El sueño (La cama) (1940; detail), Frida Kahlo. Courtesy Sotheby’s.
Megan Fox Kelly spoke with Anna Brady at Apollo Magazine about the November New York auction results, which swept in more than $2.2bn (all results include fees) across Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips.
Megan shared before the sales that there was relatively little discretionary selling, “given the market’s cooler tone and the inflammatory press suggesting an even broader retreat. Collectors who don’t need to sell are likely waiting for a more buoyant environment.’ The result, Fox Kelly said, is ‘fewer speculative consignments and a concentration of material that has been off the market for decades’, such as the Klimt. The market has retracted, she concedes, but most noticeable is a shift in behaviour: ‘We’re moving from a momentum-driven market to a merit-driven one.”
Read the full article here.