London’s March auction week opened at full throttle. After Sotheby’s delivered a white-glove Modern & Contemporary Evening Sale the night before, attention shifted swiftly to Christie’s, where the house staged a marathon evening combining three auctions on 5th March: 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale, The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale, and Modern Visionaries – The Roger and Josette Vanthournout Collection. Together the sales offered 93 lots and realised £197.4 million with fees, with 96% sold by lot and 98% sold by value—a strong result that significantly surpassed last year’s equivalent total of £130.2 million. Keith Gill, Christie’s Vice-Chairman 20th and 21st Century sale, told The Art Newspaper that the Vanthournout collection was the key to help “drive the sharp increase” in the whole sale.
Adrien Meyer, Global Head of Private Sales & Co-Chairman, Impressionist & Modern Art, selling Henry Moore’s King and Queen in the new Christie’s rostrum, redesigned by Sir Jony Ive and his team at LoveFrom
The impact of single-owner collections has become increasing visible in today’s auction market. Carefully assembled and tightly curated, such collections often provide both provenance and narrative which can significantly strengthen buyer confidence. The Vanthournout Collection exemplified this dynamic, giving the sale a strong curatorial backbone and attracting competitive bidding across several categories.
Several works were withdrawn prior to the auction, including Bridget Riley’s Arrest 4 (1965) – the final work in the celebrated Arrest Series and the only example still in private hands, which had been estimated £3.5 – 5.5 million.
The defining moment came with Herry Moore’s King and Queen (conceived 1952-53), which sold for £26.3 million after nearly eight minutes of bidding among six participants in the room. The result made it the highest selling lot of the London season, prompting an eruption of applause and reaffirming the enduring demand for museum-quality British sculpture.
Henry Moore, King and Queen. Courtesy of Christie’s.
Indeed, sculpture emerged as one of the evening’s strongest categories. In addition to Moore’s top result, Henry Moore’s Goslar Warrior (1973 – 74) realised £4.5 million, while Jacques Lipchitz’s Jeune fille à la tresse (conceived 1914) sold for £2 million, nearly three times its high estimate. At a moment when collectors are increasingly seeking works with physical presence and institutional relevance, sculpture continues to demonstrate notable resilience within the market.
Surrealist artists also delivered impressive results. Dorothea Tanning’s Children’s Game (1942) realised £4.6 million, while Toyen’s Le devenir de la liberté (1946) achieved £3.7 million. The 25th edition of The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale sold 100% by lot and value, generating nearly £43 million with fees – a testament to the sustained collector appetite for historically significant Surrealist works.
Despite its modest scale, just 23.3 by 14.3 cm, Tanning’s Children’s Games carries considerable art historical significance. Painted in the early 1940s, it belongs to a pivotal group of works in which the artist explored female sexuality, autonomy, and the transition from childhood into adolescence. The painting is also closely connected to Tanning’s relationship with Max Ernst, who famously divorced Peggy Guggenheim and spent the rest of his life with the artist.
Two works by Gerhard Richter, offered following the artist’s recent retrospective at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, also attracted attention. As Katharine Arnold and Keith Gill, Vice- Chairmen of 20th/21st Century Art at Christie’s, observe: “ Two exceptional Richters…were auctioned for very strong prices.” Richter’s Schober (Haybarn) (1984) which carried a third-party guarantee, ultimately realised £8.4 million with fees. While bidding unfolded slowly, the work eventually secured a buyer without dramatic competition.
This measured pace of bidding appeared elsewhere during the evening, reflecting a broader pattern in today’s auction market. While high-quality works with strong provenance continue to perform robustly, buyers remain highly selective, often pausing to consider bids carefully rather than engaging in aggressive competition.
The nearly four-hour auction felt unusually long for an evening sale — closer in duration to a day auction — and proved something of a marathon for those attending in person. One curious episode occurred when Max Ernst’s Seestück (Seascape) initially passed during the sale but was reopened for bidding at the end. It eventually sold for £1.2 million with fees, below its £1.5 million low estimate.
Reflecting on the evening, Arnold and Gill stated: “Tonight’s results at Christie’s shape the conversation and set the pace for the seasons ahead globally.”
The sale also carried symbolic weight. Celebrating Christie’s 260th anniversary, CEO Bonnie Brennan unveiled a newly crafted oak rostrum, redesigned by Sir Jony Ive and LoveFrom and inspired by the original rostrum made in the 1700s for James Christie by Thomas Chippendale. The auction room itself was staged with cinematic flair, underscoring the theatrical character of the evening.
Overall, the results offer a revealing snapshot of the current market. Strong provenance, historically important works, and carefully curated collections continue to attract confident bidding, while other categories see a more cautious approach. In this sense, the London sales suggest not a cooling market, but a more discerning one, where rarity, narrative, and institutional quality increasingly define success.
