29/10/2001
by Albert Fiz

After the recent attacks in New York, many in the art market feared the worst and there was talk in some quarters that some sales might have to be postponed until after the new year. Yet despite the gloom, the Italian sales went ahead and turned up trumps. One could sense the relief after Sotheby’s (22^nd of October) and Christie’s (23^rd of October) enjoyed success rates of around 80% of lots offered. Some results did dip from last year’s buoyant climate with few US buyers in attendance. Lots offered were in the main of European appeal with a great deal of competition for classic Italian works, as long as they were of excellent quality, immediately recognisable, in good condition and coming from a reputable provenance. Those who passed with flying colours included Giacomo Manzù, Marino Marini, Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni and Alighiero Boetti. On the other hand, the performance of Giorgio Morandi was not entirely satisfactory, with a large number of mediocre works up for auction. As far as Italian contemporary art was concerned, the reaction to "Arte Povera" was not matched with the enthusiastic response enjoyed at the recent exhibition at the Tate Modern, London, suggesting that in troubled times buyers prefer more classic artworks. Evidence of this was shown with a photographic work by Vanessa Beecroft going unsold as well as mixed results for Maurizio Cattelan.

Sotheby’s started their sale with an array of lots aimed at foreign buyers. Lucio Fontana’s 1957 Concetta Spaziale, a metal sculpture evoking an object in flight, was acquired by a private US buyer for $ 603,000 (€ 671,400) a new record in this medium for the artist. Another high selling Fontana was Concetta Spaziale Attese, a white canvas with five slashes, which sold to a private Swiss buyer for $ 510,000 (€ 568,000) and Giacomo Manzù’s Seated Cardinal, which fetched $ 614,790 (€ 690,200) against an estimate of $ 355,810-498,120 (€ 399,450-559,240). This strong price was aided with a decent provenance. The work had been commissioned directly from the artist by the US collector Nathan Cummings. Under half of the Giorgio Morandi’s offered were sold but there was a good deal of after-sale horse-trading taking place. The highest priced Morandi was a Still Life dating from 1953 which sold for $ 400,300 (€ 445,700) and another surprise result was Alberto Burri’s Plastic red, which hammered for $ 302,440 (€ 339,550) against an estimate of $ 170,790-213,490 (€ 191,760-239,700). A record was obtained for one of Alighiero Boetti’s map works entitled I would like to praise the wind which sold for $ 303,400 (€ 337,700). This success contrasted sharply with Luciano Fabro’s Crumpled Italy, which fetched $ 132,700 (€ 147,700) against an estimate of $ 278,300-417,500 (€ 309,800-464,800).

The next day Christie’s offered a different approach with their Italian sale categorised by regional area. The overall hammer result of the sale was $ 9.8 (€ 10.8 million) compared to $ 6.4 (€ 7.1 million) at Sotheby’s, with the highest Christie’s result going to a Still life by Giorgio Morandi dating from 1929. Bidding stopped at $ 510,000 (€ 568,000) for the work, close to the low-end estimate and its poor state of conservation may have put buyers off bidding any higher. One of Piero Manzoni’s Achrome (from 1960) sold for $ 399,000 (€ 444,000) against an estimate of $ 232,000-315,500 (€ 258,200-325,000) and Alberto Magnelli also did well with his 1918 painting Lyric explosions selling for $ 289,730 (€ 321,750) twice its estimate. The cover lot, Gino Severini’s Still life in front of a window went unsold at an estimate of $ 510,000-789,000 (€ 568,000-878,000) whilst Glows in the forest by Marino Marini from 1958 sold to a US buyer for $ 306,300 (€ 340,000). A record was achieved for Night fire by Renato Birolli, which sold for $ 108,000 (€ 120,000), the highest price ever reached for the artist at auction.

As for "Arte Povera" pieces, the emblematic Machine Gun by Pino Pascali was hammered at $ 131,800 (€ 146,600), below its expected price and Untitled, by Francesco Clemente (dated 1984) went unsold with a low-end estimate of $ 83,500 (€ 92,900). In 1989 the same work was sold by Christie’s in New York for $ 162,400 (€ 180,700). Coming more up to date, Nicola De Maria’s Kingdom of flowers, a painting from 1985 sold for $ 155,400 (€ 173,000), twice its initial estimate, while the eagerly awaited Strategies by Maurizio Cattelan sold for $ 83,500 (€ 92,900). This work, a sculpture made out of old copies of "Flash Art", just managed to sell, redeeming the unsold result of Cattelan’s Untitled, the day before at Sotheby’s. Finally, in the field of photography, Gabriele Basilica’s Beirut 1991-rue Gourmand soared to an incredible final price of $ 20,400 (€ 22,700) against an estimate of £ 3,500-4,800 (€ 3,900-4,300).