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Still Life With Paris

Absent a unifying theme to the Art Basel Paris auctions, the list of dynamic lots suggest that collectors are following their own paths through these auctions, and looking for works of idiosyncratic value rather than chasing a market trend.

art basel paris
Paris is the capital of the fashion and luxury industry, so it makes sense for both houses to try to increase sales there using a larger art presence as a halo. Photo: Courtesy of Art Basel
Marion Maneker
October 22, 2024

In Paris on Friday, during the extended bidding on Salvador Dalí’s Rose méditative at Sotheby’s new headquarters, I started counting potential buyers for the work. Early offers had whisked the small painting of a rose hovering in a blue sky under a wispy cloud, estimated at €700,000, into higher price ranges. It would eventually hammer at €3.9 million after 10 bidders, both in the room and on the phones, took their best shot at landing the prize. But the tone of the sale was set when a Kay Sage painting, Other Answers, estimated at €300,000, sold for €1 million. A small Miró painting—Femmes, from 1932, estimated at €700,000—made €1.9 million.