Artmarket.com: Artprice's valuation department updates the value of 1999's five top-selling works at auction

"Imagine that in the first quarter of 2021, you acquired the Boticelli portrait, Beeple's NFT and the three paintings by Basquiat, Banksy and Picasso. How much will these works be worth in a quarter of a century? The future will tell us which are the best operations, but experience so far suggests that a strategy of buying the most expensive works pays the highest dividends".

The 5 most expensive works at auction in 1999 vs. Artpricing's low estimates in 2021

Cézanne's still lifes have doubled in value

Curtain, jug and fruit bowl (c.1893-1894) was purchased for $60.5 million on 10 May 1999 in New York, well above Sotheby's estimated range ($25 - 35 million). Twenty years later, this is still the record price for Paul Cézanne at auction. But that doesn't mean its value has contracted.

Six months later, a smaller still life, entitled Bouilloire et fruits (Kettle and fruits) (1888-1890), fetched $29.5 million; it was among the top 5 fine art auction results of 1999 and also substantially exceeded its estimated range ($15m - 20 million). Its current value is more or less known, since the work sold on 13 May 2019 at Christie's New York for $59.3 million.

The price of Paul Cézanne's still lifes has thus doubled since 1999. This has been confirmed by several other examples, including Still Life (c.1890) purchased for $3.8 million at Sotheby's in New York on 11 November 1999 and resold for $8.1 million on 14 November 2017 by the same auction house, generating a capital gain of +110%.

Resales within shorter periods suggest that Paul Cézanne's prices essentially rose at the very beginning of the 21st century. Acquired for $18 million in June 2000 at Christie's in London, his Nature morte aux fruits et pot de ginger (c. 1895) sold for $37 million at Sotheby's New York on 7 November 2006.

In view of these results, it is reasonable to estimate that Cézanne's Curtain, jug and fruit bowl (c.1893-1894) could fetch around $120 to 130 million today, while the value of his Kettle and fruits painting (c.1888-1890) is probably still around $60 million (its sale price in May 2019).

Picasso still more expensive, but Seurat's values look flat

Woman seated in a garden (1938) is one of Picasso's best paintings not yet owned by a museum and it could well be worth over $200 million today. By way of comparison, a painting of equal importance, Women of Algiers (Version 'O') (1955) was acquired for $32 million in November 1997 and resold for $179 million in 2015.

Nude in a Black Armchair (1932) purchased in 1999 has a twin work on the market: same title, same year of creation, same dimensions, same subject (one could be mistaken for thinking they were the same painting). However, in May 2010, the price of this twin work reached $106.5 million. It therefore seems reasonable to estimate the current value of each of the two works at around $120 - $150 million.

On the other hand, the value of Georges Seurat's Paysage, Île de la Grande Jatte (1884) has probably not changed much in 22 years. The work still holds the artist's auction record, but unlike Paul Cézanne's still lifes, which have doubled in value, recent Seurat results suggest the value of this painting hasn't evolved that much.

In May 2018, La rade de Grandcamp (1885), a canvas of the same dimensions as Paysage, Île de la Grande Jatte (1984) and of the same quality, reached $34 million at Christie's in New York. This result suggests that collector demand for Seurat's works has remained roughly constant over the past 22 years.

In conclusion, the combined purchase value of the five top results of 1999 was $219.8 million, and, according to the analysis conducted by Artprice's Artpricing service, the current low estimate for the value of this group of works is around $530 million.

Images :
[https://imgpublic.artprice.com/img/wp/sites/11/2021/03/1-Artmarket-Artprice-Evolution-of-the-portfolio-1999-vs-2021.png]

[https://imgpublic.artprice.com/img/wp/sites/11/2021/03/2-Paul-Cezanne-Rideau-cruchon-et-compotier.png]

1. Renneboog L. & Spaenjers C. (2009). Buying Beauty: On Prices and Returns in the Art Market. Discussion Paper 2009-004, Tilburg University, Tilburg Law and Economic Center.

Copyright 1987-2021 thierry Ehrmann www.artprice.com - www.artmarket.com

Artpricing, price estimate reports by Artprice: Fill out the form online and receive an estimate report produced by our specialists within 3 days: https://www.artprice.com/estimate

Try our services (free demo): https://www.artprice.com/demo

Subscribe to our services: https://www.artprice.com/subscription

About Artmarket:

Artmarket.com is listed on Eurolist by Euronext Paris, SRD long only and Euroclear: 7478 - Bloomberg: PRC - Reuters: ARTF.

Discover Artmarket and its Artprice department on video: www.artprice.com/video

Artmarket and its Artprice department was founded in 1997 by its CEO, thierry Ehrmann. Artmarket and its Artprice department is controlled by Groupe Serveur, created in 1987.

See certified biography in Who's who ©:
imgpublic.artprice.com/img/wp/sites/11/2019/10/biographie_oct2019_WhosWho_thierryEhrmann.pdf

Artmarket is a global player in the Art Market with, among other structures, its Artprice department, world leader in the accumulation, management and exploitation of historical and current art market information in databanks containing over 30 million indices and auction results, covering more than 770,000 artists.

Artprice Images® allows unlimited access to the largest Art Market image bank in the world: no less than 180 million digital images of photographs or engraved reproductions of artworks from 1700 to the present day, commented by our art historians.

Artmarket with its Artprice department accumulates data on a permanent basis from 6300 Auction Houses and produces key Art Market information for the main press and media agencies (7,200 publications). Its 4.5 million 'members log in' users have access to ads posted by other members, a network that today represents the leading Global Standardized Marketplace® to buy and sell artworks at a fixed or bid price (auctions regulated by paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article L 321.3 of France's Commercial Code).

Artmarket with its Artprice department, has been awarded the State label "Innovative Company" by the Public Investment Bank (BPI) (for the second time in November 2018 for a new period of 3 years) which is supporting the company in its project to consolidate its position as a global player in the market art.

Artprice by Artmarket's 2020 Global Art Market Report published in March 2021:
https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-art-market-in-2020

Index of press releases posted by Artmarket with its Artprice department:
serveur.serveur.com/press_release/pressreleaseen.htm

Follow all the Art Market news in real time with Artmarket and its Artprice department on Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/artpricedotcom/ (over 5 million followers)
twitter.com/artmarketdotcom
twitter.com/artpricedotcom

Discover the alchemy and universe of Artmarket and its artprice department http://web.artprice.com/video headquartered at the famous Organe Contemporary Art Museum "The Abode of Chaos" (dixit The New York Times): https://issuu.com/demeureduchaos/docs/demeureduchaos-abodeofchaos-opus-ix-1999-2013

L'Obs - The Museum of the Future: https://youtu.be/29LXBPJrs-o

www.facebook.com/la.demeure.du.chaos.theabodeofchaos999 
(4.5 million followers)

https://vimeo.com/124643720

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1477248/Artmarket_Evolution.jpg  
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1477249/Artmarket_Paul_Cezanne.jpg  
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1009603/Art_Market_logo.jpg

Contact Artmarket.com and its Artprice department - Contact: Thierry Ehrmann, [email protected]