2001-05-18 - 12:36 p.m.
HUME & HIRST - POOR PERFORMANCE AT CHRISTIE'S
The bubble has to burst sometime and the prices will plummet. You can hear some of the air hissing from a small leak. This report on a Christie's auction is from the New York Times, 18 May 2001.
"...works some of the young British artists who were wildly popular several seasons ago performed poorly. A painting by Gary Hume,"Four Colored Doors" (1989-90), failed to sell. Estimated at $100,000 to $150,000, it fell flat at $85,000. Damien Hirst produced mixed results. "When Logic Dies," a white Formica table with medical instruments, failed to sell, but one of his dot paintings brought $314,000, above its $250,000 low estimate."
Following the popularity of paintings, the NYT noted of two artists who are the least 'Brit Arty' of Brit Artists:
"Prices for unique pieces by two other British artists, Chris Ofili and Jenny Saville, broke records. Mr. Ofili's "X + Y = 0" (2000), a diptych supported by pieces of the artist's signature
elephant dung, sold for $237,000, above its $200,000 high estimate. Ms. Saville's 1992 painting "Interfacing" sold to an unidentified telephone bidder for $198,500."
The full article is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/18/arts/18AUC2.html
