Auction Watch: Sotheby’s Nets $6.2 Million for Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian Banana

Sotheby’s New York went “bananas” this November auction season with a headline-grabbing sale, yet the overall results were more modest. The evening sale netted $96.4 million, falling 12% below the presale low estimate and marking a significant 63% decline compared to the equivalent sales last season. Of the 46 lots, 35 found buyers, with 8 unsold and three withdrawn presale resulting in an 81% sell-through rate. Together, these works had a combined low estimate of $5.2 million, which could have pushed the hammer total past $100 million and closer to the presale low estimate.

Sotheby’s Contemporary Day Sale achieved a hammer total of $53.7 million, falling 6% below its presale estimate and performing 17% lower than the low presale estimate for its 2023 equivalent sale. Mirroring the Evening Sale, Roy Lichtenstein stood out with a stellar performance, setting several new records in the prints and multiples category. Of the 312 lots offered, 250 were sold, with 57% achieving prices above or within their estimates. However, 62 lots went unsold, slightly exceeding last year’s unsold count, resulting in an 80% sell-through rate.

The combined total of both sales reached $150.1 million which is a 43% decline from 2023.

Here are the highlights:

Maurizio Cattelan’s $6.2 Million Banana: A Viral Ready-Made

The sale began on a strong note, delivering solid results from contemporary “Now” artists, with several making their auction debuts. However, the spotlight was firmly on the million-dollar works in the Contemporary portion of the sale, particularly Cattelan’s infamous Comedian–a real banana duct-taped to a wall. This editioned artwork (three plus two artist proofs) first gained global fame at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019, where it sold for $120,000 and became a viral sensation.

Drawing parallels to Marcel Duchamp’s ready-mades, Comedian transforms an ordinary object into a profound conceptual statement. Because the banana itself will inevitably decay, the value of the work is shifted from the physical banana itself to the certificate of authenticity, highlighting ideas of impermanence, consumerism, and the commodification of art, all while showcasing the power of strategic marketing to drive its significance. During the sale, Comedian achieved at $6.2 million (with fees), surpassing Duchamp’s In Advance of The Broken Arm (a suspended snow shovel) that sold at Christie’s 20th-century auction for $3 million one day prior. The banana was purchased with crypto, and by crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, founder of Tron. Sotheby’s accepting cryptocurrency for certain lots of their Contemporary sales raises questions of whether the artworks, particularly the banana, would have achieved the same result without this option.

Ed Ruscha Achieves Top Results

Beyond the buzz around Cattelan’s banana, other notable highlights emerged, with Ed Ruscha taking the spotlight as the star lot of Sotheby’s Contemporary Evening Sale. Ruscha has had an exceptional November auction season, with record-breaking performances across multiple sales and auction houses. His diverse body of work has been a key driver of this success, offering collectors a variety of styles and themes.

The standout from this sale was George’s Flag (1999), a later work that encapsulates Ruscha’s recurring exploration of American identity. Featuring the American flag, blowing in the wind, set against an orange ombré background, the piece was both auction house-backed and third-party guaranteed. Despite this, it soared past its $12 million high estimate, hammering at $13 million, achieving $13.6 million with fees, and landing among Ruscha’s top ten selling works.

Given Ruscha’s stellar performance this season, his print market will be closely watched for potential spillover effects and sustained demand.

Looking To Buy Ruscha Prints?

Browse Ed Ruscha on the Trading Floor and sign up to MyPortfolio Collection Management.

Roy Lichtenstein Leads with Record-Breaking Results and $18.6 Million Contribution

Roy Lichtenstein dominated Sotheby’s sale with exceptional performances, as five of his six works exceeded estimates and one met expectations. These pieces, consigned from the collection of Dorothy and Roy Lichtenstein, were poised for success and lived up to the hype, particularly his Nudes series (1994), which continues to trend and command high value in the print market.

From the Nudes, Nude With Blue Hair was the standout print, highlighting the increasing desirability of this medium. The work set a new auction record, hammering at $800,000 and achieving $960,000 with fees. Other highlights included Nude with Pyramid (Study) (1994), estimated at $1.5 million, which hammered at $1.7 million and achieved over $2 million with fees, and Nude with Bust (Study) (1995), which hammered at $3.8 million and reached $4.5 million with fees.

Another 1990s creation, Oval Office (Study) (1992), performed exceptionally, doubling its high estimate of $1.5 million and achieving $4.2 million with fees. This printed edition of this work has been trending in the market throughout 2024, with three sales recorded this year alone. The printed edition most recently sold at Sotheby’s in October, achieving £45,215 (GBP) with fees.

Spanning multiple decades of Lichtenstein’s practice, Still Life With Picasso (1970s) hammered at $2 million and climbed to $2.4 million with fees, while Sleeping Muse (1980s) hammered at $3.7 million, exceeding its $3 million high estimate and achieving $4.4 million with fees.

