Christie's auction house in New York.
CNBC
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Auction house Christie's just sold a painting for more than $100 million, although the artwork, buyer and seller were officially kept secret.
In an interview with CNBC, CEO Guillaume Cerutti said Christie's sold a painting in January in a private sale with a price “in excess of $100 million,” although the auction house declined to provide details.
Art dealers familiar with the transaction told CNBC that the painting was “No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red)” by Mark Rothko, painted in 1951. It was sold by Russian billionaire and collector Dmitry Rybolovlev, who bought the piece for $140. millions. euros in 2014.
Kenneth Griffin, the hedge fund billionaire and CEO of Citadel, bought the piece from Rybolovlev last month. Griffin, a major nine-figure art collector, declined to comment through a spokesman.
Ken Griffin, CEO of Citadel, on CNBC's Delivering Alpha on September 28, 2022.
Scott Mlyn | CNBC
The mysterious nature of the sale, with few details publicly available, highlights the rapid growth in recent years of private sales, a secretive and little-noticed corner of the auction world. In a private sale, a work is taken for possible sale to an auction house, which contacts its main clients and negotiates a deal. Private sales have increased since the Covid-19 pandemic, as more and more collectors prefer discreet transactions out of the public eye.
Last year, Christie's racked up $1.2 billion in private sales, up 49% from pre-pandemic levels and adding to its $5 billion in public auction sales. Auction house Sotheby's reported $1.2 billion in private sales, up from $1.1 billion in 2022.
Mark Rothko, no. 6 (violet, green and red).
Private sales are especially effective for coveted masterpieces and can often eclipse the highest prices at auction. Last year, the most expensive work Christie's sold at public auction was a painting of a water lily by Monet worth $74 million, but Cerutti said he sold one work at a private sale for an undisclosed higher price.
He said private sales work especially well during periods of economic uncertainty. Last year, total sales at major auction houses fell 19%, according to ArtTactic.
“[Private sales] are the perfect market to be countercyclical,” he said. “When the market is more difficult with the auction, sellers or consignors may feel that there is a risk for them of not selling the object and therefore, when an object does not sell it , it will be more difficult to sell in the coming years. “When the market is more challenging, private sales generally perform better.”
Cerutti also said clients like it “because it's fast and confidential.” It's also a way for Christie's to “get closer to the best collectors in the world.”
The $100 million sale could also be a positive sign for the broader art and collectibles market as Christie's prepares for its spring sales. His auction of “The Sir Elton John Collection,” featuring more than 900 items from the musician's former home in Atlanta, rose to $20.5 million, more than double the estimate.
The top lot was Banksy's “Flower Thrower Triptych,” which sold for $1.9 million. A Rolex Daytona wristwatch with a leopard print dial sold for $176,400 and a pair of silver platform boots sold for $94,500, more than 19 times the lowest price of estimates. John's beloved 1990 Bentley Continental sold for $441,000, well above its low estimate of $25,000.
Christie's said more than 450,000 collectors and fans searched the deals online in the weeks leading up to the auctions. The live auction attracted nearly a million views from around the world, the auction house said.
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