Sotheby’s relocated its new global headquarters to the iconic Breuer Building on Madison Avenue. Just days into its tenure, the auction house broke records with an iconic Gustav Klimt painting.
Tuesday, November 18th resulted in a milestone moment during the New York Sales at Sotheby’s when a buyer scooped up Klimt’s portrait of a woman for a whopping $236.4 million — almost $100 million more than the $150 million it was expected to sell for. It is considered the second-most expensive piece of art sold at auction and the most expensive piece of modern art sold at auction.
But that impressive sale was just the beginning.
On Thursday, November 20th, a 1940 self portrait of Frida Kahlo “El sueño (La cama)” “The Dream (The Bed)” sold for $54.7 million, surpassing Georgia O’Keeffe’s “Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1″ as the top-selling work by a female artist at auction.
As if these statistics weren’t enough, Vincent van Gogh’s 1887 Piles de romans parisiens et roses dans une verre (Romans parisiens), sold for $62.7 million, which was a 35% increase from original estimates. All in all, it’s safe to say that this has been a great way for the auction to begin a new chapter in one of NYC’s most notable buildings.
“It’s a homecoming of sorts,’ Charles Steward, Sotheby’s CEO, said in a statement. “It’s nostalgic. You can talk about the Breuer as an architectural landmark. You also can talk about it in terms of art history: all of the exhibitions, artists and collectors that have been affiliated with this space over the last six decades.”
We’re certainly curious to see what the future holds. If these numbers sound a little daunting, fear not: there are galleries that are free and open to the public that will give you a taste of some amazing artwork.
Learn more about what’s ahead for the space on the Sotheby’s website.