The Post-War & Contemporary Evening sales in London this June

The Post-War & Contemporary Evening sales in London, June 2016, including Post-War and Contemporary lots from Christie’s Defining British Art Evening Sale.  These raised a total of £116,675,000 (excluding buyer’s premium). Notably, this was just short of the total pre-sale estimates of £117,520,000 to £151,560,000*. The total among Sotheby’s, Phillips, and Christie’s was 44.6% lower than June 2015 and 7.5% lower than in February 2016.

A positive of the week was that for an international art market centre to have real credibility it needs to demonstrate that it can cope with the most dramatic shocks, such as UK’s referendum decision to leave the EU. Faced with high levels of uncertainty, the London art market showed resilience when it mattered most.