64 million)
Estimate: Undisclosed
Where & When: Poly International Auction Co., Ltd., Beijing, June 6, 2021
Final Price: HKD 289.3 million ($37.2 million)
Estimate: HKD 255 million to HKD 350 million ($32.8 million to $45.1 million)
Where & When: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, June 18, 2021
Final Price: RMB 207 million ($32.3 million)
Estimate: Undisclosed
Where & When: Honor International Beijing, June 2, 2021
Final Price: £21.2 million ($29.3 million)
Estimate: £18 million to £25 million ($16.6 million to $34.6 million)
Where & When: Sotheby’s London, June 29, 2021
Final Price: RMB 161 million ($25 million)
Estimate: Undisclosed
Where & When: Poly International Auction Co., Ltd., Beijing, June 4, 2021
Final Price: £14.9 ($20.6 million)
Estimate: £8 million to £12 million ($11.1 million to 16.6 million)
Where & When: Sotheby’s London, June 29, 2021
Final Price: £14.7 million ($20.4 million)
Estimate: £11 million to £16 million ($15.3 million to $22.2 million)
Where & When: Christie’s London, June 30, 2021
Final Price: £13.7 million ($19 million)
Estimate: £12 million to £18 million ($16.6 million to $25 million)
Where & When: Christie’s London, June 30, 2021
Final Price: RMB 121 million ($18.7 million)
Estimate: Undisclosed
Where & When: Rombon Auction Beijing, June 19, 2021
Final Price: €14.6 million ($17.2 million)
Estimate: €6 million to €10 million ($7.1 million to $12 million)
Where & When: Christie’s Paris, June 30, 2021
Final Price: HKD 124 million ($16 million)
Estimate: Undisclosed
Where & When: Phillips Hong Kong, June 8, 2021
Final Price: RMB 90.3 million ($14.1 million)
Estimate: Undisclosed
Where & When: Poly International Auction Co., Ltd., Beijing, June 6, 2021
Final Price: HKD 109 million ($14 million)
Estimate: HKD 93 million to HKD 143 million ($12 million to $18.4 million)
Where & When: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, June 18, 2021
Final Price: £9.4 million ($13 million)
Estimate: £8 million to £12 million ($11.1 million to $16.6 million)
Where & When: Sotheby’s London, June 29, 2021
Final Price: RMB 80.5 million ($12.5 million)
Estimate: Undisclosed
Where & When: Poly International Auction Co. Ltd., June 4, 2021