Art
Christie's Sales Rise 14% in First Half of 2017
- Sellers more willing to part with pricey artworks, CEO says
- Bronze head by Brancusi, sold for $57.4 million, was top lot
'La muse endormie' by Brancusi
Source: Christie'sChristie’s sales of art and collectibles climbed 14 percent during the first half of 2017 amid restructuring by new Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Cerutti and signs that the art market has turned the corner after last year’s contraction.
The tally at London-based Christie’s, the world’s largest art broker, increased to 2.35 billion pounds ($3 billion based on a weighted currency conversion rate), the company said Wednesday in a statement. Its most expensive artwork was an egg-shaped bronze head of a sleeping woman by Constantin Brancusi that fetched $57.4 million, setting an auction record for the modernist sculptor.