In the first month of 2023, everything old was new again. All of the top 15 most expensive lots sold at auction came from Old Masters sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s. The two houses each achieved white glove sales, with Christie’s bringing in $62.8 million and Sotheby’s raking in an impressive $86.6 million, totals not seen in this market for years.
“There is little question that new buyers are beginning to recognize the fundamental value in Old Masters,” veteran art dealer Robert Simon told Eileen Kinsella, “especially in contrast to contemporary art.”
After a short-lived “failed experiment” to move its Old Masters sales to April, Christie’s returned to its traditional January slot, helping to bolster the sales as marquee calendar events. A handful of artists achieved new records at auction, including Peter Paul Rubens for the grisly depiction of Salome presented with the head of Saint John the Baptist, which fetched the top price of the month at $26.9 million. Other notable lots include Francisco Goya’s double portrait, which sold for $16.4 million, comfortably within its presale estimate of $15 to $20 million, doubling the artist’s previous auction record of just $7.6 million.
Canaletto’s painting of the Rialto Bridge in Venice came from the collection of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, and was held back from the “Visionary” sale staged at Christies last November. The work sold for just $2.7 million, which Old Masters expert Milo Dickinson noted was a testament to the power of context, as it surely would have achieved significantly more money if sold among the other Allen masterpieces.
Below, see the full list of the top 15 most expensive works sold at auction in January 2023.
Sir Peter Paul Rubens, Salome presented with the head of Saint John the Baptist. Image courtesy Sotheby’s.
Estimate: $25 million to $35 million
Final Price: $26.9 million
Where & When: Sotheby’s New York, January 26, 2023
Francisco Goya, Portrait of Doña María Vicenta Barruso Valdés, seated on a sofa with a lap-dog; and Portrait of her mother Doña Leonora Antonia Valdés de Barruso, seated on a chair holding a fan. Courtesy of Christie’s Images, Ltd.
Estimate: $15 million to $20 million
Final Price: $16.4 million
Where & When: Christie’s New York, January 25, 2023
Bronzino, Portrait of a young man with a quill and a sheet of paper, possibly a self-portrait. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
Estimate: $3 million to $5 million
Final Price: $10.6 million
Where & When: Sotheby’s New York, January 26, 2023
Orazio Gentileschi, Penitent Saint Mary Magdalene. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
Estimate: $4 million to $6 million
Final Price: $4.9 million
Where & When: Sotheby’s New York, January 26, 2023
Valentin de Boulogne, Christ crowned with thorns. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
Estimate: $4 million to $6 million
Final Price: $4.89 million
Where & When: Sotheby’s New York, January 26, 2023
J.M.W. Turner, Pope’s Villa at Twickenham. Courtesy of Christie’s Images, Ltd.
Estimate: $4 million to $6 million
Final Price: $4.62 million
Where & When: Christie’s New York, January 25, 2023
Bernardo Cavallino, Saint Bartholomew. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
Estimate: $2.5 million to $3.5 million
Final Price: $3.92 million
Where & When: Sotheby’s New York, January 26, 2023
Georges de La Tour, Saint James the Greater. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
Estimate: $3.5 million to $5 million
Final Price: $3.68 million
Where & When: Sotheby’s New York, January 26, 2023
Anthony van Dyck, A study for Saint Jerome. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
Estimate: $2 million to $3 million
Final Price: $3 million
Where & When: Sotheby’s New York, January 26, 2023
Pieter Brueghel II, The Kermesse of Saint George. Courtesy of Christie’s Images, Ltd.
Estimate: $2.5 million to $3.5 million
Final Price: $2.94 million
Where & When: Christie’s New York, January 25, 2023
Frans van Mieris the Elder, A young woman sealing a letter by candlelight. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
Estimate: $1.5 million to $2 million
Final Price: $2.71 million
Where & When: Sotheby’s New York, January 26, 2023
Jean-Baptiste Oudry, Album containing a frontispiece and 138 illustrations for books I to VI of the Fables of Jean de La Fontaine (ca. 1729-34). Courtesy of Christie’s Images, Ltd.
Estimate: $1.5 million to $2 million
Final Price: $2.7 million
Where & When: Christie’s New York, January 25, 2023
Canaletto, The Rialto Bridge, Venice, from the south with an embarkation, traditionally identified as the Prince of Saxony during his visit to Venice in 1740 (1740). Courtesy of Christie’s Images, Ltd.
Estimate: $2.5 million to $3.5 million
Final Price: $2.7 million
Where & When: Christie’s New York, January 25, 2023
Master of the Spinola Annunciation, Nativity. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
Estimate: $2 million to $3 million
Final Price: $2.43 million
Where & When: Sotheby’s New York, January 26, 2023
Pieter Brueghel the Younger, The Wedding Procession (1630). Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
Estimate: $2 million to $3 million
Final Price: $2.23 million
Where & When: Sotheby’s New York, January 26, 2023
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