(Bloomberg) -- As an arctic blast sent shivers through New York on Tuesday evening, champagne flowed at Sotheby’s, where art dealers and collectors gathered for a sale of Impressionist and modern art.
The auction raised $208.9 million, within the estimated presale range, but down 34% from a similar event last November. Rival Christie’s Impressionist and modern art evening sale on Nov. 11 was down 31% from a year ago, at $191.9 million. Both auctions were lackluster yet efficient, with 84% of works sold at Sotheby’s and 90% at Christie’s. The houses lowered reserves, allowing many pieces to go below their estimates.
The top lot at Sotheby’s was Claude Monet’s “Charing Cross Bridge,” which went for $27.6 million. It was estimated at $20 million to $30 million. (Final prices include fees; estimates don’t.)
Bidders from Asia and Russia helped boost prices for works by Edgar Degas, Alberto Giacometti and Paul Signac. Jazz Age artist Tamara de Lempicka’s sultry 1927 portrait of her lover and muse Rafaela reclining in a red silk chemise went to Sotheby’s Moscow-based representative for a record $13.4 million. The same client bought Alfred Sisley’s rainy landscape for $1.04 million earlier in the sale.
It was Sotheby’s first high-stakes sale since going private last month, with recently installed Chief Executive Officer Charles Stewart, a newbie to the art market, in attendance. At one point, a telephone line dropped during a crucial bidding moment; at another, the lights went out for a few seconds. “Cost cuts?” art dealer Josh Baer said jokingly, alluding to the anticipated strategy of the company’s new owner, French telecom tycoon Patrick Drahi.
Christie’s is scheduled to hold its postwar and contemporary evening sale on Wednesday.
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