Arnaldo Pomodoro Fetches $468,000 at Skinner American & European Paintings & Prints Auction
Skinner's January 2010 auction of American & European Paintings & Prints auction grossed over $2.5 million with a strong bidding audience in the room and high bid activity from the phones and internet.
The top-lot of the sale was an Arnaldo Pomodoro artist proof of Rotante primo sezionale n. 1 [Rotating First Section No. 1], 1966, estimated at the high end at $150,000, but bringing $468,000, a very strong price for the only artist proof of this title offered thus far. Rounding out the top three lots were a newly rediscovered Georgia O’Keeffe, Alligator Pear in White Dish, which sold for $225,150, against a high estimate of $150,000; and Jesus Rafael Soto’s Struttura, estimated between $30,000 and $40,000, selling for $100,725.
Record-setting bids included Saul Steinberg’s Art Lovers, which sold for $22,515, several times the estimate high of $5,000 and the highest price reported for a work on paper from 1963; Daniel Chester French’s Portrait Bust of a Woman, estimated between $500 and $700, sold for $16,590, the highest price paid for this work; and Cecilia Beaux’s Portrait of Joseph B. Thomas III, estimated at $2,000 to $2,500, brought $8,295, the highest price reported for a work on paper by Beaux.
According to Robin Starr, Director of American & European Paintings & Prints at Skinner, “We’ve spent the past year redefining the mission of Skinner’s paintings department. This sale, in particular, featured works of greater quality, and we presented them more effectively in our redesigned catalogue format. Clearly these changes are beginning to bear fruit.” Continued Starr, “We’re very pleased with the strength of Skinner’s first sale of 2010. We’re finding renewed interest in contemporary works and that’s good news for the art market overall.”
Skinner’s next auction of American & European Paintings & Prints will be held Friday, May 21st in Boston.
