5 Important Auctions to Watch in November

The fall auction season is in full swing, and buyers are seeking new trophies to add to their collections.

Installation view of the David Bowie auction preview at Sotheby's New York. Courtesy of Sarah Cascone.

The fall auction season is in full swing, and buyers are seeking new trophies to add to their collections.

From London to New York, works by blue-chip artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Wassily Kandinsky, Rufino Tamayo, and Gerhard Richter are expected to fetch millions, and fans are eager to bid on David Bowie’s impressive 350-work art collection.

In anticipation of the November auctions, with the help of the artnet Price Database, artnet News compiled a list of five of the most important sales taking place across the globe this month.

Also on offer from Bowie's collection is Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (1984). Courtesy Sotheby's London.

Also on offer from Bowie’s collection is Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (1984). Courtesy Sotheby’s London.

1. Sotheby’s London: Bowie/Collector, Part 1: Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Auction – Thursday, November 10
Rock icon David Bowie was an avid art collector. The collection shows that he drawn to a range of 20th century artists but the real showstopper of this sale will be the Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Air Power.

2. Swann Galleries, New York: Contemporary Art – Tuesday, November 15
Swann features a sale of 20th century prints and drawings, including artists such as Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Sol LeWitt and more.

Wassily Kandinsky, Kreis u. Fleck / Cercle et tache / Circle and Spot. Courtesy of Stockholms Auktionsverk.

Wassily Kandinsky, Kreis u. Fleck / Cercle et tache / Circle and Spot (1929). Courtesy of Stockholms Auktionsverk.

3. Stockholms Auktionsverk: IngaBritt & Arne Lundberg Collection – Tuesday, November 15
The auction house is calling this sale one of the most important sales in its 342 year history. The collection features important European artists from the 20th century. The highlight of the sale is 1929’s Kreis u. Fleck / Cercle et tache / Circle and Spot by Wassily Kandinsky, an oil-on-canvas work that has been exhibited around the world.

4. Sotheby’s New York: Contemporary Art Evening Auction – Thursday, November 17
With total estimates reaching $30 million, this sale features some of the best known artists of the past 50 years. Including a selection from the Steven & Ann Ames Collection, the sale offers works from Gerhard Richter, Willem de Kooning and Georg Baselitz.

Rufino Tamayo, Sandias y Naranja (1957). Courtesy of Sotheby's.

Rufino Tamayo, Sandias y Naranja (1957). Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

5. Sotheby’s New York: Latin America: Modern Art – November 22–23
This sale features both sculpture and painting from an array of Latin American artists, as well as impressive contributions from Mexico. See a Cubist landscape by Diego Rivera, an early work by Frida Kahlo, along with a Rufino Tamayo canvas of three watermelons and an orange, which was once owned by the actress Audrey Hepburn.

The artnet Price Database offers the most comprehensive archive of auction results in the world, comprising over 10 million records dating back to 1985. Learn more about the database here.


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