The Getty sales are proof that the market continues to value great connoisseurship and that quality is timeless.
An extraordinary series of auctions ended on October 25 with the infamous sale of the Ann & Gordon Getty Collection. Over a span of two weeks and ten auctions (four live and six online), more than 1,500 fine and decorative works of art, jewelry and fabrics from the famous couple's private collection were sold at Christie's. A resounding success that saw 100% of sales for a total of over $150 million, which will be donated to the charitable organization Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation for the Arts, dedicated to supporting artistic and scientific institutions.
Related: Glamorous Jewelry from the "Fabergé of Today" at Auction
Although the considerable sum is less than the $180 million that had been estimated before the sale, the Ann & Gordon Getty Collection nevertheless climbs to the podium, ranking among the top three collections of figurative and decorative arts to sell at Christie's, together with the Collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé and the Peggy and David Rockefeller Collection.
The offer ranged from furniture to English and European decorative arts, jewelry, bags, Chinese works of art, 18th and 19th century art, Impressionist landscapes and portraits, and many more.
Related: Mary Cassatt: The Independent Impressionist
Volume 1: Important Pictures and Decorative Arts, held on Thursday, October 20, was the first live auction and the only evening sale in the series, attracting nearly 2 million viewers online and reaching a total of $79,408,900, with 100% of lots sold. The top lot was Mary Cassatt's Young Lady in a Loge Gazing to Right, which sold for $7,489,000. Originally owned by Paul Gauguin, it was acquired by the Pola Museum of Art in Hakone, Japan, and set a new record for the artist.
New records were also set by Jacques-Émile Blanche with Vaslav Nijinsky in 'Danse Siamoise', which sold for $2,700,000 against a starting estimate of $1,000,000, and Jules Bastien-Lepage with Portrait de Sarah Bernhardt, which changed hands for $2,280,000 (against a lower estimate of $500,000). Jean-Antoine Watteau's drawing Three Head Studies Of A Girl Wearing A Hat, on the other hand, set a record for a work on paper by the artist with a total of $3,420,000, more than double its lowest estimate of $1,500,000.
Related: Antoine Watteau: Frivolity and Melancholy
Volume 2: Old Masters, 19th and 20th Century Paintings, another live auction held on Friday 21 October, featured some stunning 18th century Venetian views, as well as Impressionist and 19th century paintings. A total of $33,871,230 was auctioned with 100% of lots sold again. The highest lot was Henri Matisse's Paysage avec Cyprès et Oliviers aux Environs de Nice, which sold for $2,220,000, nearly 15 times its minimum estimate.
Related: Matisse: Master of the Fauves
Sales continued on October 22 with Volume 3: English and European Furniture, Porcelain and Silver. On this occasion, furniture and decorative arts from the interiors of the Getty couple's home in San Francisco were offered. The lots totaled $13,408,320, 264% higher than the lower estimate.
Related: Chinese Porcelain: How to Build a Collection
It was a great success for a series of twelve German painted panels, sold for $2,280,000 (more than 10 times the lower estimate of $200,000), and for Chinese and Japanese porcelain, with some items sold for over 25 times the lower estimate. An exquisite pair of Japanese porcelain rabbits fetched $226,800, against a lower estimate of $5,000; while a pair of dogs in Japanese Arita porcelain export were sold for $18,900, far exceeding the estimate of $7,000.
The last live sale ended on October 23 with Volume 4: Chinese Works of Art, English and European Furniture and Decorative Arts, which featured 176 works from the most intimate spaces of the Getty's San Francisco residence, such as the bedrooms upstairs. The auction in this case totaled $12,831,336 and was sold again in its entirety. A pair of ebonized and gilded octagonal tables with Italian marble tops changed hands for $428,400, more than five times the lower estimate of $80,000. Six supplementary online sales, which offered 900 lots of various kinds, exceeded $10 million in the following days.
Want more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our free newsletter!
"We are all immensely proud to have overseen a week of sales that has confirmed Ann Getty’s exquisite taste and singular eye for excellence," said Jonathan Rendell, Christie's Deputy Chairman. "It is especially gratifying to see the strength in interest across the board from Chinese Works of Art, to English and Continental Furniture, to textiles, table decorations, and handbags. The Getty sales are proof that the market continues to value great connoisseurship and that quality is timeless."
