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London Art Fog

The London sales may not have headline lots, but there are still plenty of opportunities for surprises… and this market sure needs surprises.

Jean-Michel Basquiat "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Derelict"
In a much more subdued market, the £15 million estimate for the Basquiat work doesn’t seem cheap, but it’s also not unattainable. Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images
Marion Maneker
June 23, 2024

The auction houses have already downgraded London’s June sales to a midseason exercise. Sotheby’s, with its £96 million in estimated sales, is the only auction house that really came to play. Christie’s has an aggregate presale estimate of £9.13 million; Phillips has work estimated at £12 million. Alas, while this year’s London sales have almost the same number of lots as they did last year, the overall value has dropped from £253 million in aggregate estimate a year ago to £117 million this week.