In total, Lichtenstein’s works contributed $18.6 million to the sale, accounting for 19% of the hammer total and solidifying his position as a driving force in the auction.

Looking To Buy Lichtenstein Prints?

Browse Roy Lichtenstein on the Trading Floor and sign up to MyPortfolio Collection Management.

New Market Trend: Richard Prince's Nurse Painting’s

Richard Prince’s Nurse on Trial (2005), from his recently trending Nurse series, performed exceptionally well at Sotheby’s. Featuring a nurse with a white face mask and the title stenciled across the canvas, the piece made its second auction appearance, having originally sold in 2014 for $5.7 million with fees. This time, the work hammered at $6 million and achieved $6.7 million with fees.

This sale marks the second Nurse painting by Prince to appear at auction in 2024. This sale represents a significant leap from the £4.1 million (with fees) achieved by Hurricane Nurse (2004) during Christie’s October London sales, demonstrating Prince’s growing market presence, particularly for these paintings, this year.

Andy Warhol’s Endangered Species Achieves $4.3 million

Sotheby’s Contemporary Day Sale, though falling slightly below its presale low estimate, brought excitement with multiple new auction records in the prints and multiples category. Andy Warhol, absent from the Contemporary Evening Sale, delivered standout results in the Day Sale.

The complete set of his Endangered Species collection (1983) stole the spotlight, hammering at $3.6 million and achieving $4.3 million with fees, breaking the previous record of £2.9 million (GBP) set in March 2021. Additionally, Warhol’s Queen Elizabeth (F. & S. II.335) (1985) had a noteworthy result, surpassing expectations and hammering at $130,000 and achieving $204,000 with fees.

Looking To Buy Warhol Prints?

Browse Andy Warhol on the Trading Floor and sign up to MyPortfolio Collection Management.

Roy Lichtenstein’s Nudes Prints Set New Records

Following the success of the evening sale, Lichtenstein delivered a stellar performance in Sotheby’s Day Sale with a series of prints and multiples also consigned by the Lichtenstein estate. The top-performing print, Water Lily Pond with Reflections (1992), hammered at $1.2 million, doubling its modest $600,000 high estimate and achieving $1.4 million with fees, just shy of its record set in 2023.

Two rare works from Lichtenstein’s Nudes series (1994), Roommates and Nude With Yellow Pillow, set remarkable new auction records. Both hammered at $1 million and achieved $1.2 million with fees, surpassing their previous records of approximately $500,000 and far exceeding their $350,000 high estimates.

Other standout sales included I Love Liberty (Study) (1982), which hammered at $650,000 and achieved $780,000 with fees, and Small House (1997), which hammered at $950,000 and achieved $1.1 million with fees, further highlighting the strong demand for Lichtenstein’s works across a variety of themes. All exceptional performance that will significantly boost Lichtenstein’s year-end totals for his print market performance.

Looking To Buy Lichtenstein Prints?

Browse Roy Lichtenstein on the Trading Floor and sign up to MyPortfolio Collection Management.

Keith Haring’s Subway Drawings Achieve $9.2M in Sotheby’s Contemporary Sale

Contributing to the thoughtfully curated sale, Sotheby’s showcased Keith Haring’s iconic subway drawings from the collection of Larry Warsh. The collection of 31 drawings performed impressively, as anticipated, with the entire group backed by house guarantees and several supported by irrevocable bids. Notably, cryptocurrency was also accepted as payment for several of these works, reflecting Sotheby’s, new, and innovative approach to transactions.

Eight of the drawings exceeded their high estimates, with the top lot, Still Alive in ‘85, hammering at $750,000 against a $700,000 high estimate and achieving $900,000 with fees. Together, the collection brought in $7.6 million at the hammer ($9.2 million with fees), contributing a substantial 14% to the total hammer of the sale.

Looking To Buy Haring Prints?

Browse Keith Haring on the Trading Floor and sign up to MyPortfolio Collection Management.

Market Performance: Sotheby’s November Sales Total $589.3M With New Records and Crypto Integration

Spanning six sales in evening and day formats, Sotheby’s achieved a total hammer of $589.3 million, falling below the presale low estimate of $624.5 million. Despite this shortfall, the auction house delivered well-curated events, highlighted by fresh provenance in the Sydell Miller Collection and the buzzworthy $6 million banana in the evening sale.

Sotheby’s also set numerous new records in the prints and multiples category, showcasing strong demand in this segment. A standout feature of this season was the acceptance of cryptocurrency for select works, signaling a potential shift in the art market. Whether this innovation becomes a lasting trend or proves to be a short-lived experiment remains to be seen. Refer to our Phillips, Christie's, and Sotheby's Modern auction reports for detailed analysis.