Top Spanish artists

[02/09/2016]

In Artprice’s fortnightly series of auction rankings, today’s Friday Top article looks at the 10 most successful Spanish artists at auction over the past decade.

In the global ranking of national Fine Art auction marketplaces, Spain has descended to 23rd position with an annual turnover of $21 million last year. It is therefore behind Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Turkey… and yet the world’s most sought-after artist was born in Spain.

Top 10 Spanish masterpieces (2006H2 – 2016H1)
Rang Artiste Adjudication Oeuvre Vente
1 Pablo PICASSO 179 365 000$ Les femmes d’Alger (Version ‘O’)
(1955)
05/11/2015,
Christie’s New York NY
2 Pablo PICASSO 106 482 500$ Nude, Green Leaves and Bust
(1932)
05/04/2010,
Christie’s New York NY
3 Pablo PICASSO 67 450 000$ La Gommeuse (1901) 11/05/2015,
Sotheby’s New York NY
4 Pablo PICASSO 67 365 000$ Buste de femme (Femme à la résille)
(1938)
05/11/2015,
Christie’s New York NY
5 Pablo PICASSO 63 220 335$ Femme assise (1909) 06/21/2016,
Sotheby’s Londres
6 Juan GRIS 57 006 495$ Nature morte à la nappe à carreaux
(1915)
02/04/2014,
Christie’s Londres
7 Pablo PICASSO 51 373 651$ Portrait d’Angel Fernandez de Soto
(1903)
06/23/2010,
Christie’s Londres
8 Pablo PICASSO 44 964 025$ Femme assise près d’une fenêtre
(1932)
02/05/2013,
Sotheby’s Londres
9 Pablo PICASSO 41 522 500$ Nature Morte Aux Tulipes
(1932)
11/08/2012,
Sotheby’s New York NY
10 Pablo PICASSO 40 693 943$ La lecture (1932) 02/08/2011,
Sotheby’s Londres
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As we all know, the world art market is absolutely dominated by a Spanish artist. Pablo Picasso is not only the most expensive artist in auction history, he is also the only artist to have created three works that have gone beyond the $100 million threshold in public sales. Over the last decade, the incredible Picasso has generated the top result for a Spanish artist every year… except one: in 2014, the estimate for Juan Gris’ Nature morte à la nappe à carreaux (1915) at Christie’s in London was buried by nearly $30 million, a truly spectacular result based on the work’s impeccable quality, its highly successful cubist shapes, its rarity and its irreproachable provenance (a private collection in Switzerland). Moreover the work had never been to auction. To bury an estimate by $30 million you have to be looking at a jewel that every great museum would dream of having in their collections. So, in 10 years, the great Pablo Picasso conceded one first place in the annual Top 10 best auction results for Spanish artists to his compatriot Juan Gris.

The most sought-after artist in the world

Picasso is more popular than ever before and his auction stats are remarkable. In 2015, the auction market digested no less than 2,875 works by the master, an average of eight per day, generating a total of more than $650 million (up 49% on the previous year). Picasso has returned to his position as the most coveted artist in the world ahead of the American Andy Warhol, the market leader in 2014. His best-ever result is also the best-ever result in art market history: on 11 May 2015 a version of his Les Femmes d’Alger (1955) fetched $179.3 million. To put this result in perspective consider that in just ten minutes of bidding, this work generated more than the Italian art market (all periods combined) in a year of auction sales. Italy is the global sixth national marketplace (Fine Art turnover of $169 million in 2015).

Spanish art digested by the Anglo-Saxon market

Unfortunately, the best Spanish masterpieces, Old Masters and Modern works alike, do not benefit their domestic market because they end up being sold in London or New York where the market is more dynamic and auction records are regular occurrences. Thus, over the past decade, the Top 10 Spanish masterpieces have all sold in one of these two major capitals, five in each to be precise. On the most prestigious market segments, Christie’s and Sotheby’s seem to be the only auctioneers capable of selling works at their highest possible price. Moreover, they don’t hesitate to make heavy financial commitments to vendors via their guarantee systems for the sale of these masterpieces.With an entry ticket of $40 million (Picasso, La Lecture, 1932) and a summit at $179.3 million (Picasso, Les femmes d’Alger, 1955), no other marketplaces in the world are able to compete with these results. With an annual Fine Art turnover of $21 million, the entire annual Spanish art market represents just over half the value of the least expensive painting in this ranking. Unfortunately this contradiction is not just confined to the country’s Modern works. It is also apparent on its other market segments, including that of Old Masters and Spanish 19th century art.

In fact, the best prices for works signed Diego Velasquez (1599-1660), El Greco (1541-1614), Jusepe de Ribera (1588 / 91-1652), Francisco Goya (1746-1828) and Francisco de Zurbaran (1598-1664) are hammered primarily in London, and if not, in New York. Their auction stats clearly illustrate this: more than half the auction turnover from works by Ribera and Goya is generated in London, compared with 21% and 29% respectively in New York. What remains to be sold on the Spanish market represents only a tiny share, a share that is even smaller than the share sold in France, a country with a strong appetite for the major Spanish signatures.

Top 10 Spanish masterpieces by Old Masters and 19th Century artists (2006H2 – 2016H1)
Rang Artiste Adjudication Oeuvre Vente
1 Diego VELASQUEZ $16,983,140 Saint Rufina 07/04/2007,
Sotheby’s Londres
2 Domenikos EL GRECO $13,907,516 Saint Dominic in Prayer 07/03/2013,
Sotheby’s Londres
3 Jusepe DE RIBERA $6,241,558 Prometheus 07/08/2009,
Sotheby’s Londres
4 Domenikos EL GRECO $6,101,000 The Entombment of Christ 04/14/2016,
Christie’s New York
5 Domenikos EL GRECO $5,877,000 The Annunciation 01/30/2014,
Sotheby’s New York
6 Domenikos EL GRECO $5,229,846 Christ on the Cross 07/03/2013,
Sotheby’s Londres
7 Diego VELASQUEZ $4,613,567 Portrait of a gentleman 12/07/2011,
Bonhams Londres
8 Francisco José DE GOYA Y LUCIENTES $4,506,153 Bajan Riñendo or Vision de Bajar Riñendo 07/08/2008,
Christie’s Londres
9 Francisco José DE GOYA Y LUCIENTES $4,243,870 Equestrian Portrait of don Manuel Godoy Duke of Alcudia 07/08/2009,
Sotheby’s Londres
10 Francisco DE ZURBARAN $4,226,500 Saint Dorothy, Full-Length, Holding a Basket of Apples and Roses 01/28/2010,
Sotheby’s New York
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