CHINESE ARTISTS SET RECORDS AT SOTHEBY’S SPRING AUCTIONS

A handful of Chinese artists broke world auction records for their work during Sotheby’s spring sales in Hong Kong on Monday, with demand proving robust for certain categories of Chinese art despite a global economic slump, according to Reuters.

Chinese artist Lin Fengmian’s rare oil painting Fishing Harvest, which went on the market for the first time, sold for around $2.1 million in brisk bidding, a world auction record for the artist, according to Sotheby’s. A quartet of Lin oil paintings of Chinese opera figures, sold separately, also fetched a combined total of around $3.1 million, far exceeding presale estimates. Of these, Mu Guiying Taking Command sold for $1.1 million, more than four times the presale estimate. Zhu Yuanzhi’s The Last Supper sold for $770,000, a world auction record for the artist. Huang Yongping and Sui Jianguo also broke worldwide auction records for their works, according to Sotheby’s. “It was a really nice surprise,” said Lily Lee, the head of the twentieth-century Chinese art department for Sotheby’s.

Sotheby’s biannual Asian sales in Hong Kong, often seen as a barometer for Chinese art-market sentiment, were noticeably smaller this time around given the weak market conditions. Yet some experts said a combination of cheaper, more realistic valuations and a condensed offering lacking in major blockbuster works had drawn an unexpectedly robust showing. “The market is there. Today is very strong,” said Anthony Lin, a fine-arts dealer and a former head of rival auction house Christie’s in Asia who attended the day’s sales.