Artcurial Limited Editions Auction Analysis

May 22, 2015

Ricardo Martinez

Limited Editions auction in Artcurial Paris was a successful one - around three quarters of auctioned lots have been sold, and, cumulatively, those sold lot gathered more money than the sum of their high estimates. Francis Bacon's Miroir de la Tauromachie (Bullfighting Mirror) had the biggest hammer price, while Andy Warhol's Torsos and jewelry Louis Vuitton case with artworks by Arman, Ben and Cesar (Malle A Bijoux Louis Vuitton) had the biggest difference between their respective hammer price and high estimates.

The Story About Artwork: Francis Bacon - Miroir de la Tauromachie (Bullfighting Mirror), 1969

These four lithographs by Francis Bacon are actually ilustration of Michel Leiris' essay - Leiris was a French surrealist writer and ethnographer. He also wrote art critics and published numerous critical texts on artists he admired, including Francis Bacon, a close friend for whom he had modeled - one of them is called Francis Bacon face et profil (1983). Three lithographs are depicting bullfighting arena, while the fourth one is the portrait of Michel Leiris. This is copy number 26 from the edition of 150.

The Overview of Artcurial Limited Editions

There were 158 lots at Limited Editions auction at Artcurial in Paris, and 118 of them have been sold, which was good for 74.7 percent. These sold lots gathered $755,546 which was for 9.8 percent more than the sum of their high estimates ($688,316). Sixty six lots, or an excellent 55.9 percent, were sold over high estimate, and only 13.6 percent (16 lots) under low estimate. As we said, Francis Bacon's Miroir de la Tauromachie had the highest hammer price with $62,237, and the average hammer price for a sold lot at Limited Editions was $6,403.

After Bacon's work, the highest hammer prices had Andy Warhol's Mick Jagger, which was sold for $45,102, Jeff Koons' Balloon Venus Dom Perignon ($43,916) and Jasper Johns' Land'S End ($42,318). Andy Warhol's Torsos (265.4 percent), Malle A Bijoux Louis Vuitton by Arman, Ben and Cesar (258.5 percent) and Lawrence Weiner's Vogue La Galere (212.5 percent) had the highest difference between hammer prices and high estimates.

Artcurial
Michelangelo Pistoletto - Fratalli, 1999-2000 (Lot 51) Estimated at $2,784 - $3,898. Sold for low estimate.

Artcurial
Arman - Ben - Cesar - Malle a bijoux Louis Vuitton, 1989 (Lot 94). Estimated at $891 - $1,336. Sold for $4,789. This lot had the second highest difference between hammer price and high estimate (258.5 percent).

Artcurial
Left: Sonia Delaunay Automne, Circa 1965 (Lot 70). Estimated at $2,227 - $3,341, Sold for $9,422. / Right: Damien Hirst - All You Need Is Love, 2008 (Lot 66). Estimated at $20,045 - $22,272. Sold for $34,522.

Artcurial
Left: Andy Warhol - Torsos, 1977. Estimated at $1,114 - $1,670. Sold for 6,103. This lot had the highest difference between hammer price and high estimate. / Right: Andy Warhol - Mick Jagger, 1975 (Lot 31) Estimated at $24,500 - $28,954. Sold for $45,102. This lot had the second highest hammer price of the auction.

Artcurial
Jasper Johns - Land's End, 1978 (Lot 33) Estimated at $22,272 - $33,409. Sold for $42,318.
Artcurial
Francis Bacon and Michel Leiris - Miroir De La Tauromachie, 1990 (4 works) (Lot 9) Estimated at $44,545 - $55,681. Sold for $62,237.

Artcurial Limited Editions in Details

Here you can see detailed information on every lot that was on sale at Artcurial Limited Editions auction in Paris.

Sign up now for My WideWalls and be up-to-date with contemporary and street art.

All images courtesy of Artcurial.

Follow These Artists

Francis Bacon

Follow These Galleries

Artcurial Paris

Paris, France