A Billion Dollar Week of Auctions at Sotheby's Worldwide

Sotheby's Flagship New York Auctions of Impressionist & Modern And Contemporary Art Achieve $835 Million - Up 15% Over November 2017

Sotheby's Worldwide Sales of Impressionist & Modern and Contemporary Art Are Up 18% Year-to-Date Compared to 2017

Geneva Sales of Watches & Jewelry Total $125.1 Million

Private Sales Exceed $75 Million This Week Including Works by Alexander Calder, Jonas Wood, Ed Ruscha and Wayne Thiebaud

News provided by

Sotheby's

Nov 16, 2018, 17:38 ET

NEW YORK, Nov. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Sotheby's (NYSE: BID) concluded a week of worldwide sales spanning New York, Geneva, London, Paris and online, with 1,675 lots sold over twelve auctions for a total of more than $1 billion*. Across the auctions, nineteen lots exceeded $10 million and ten lots exceeded $20 million. From 20^th- and 21^st-century art to magnificent jewels and rare watches, auction history was made throughout the week and around the globe. To view highlights and watch key bidding battles, click here.

Today, Sotheby’s concluded a week of worldwide auctions held across our New York, Geneva, London, Paris salerooms and online, with 1,675 lots sold over twelve auctions for a total of $1 billion. From 20th- and 21st-century art to magnificent jewels and rare watches, auction history was made throughout the week and around the globe.

Sotheby's Contemporary Art Sales totaled $463 over two days, up 12% over November 2017. The Contemporary Art Evening Sale boasted an exceptional sell-through rate of 97%. Eleven records were set for Contemporary artists across the series, led by benchmark prices for Jacob Lawrence, Jack Whitten, Dana Schutz and Henry Taylor. Sotheby's worldwide auctions of Contemporary art are up 22% year-to-date over 2017.

Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art sales totaled $373 million over two days, an increase of 20% over November 2017. The sales saw a new world auction record for icon of Surrealism René Magritte, whose portrait of patron Edward James sold for $26.8 million. A number of recently restituted works also exceeded expectations, with stellar results for Egon Schiele, Ludwig Kirchner and Oskar Kokoschka. There was bidding and buying from Asian clients on 25% of the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale. Sotheby's worldwide auctions of Impressionist Art are up 13% year-to-date over 2017.

Sales of Watches and Jewelry totaled $125.1 million this week at Sotheby's Geneva, with 70% of sold lots exceeding their high-estimates. The series saw participation from 1,500 clients spread across 68 countries. The week was highlighted by a white-glove sale for the historic Bourbon-Parma family collection, as 100 lots all found buyers with many selling for high multiples of pre-sale expectations – setting a new record for an auction of Royal Jewels at $53.1 million. As part of the collection, Queen Marie Antoinette's Pearl sold for $36.2 million, achieving a new world auction record for a natural pearl.

Sotheby's Watches sale saw the most valuable wristwatch ever sold in Sotheby's history, as "The Asprey" soared to $3.9 million – also breaking the record for a Patek Philippe Reference 2499.

Alongside these auctions, private sales this week exceeded $75 million, including works by Alexander Calder, Jonas Wood, Ed Ruscha and Wayne Thiebaud.

For a list of upcoming auctions, click here.

* Please note this figure includes worldwide aggregate auction sales for the period 12–17 November, and does not include the total for private sales at Sotheby's this week.

**Estimates do not include buyer's premium. Prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer's premium and are net of any fees paid to the purchaser where the purchaser provided an irrevocable bid.

About Sotheby's
Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art financing company, as well as the collection, artist, estate & foundation advisory services of its subsidiary, Art Agency, Partners. Sotheby's presents private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Global Fine Art Division, and three retail businesses: Sotheby's Wine, Sotheby's Diamonds, and Sotheby's Home, the online marketplace for interior design. Sotheby's has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).