The results for the first six months of 2018 revealed sales in Europe, Middle East and India had slipped 4% to £782.9m in the period but sales in the Americas had benefited from the Rockefeller effect, growing 36% to £1.57bn. Asia was up 24% at £306.4m.
The sale of the Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller took $835m. The preview of the sale, raising money for a number of charitable causes, was viewed by 85,000 around the world.
The auction of the Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller at Christie's. Image: Christie’s 2018.
Guillaume Cerutti, chief executive officer, said: “It has been a record-breaking first half for Christie’s. Twenty-seven per cent of all buyers were new to us during this period and we also achieved consistently high sell-through rates averaging 84% by lot. We are also encouraged by an array of strong consignments to offer collectors in the autumn.”
Christie’s half-year results in numbers:
- 26% rise in first-half sales to almost £3bn (in dollar terms, it is nearly $4bn, which is up 35% on the same period a year ago)
- 20% rise in auction sales to £2.65bn
- 135% rise in private sales to £287m
- 55 lots sold over $10m compared to 46 from the same period last year
- 45% of spend came from American-based clients
- 24% from Asian clients
- 31% from clients from Europe, Middle East and India
Online in numbers:
- 40% rise in online-only auction sales to £27.7m
- 47 online sales were held in the first half of 2018
- £88m spent during online sales (both Christie’s LIVETM and online-only sales)
- 87% sell-through rate
- $8483 average price per lot
Orlando Rock, UK chairman, said the results were the fourth-highest half-year even without including the Rockefeller sale, and were roughly the highest first-half results in pounds and the second highest, behind 2015, in US dollar terms.
He said: “We now sell fewer lots but are more curated and this has led to the rise in sell-through rates.”
Rock added that the demand for objects in the Rockefeller sale, such as antiques from porcelain to furniture, showed there is “very strong momentum for these collecting categories” and its success has given Christie’s the “desire and ambition to inspire these clients again in future”.
Orlando Rock on:
Antique ivory objects:
“We do our best to lobby government to make sure they are pragmatic. The proposed law for objects made more than 100 years ago will make no difference to the survival of elephants. It is very flawed at the moment but hopefully something workable can come out of it.”
Christie’s South Kensington:
“We serve these markets with our interior sales at Christie’s King Street and promote them via our Christie’s Lates events. The sell-through rates of these sales have been better at King Street compared with South Kensington. The average sale at CSK for interiors was £600,000-800,000, and at King Street it is close to double that.”
Brexit:
“The market is very robust. Until there is real clarity with what happens things are remaining robust. London will carry on being a centre for the art market. We have contingency plans but there is a long way to go. We can sell in Paris, Geneva, New York and Hong Kong – we have a flexible model. Online sales can take place anywhere, of course. But the market remains strong at the moment.”
Old Masters:
“If you have got a great masterpiece from any period there is a great market for them. Quality, rarity and price are still the most important elements.”
Lucas Cranach the Elder’s Portrait of John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony. An example of an Old Master painting that performed well at a Christie's auction this year selling at a hammer price of $6.6m (£4.7m). Image: Christie’s 2018.
Christie’s was upbeat for the outlook for the rest of the year and said consignment activity “remains particularly strong”. Upcoming sales include September’s Interiors auction of designer Michael S Smith in London and the collection of dealer and collector Eugene V Thaw in New York.
Sotheby’s will report its second quarter results next month.
