On the afternoon of July 16, 2024, Christie's Global held an online press conference to review Christie's' stable auction business in the first half of 2024.Total global sales of USD 2.1 billion / GBP 1.7 billion (-22% compared to H1 2023); including online sales of USD 173 million / GBP 136 million.

Christie’s Chief Executive Officer Stephen Smith commented: “Although Christie’s sales totals declined slightly, our auction business remained solid in the first half of the year.In the face of a challenging macroeconomic environment, we maintain and improve key performance indicators.

Key Stats:

• Auction sales: USD 2.1 billion (USD 2.7 billion in the same period last year)
• Transaction rate: 87% (87% in the same period last year)
• Hammer price to low estimate ratio: 111% (compared to 107% in the same period last year)
• Online bidding: 82% (79% in the same period last year)
• The most expensive artworks sold worldwide: 6 out of 10 sold by Christie’s (compared to 4 in the same period last year)
• Millennials and Gen Z customers: 29% (29% in the same period last year)
• Contribution ratio of buyers in each region: Americas 41% / Europe, Middle East and Africa 38% / Asia Pacific 21%
• Private sales were strong in all regions, attracting new buyers.

Regional performance

America

• The number of new buyers from the Americas increased, driven by sales of 20th and 21st century art.
• The highest-priced lot sold at Christie's Americas in the first half of the year: Andy Warhol's "Flowers", sold for US$35,500.

• The May auction week totaled $640 million: 15 lots sold for more than $10 million, including Vincent van Gogh's Garden Corner with Butterflies ($33.20 million), as well as masterpieces by Georgia O'Keeffe and Joan Mitchell.

• Notable sales drove the market: the Collection of Norman and Rosa de la Cruz, an exceptional jewellery designer, achieved a total of US$60.2 million, with 100% of the lots sold, totalling US$34.4 million; and the Collection of Sir Elton John, which achieved a total of US$20.5 million.
• The total sales of Asian Art Week in March was US$51.80 million:One in five buyers was participating in this category of auction for the first time;
• The sale also set eight records, including Francis Newton Souza’s The Lover ($4.9 million) and Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji ($3.5 million);The Chinese Art Collection of Duleev Tapon Goldman sold for a total of US$19.1 million, with 52% of buyers coming from Asia..

• The Eden Rose pink diamond weighing 10.20 carats (US$13,300,000) and the Richard Mille limited edition RM56-02 AO tourbillon watch (US$3,000,000) were the lead lots in the June auction.

Asia-Pacific:

This year is an important year for Christie’s Asia Pacific development strategy, as the new Asia Pacific headquarters will soon move into The Henderson, a new landmark in Hong Kong.

• New and younger buyers from Asia Pacific continue to be influential, accounting for 26% and 38% of Christie’s global new buyer spend, respectively..
• Mainland China remains the second largest region in Asia Pacific for buyers, second only to Hong KongDriven by Christie’s strategic regional network and initiatives, major growth markets around the world achieved impressive results, with Southeast Asia’s transaction volume increasing by 18% compared to the first half of 2023, and the emergence of new buyers also led to a 39% increase in the number of buyers in India.
• HongkongThe total sales of the spring auctions reached HK$2.3 billion:The average sales rate of all types of lots is 90%;
• The lots sold at high prices included both works of art and fine art, with the highest-priced lot being an underglaze red plum vase with a pattern of waves, a cone-shaped arch and a blue dragon teaching his son from the "Shiquan-Wangxinglou Collection of Qing Dynasty Official Kiln Porcelain", which sold for HK$78 million.

• Andy Warhol’s masterpiece Flowers (HK$66,600) was the highest-priced lot in the 20th and 21st Century Art auction, followed by Zao Wou-Ki’s 10.01.68 (HK$63,000).

• The exquisite auction also brought a gemstone "INDIA TUTTI FRUTTI" necklace designed by Cartier (HK$68 million) and a rare Patek Philippe watch model 2523J (HK$65 million).

Europe, Middle East and Africa:

Customers from Europe, the Middle East and Africa accounted for 38% of the global auction turnover.Up from 35% in the first half of 2023.

• The three highest-priced Christie's auction lots in the world were sold in London in the first half of the year.Including René Magritte's "Close Friends", which sold for £33,700.

• Christie’s London sales of 20th and 21st century art totalled £229.3 million, leading the local auction market (up 14% year-on-year), with four lots among the top five highest-priced lots of the season, including David Hockney’s California (£18.70 million), Claude Monet’s masterpiece Seine et Marne, Morning on a Clear Day (£14.40 million), a painting by Rene Magritte, and Francis Bacon’s View near the Malabata, Tangier (£19.60 million).

• The private collection auction includes: Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler's guitar collection (£8.8 million);
• The 100% sold Ivory Collection of fine wines; the Schyen Collection, including the Crosby-Schyen Codex (£3 million), one of the oldest books in private hands; and the charity auction of Dame Vivienne Westwood's personal collection of clothes (£754,488).
• Christie’s recognises the importance of building meaningful connections and contributions to the art world.Supporting the Venice Biennale this year with the Nigerian Pavilion, and became a partner of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale.
• Christie’s leads the Paris art market, selling nine of the top 10 highest-priced lots in France in the first half of the year.
• Jean Siméon Chardin's masterpiece "Cut Melon" was sold for €27 million, becoming the most expensive lot sold in the French auction market in the first half of the year and setting a new world auction record for the artist.

• The Paris auction of private collections was very successful: the highest total was achieved by the Barbier-Mueller Collection, which achieved a total of €73 million and set new world auction records for African Art, Oceanian Art and American Art. Among them, a world auction record for African art was set for a head of an Aromatique reliquary (€14.80 million).
• More than 40 lots were acquired by major museums in France and around the world, including the Louvre, Quai Branly and the Van Gogh Museum.
• The May Geneva auction: The lead lot was nine watches from the collection of Formula One legend Michael Schumacher (CHF 4 million); an FP Journe Vagabondage I watch sold for CHF 1.5 million; the "Magnificent Jewels" auction had a sell-through rate of 97%, including a 202-carat "Yellow Rose" diamond sold for CHF 6 million.

Looking ahead, Christie’s will host a series of key events:

Hongkong: Christie’s will open its new 50,000 square foot Asia Pacific headquarters at The Henderson in September this year, with the inaugural sale of 20th and 21st Century Art to be held on 26 and 27 September, followed by the Fine Art sale in October and the Asian Art sale in November.

London:The exhibition "Ahmed Mater: Chronicles" will open on July 18 and run until August 22, showcasing the works of Saudi Arabian artist Ahmed Mater, including photography, film, painting, sculpture and art installations.

New York:The Genone: Masterpieces of Innovation from the Collection of Paul G. Allen, the late philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder, will be held live on September 12, with two online sales. Paris: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's Jane Avril at the Japanese Café (1892) will be on view in the flagship 20th and 21st century art sale, Avant-garde Presents Italian Thought, in Paris on October 18.

Note to Christie’s Editors
In line with standard financial practice, Christie’s uses auction-weighted averages to account for exchange rate fluctuations. Please note that for the first half of 2024, all cumulative auction data is shown in GBP and USD, with a auction-weighted average (SWA) of GBP1:USD12.72 (2023 SWA is GBP1:USD1.245). The price shown for each lot in 2024 is the sold price. All auction data includes the buyer’s premium, net of any applicable fees.