Despite Gloom, Modern Art Booms

Sagging prices at last month’s London auctions seemed to indicate that the global financial downturn had finally burst the art market bubble. Not so fast: Sotheby’s just broke a few records at its annual art sale in New York this week.

The Sotheby’s auction house kicked off its annual art sale in New York this week against the backdrop of a gloomy economy that had some observers wondering whether there were any deep-pocketed buyers left to snap up paintings for tens of millions of US dollars.

Well, there are. And they’re breaking records.

Some of the most famous artworks of the past century were up for sale, including Edgar Degas’ Dancer in Repose and Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematist Composition (from 1916).

The Degas sold on Monday night for just over US$37 million, an all-time high for the artist, whose previous best was US$28 million for the same piece in 1999, a Sotheby’s spokeswoman said. The work’s presale estimate was US$40 million.

The Malevich work sold on Monday for just over US$60 million, in line with its presale estimate. The sale price set a record for the artist and for any Russian artwork sold at auction, Sotheby’s said.

The previous record for Malevich was US$17 million for another Suprematist Composition (from 1919 to 1920) in 2000; the previous Russian record was US$20.9 million for Wassily Kandinsky’s Fugue in 1990.

And Edvard Munch’s Vampire, a brooding painting of a woman with cascading auburn hair, set a new record for the Norwegian artist, US$38.2 million, Sotheby’s said. The previous record was US$30.8 million for Girls on a Bridge, set last year.

The buyers’ identities weren’t immediately disclosed.

Among those who reportedly are selling pieces from their art collections are Kathy Fuld, the wife of Richard Fuld Jr, the former chief executive officer of Lehman Brothers who has been vilified for his company’s role in the global financial meltdown.

The high-end art market had stumbled in recent months as the hedge fund traders, financiers and Russian, European and Middle Eastern buyers who helped prop up the art market in recent years fell victims to the financial crisis.

Sagging prices at last month’s London auctions suggested that the financial meltdown had finally ended the art market boom, which has seen a series of price records shattered over the last few years.