1. The most expensive fine art lot sold in November was Claude Monet’s Muele fetching $81,447,500. The oil painting was auctioned at Christie’s New York in a 14-minute bidding battle on November 16, 2016 in the Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale. Monet painted the same scene many times, often at different times of the day or with the changing seasons. We offer one of Monet's versions of Grainstack at Sunset, 1891.
2. Sotheby’s Geneva shines at the top spot for auctioning the most expensive decorative art lot sold in November. The 17.07 carat pink diamond ring went for a whopping 20,825,000 CHF (20,825,000 USD) on November 16, 2016 in the Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale. Rings were one of the top five collecting categories searched in the Price Database Decorative Art in the month of November.
3. Out of 103 cities across the globe that offered artworks at auction, New York had the highest total sales—10,261 lots sold for a total of $1,992,660,669. Hong Kong came at a close second with a total of $672,735,589. Both New York and Hong Kong were also the top cities in total sales in November 2015 and 2014.
4. Heritage Auctions set a new world record for Robert Crumb by selling his most expensive work of all time during their Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction on November 18, 2016. The original set of four drawings sold for $143,400, with a low estimate of $500. Heritage has been a key contributor to the rise in value of Crumb’s works over the years.
5. There were 332 new artists added to the Price Database last month, including contemporary Chinese artist Michael Lau. His painting, Wall of Jordan (triptych), sold for 1,375,000 HKD during the Asian Contemporary (Day Sale) at Christie’s Hong Kong on November 27, 2016. A portion of the sale from this lot will be donated to the charity Youth Outreach.
