The Old Master Paintings sales in London: December 2017

In the midst of a busy week of events and previews, Sotheby’s and Christie’s held their Old Master Paintings Evening Sales on December 6th and December 7th, respectively. The two evenings brought in a total of £39,035,000 (excluding buyer’s premium) falling on the high end of an estimated £30,660,000 to £44,980,000, with 68 lots sold of the 85 lots offered between them.

The total earnings for this week were up 75.6% from December 2016 and 58.5% from 2015. There were 9 lots offered above the 1 million pound mark, 7 of which sold, making the average sale price per lot £574,044, up from roughly £353,000 in December 2016, though the number of lots sold was closely consistent with this time last year.

Report Content:

Comparative Performance (Christie’s and Sotheby’s).

Total sales vs estimate (2010 – 2017).

Average prices 2010 – 2017.

ArtTactic Confidence Indicators.

Auction Flow Analysis (visual representation of the auction rhythm).

Joseph Wright of Derby & El Greco highlight profiles.

Special Profile Section: Leonardo da Vinci’s record-breaking painting Salvator Mundi.