倫敦三月拍賣週自一開始便迅速升溫。在前一晚蘇富比以一場白手套（100%成交）的現代與當代藝術晚間拍賣拉開序幕後，市場焦點隨即轉向佳士得。3月5日當晚，佳士得連續舉行三場聯合拍賣——「20/21世紀：倫敦晚間拍賣」、「超現實主義藝術晚間拍賣」以及「現代遠見者：Roger與Josette Vanthournout收藏晚間拍賣」。三場拍賣共推出 93件拍品，最終實現總成交額 1.974億英鎊（含佣金），按拍品計成交率達96%，顯著高於去年同期晚間拍賣 1.302億英鎊的總成交額。
佳士得 20與21世紀藝術部副主席 Keith Gill 向《藝術新聞》（The Art Newspaper）表示，Vanthournout收藏在本次拍賣中發揮了關鍵推動作用，「顯著提升了整體成交表現」。
在當前拍賣市場環境下中，單一藏家專場（single-owner collection）的重要性愈發凸顯。經過長期系統構建、並具清晰收藏脈絡的私人收藏，往往同時具備可靠來源（provenance）與敘事性，從而有效增強買家信心。Vanthournout收藏正是這一趨勢的典型案例，其完整而富於結構性的收藏體系不僅為拍賣提供了清晰的策展邏輯，也成功激發了了多個板塊的積極競投。
拍賣開始前亦有幾件重要作品撤拍，其中包括布里奇特・萊利（Bridget Riley）1965年作品《Arrest 4》。該作屬於著名「Arrest」系列中的最後一件，同時也是該系列中唯一仍處於私人收藏狀態的作品，原估價為350萬至550萬英鎊。
當晚最受矚目的焦點之一來自亨利・摩爾（Henry Moore）的雕塑作品《國王與王后》（King and Queen，構思於1952–53年）。該作在六位競投者之間經歷近八分鐘激烈競價，最終以2630萬英鎊（含佣金）成交，成為本季倫敦拍賣市場成交價最高的作品之一，現場隨之爆發出熱烈的掌聲。
值得注意的是，雕塑板塊成為當晚表現最為強勁的門類之一。除了上述這件頂級摩爾作品外，亨利・摩爾的另一件作品《Goslar Warrior》（1973–74) 亦以 456.4萬英鎊成交；而雅克・利普希茨（Jacques Lipchitz）的《編辮少女》（Jeune fille à la tresse，構思於1914年）則以 200.2萬英鎊成交，接近其最高估價的三倍。在當前收藏市場中，具備空間張力與博物館級品質的雕塑作品，正展現出持續的市場韌性。
超現實主義板塊同樣表現亮眼。多蘿西亞・坦寧（Dorothea Tanning）的《Children’s Games》（1942）以460萬英鎊成交，而Toyen的《Le devenir de la liberté》（1946）則以 370萬英鎊成交。本次為第25屆「超現實主義藝術晚間拍賣」，最終實現拍品與成交額雙100%成交，總成交額接近4300萬英鎊（含佣金），再次印證該專場在佳士得拍賣體系中的持續市場吸引力。
Toyen, Le devenir de la liberté. Courtesy of Christie’s.
尺寸僅 23.3 × 14.3公分，坦寧的《Children’s Games》在藝術史上卻具有重要意義。創作於1940年代，該作品屬於藝術家圍繞女性主體意識、青春成長與性覺醒的一系列關鍵探索。同時，該作品亦與她與超現實主義大師馬克斯・恩斯特（Max Ernst)之間廣為人知的情感關係密切相關——恩斯特當年為她與收藏家佩姬・古根漢（Peggy Guggenheim）離婚，並與坦寧相伴終生。
兩件格哈德・里希特（Gerhard Richter)作品同樣成為市場關注點。此前藝術家在巴黎路易威登基金會（Fondation Louis Vuitton）舉行的大型回顧展進一步鞏固了其在國際市場的地位。佳士得20與21世紀藝術部副主席 Katharine Arnold 與 Keith Gill 表示：「這兩件里希特的重要作品是該回顧展之後首次重返拍賣市場，最終亦獲得非常強勁的成交表現。」其中 《Schober》（1984）在第三方擔保支持下，最終以840萬英鎊（含佣金）成交。
值得注意的是，整場拍賣的競價節奏呈現出較為謹慎的特徵。儘管頂級作品仍能吸引穩定需求，但競投者普遍在出價前更加審慎評估，連續快速加價的激烈場面相對減少，反映出當前市場更趨理性與選擇性。
整場拍賣歷時近四小時，節奏甚至更接近日場拍賣，對現場參與者而言幾乎是一場「耐力賽」。其中一段頗具戲劇性的插曲出現在馬克斯・恩斯特Max Ernst《Seestück（Seascape）》的競投過程中。該作在拍賣過程中一度流拍，但在拍賣結束前重新開放競投，最終以120萬英鎊（含佣金）成交，略低於其 150萬英鎊的低估價。
在總結當晚拍賣結果時，Arnold 與 Gill 表示：「佳士得今晚的成交表現將在一定程度上影響未來市場討論的方向，並為接下來幾個季度的全球藝術市場節奏提供參照。」
本場拍賣亦具有象徵意義。為慶祝佳士得成立260週年，行政總裁 Bonnie Brennan 在拍賣開始前揭幕了一座全新的手工橡木拍賣台（rostrum）。該設計由 Sir Jony Ive 與 LoveFrom 工作室重新構思，靈感來自18世紀由Thomas Chippendale為 創始人James Christie打造的原始拍賣台。與此同時，整個拍賣空間亦以近似當代影院的方式呈現，使拍賣本身更具劇場感與儀式感。某種程度上，這場晚間拍賣不僅是一場市場交易，更是一場精心編排的藝術市場盛會。
整體而言，本次倫敦晚間拍賣再次凸顯出當前市場的結構性趨勢：具有重要藝術史地位、清晰可靠來源與系統收藏脈絡的作品依然仍能夠吸引穩健需求；而其他類別則呈現更為審慎的競投節奏。與其將此解讀為市場降溫，不如視其為進入一個更加精準與挑剔的新階段——稀缺性、可靠來源與博物館級品質，正日益成為決定市場表現的核心因素。
Text by 撰文 x Rinka Fan
