Scream Munch painting auction
The vibrant pastel was conservatively estimated to sell for about $80 million, but two determined bidders competing via telephone emerged from an initial group of seven, driving the final price to $107 million, or $119,922,500 including commission, over the course of a nearly 15-minute bidding war.
The winning bid was taken by a Sotheby's executive, and the bidder was not identified.
One of four versions by the Scandinavian painter, sold by Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, "The Scream" easily eclipsed the old auction record held by Picasso's "Nude, green leaves and bust," which sold for $106.5 million at Christie's two years ago.
The sales room at Sotheby's erupted in applause and cheering when the hammer came down. Several Sotheby's officials said the sale marked the high point of their careers.
"It's worth every penny that the collector paid," said Tobias Meyer, who served as auctioneer and called it "one of the great icons" of fine art.
In recent decades "The Scream," which depicts a figure with hands pressed to head against a backdrop of swirling colors, has become a ubiquitous image, appropriated for everything from coffee mugs to editorial cartoons.
For many mainstream art lovers, it is perhaps second in familiarity only to the "Mona Lisa," and is among the best-known works of art still in private hands.
Sotheby's New York head of Impressionist and Modern art Simon Shaw called it "one of the visual keys to modern consciousness," adding that it was "perhaps the greatest single draw I've seen in my career" at the auction house.
Three other images of "The Scream," including two which were stolen and later recovered, are in museums in Norway.
Overall, the sale brought in $330.6 million, against an estimate of about $245 million to $325 million, and 80 percent of the 76 lots on offer found buyers.
The total was Sotheby's highest-ever for an Impressionist and Modern auction, beating the old mark of $286 million, which had stood since 1990. It was also the auction house's second-best evening in its history.
Other highlights included Picasso's "Femme assise dans un fauteuil," which sold for $29.2 million; Miro's "Tete humaine" went for $14.86 million; and Dali's "Printemps necrophilique," which fetched $16.3 million, or about 50 percent more than the pre-sale estimate.
Works by Max Ernst, Tamara de Lempicka, Constantin Brancusi and Paul Gauguin all achieved strong prices, many far exceeding their high estimates.
The collection of financier Ted Forstmann took in $83 million, meeting expectations, although works by Chaim Soutine that were considered highlights failed to make their estimates.
But in the end it was all about the Munch. Olsen, who attended the sale, said afterward he hoped the stunning results would help drive interest in Munch's work, and added that the artist "will be a continuing force in my life."
Speaking to its enduring topical nature and present-day relevance, Olsen said "The image of 'The Scream' could make more of us fathom the magnitude of the consequences of our continuing emissions of greenhouse gases."
"For me, (it) shows the horrifying moment when man realizes his impact on nature and the irreversible changes that he has initiated, making the planet increasingly uninhabitable."
Several other works by Munch in the sale failed to achieve a coattail effect, selling for less than their low estimates and in one case, not at all.
The art auctions continue next week when both Sotheby's and Christie's hold their sales of Post-war and Contemporary art.
Today, it goes on the auction block. Huge money is expected. But it’s the image itself, and the story behind it, that interests us. From a real bridge between a slaughterhouse and a madhouse. To the heart of the human condition.“Its original power lies partly in its simplicity: All of Munch’s versions — though differing slightly in media, color and composition — are so pared down as almost to be cartoons themselves. The image is compelling visual shorthand for a feeling experienced by virtually everyone at one time or another: frantic anxiety and desperation.”
Artinfo “At the very highest end of the market, being the winning bidder means much more than just having a new canvas to hang on the wall. It means something, in terms of wealth and power, to be able even to participate in the compatition for an evening sale’s top lot.”
Financial Times “There are “Scream” mugs, tea towels, T-shirts. The child actor Macaulay Culkin aped the open-mouthed expression of horror in an advertising poster for Home Alone. The villainous protagonist (and, of course, the title) of Wes Craven’s Scream series of schlock horror movies is based on Munch’s startled figure. The New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik quotes his cartoon editor, who says the magazine receives about two “Scream”-inspired cartoons a week”
The winning bid was taken by a Sotheby's executive, and the bidder was not identified.
One of four versions by the Scandinavian painter, sold by Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, "The Scream" easily eclipsed the old auction record held by Picasso's "Nude, green leaves and bust," which sold for $106.5 million at Christie's two years ago.
The sales room at Sotheby's erupted in applause and cheering when the hammer came down. Several Sotheby's officials said the sale marked the high point of their careers.
"It's worth every penny that the collector paid," said Tobias Meyer, who served as auctioneer and called it "one of the great icons" of fine art.
In recent decades "The Scream," which depicts a figure with hands pressed to head against a backdrop of swirling colours, has become a ubiquitous image, appropriated for everything from coffee mugs to editorial cartoons.
For many mainstream art lovers, it is perhaps second in familiarity only to the "Mona Lisa," and is among the best-known works of art still in private hands.
Sotheby's New York head of Impressionist and Modern art Simon Shaw called it "one of the visual keys to modern consciousness," adding that it was "perhaps the greatest single draw I've seen in my career" at the auction house.
Three other images of "The Scream," including two which were stolen and later recovered, are in museums in Norway.
Overall, the sale brought in $330.6 million, against an estimate of about $245 million to $325 million, and 80 percent of the 76 lots on offer found buyers.
The total was Sotheby's highest-ever for an Impressionist and Modern auction, beating the old mark of $286 million, which had stood since 1990. It was also the auction house's second-best evening in its history.
Other highlights included Picasso's "Femme assise dans un fauteuil," which sold for $29.2 million; Miro's "Tete humaine" went for $14.86 million; and Dali's "Printemps necrophilique," which fetched $16.3 million, or about 50 percent more than the pre-sale estimate.
Works by Max Ernst, Tamara de Lempicka, Constantin Brancusi and Paul Gauguin all achieved strong prices, many far exceeding their high estimates.
The collection of financier Ted Forstmann took in $83 million, meeting expectations, although works by Chaim Soutine that were considered highlights failed to make their estimates.
But in the end it was all about the Munch. Olsen, who attended the sale, said afterward he hoped the stunning results would help drive interest in Munch's work, and added that the artist "will be a continuing force in my life."
Speaking to its enduring topical nature and present-day relevance, Olsen said "The image of 'The Scream' could make more of us fathom the magnitude of the consequences of our continuing emissions of greenhouse gases."
"For me, (it) shows the horrifying moment when man realizes his impact on nature and the irreversible changes that he has initiated, making the planet increasingly uninhabitable."
Several other works by Munch in the sale failed to achieve a coattail effect, selling for less than their low estimates and in one case, not at all.
The art auctions continue next week when both Sotheby's and Christie's hold their sales of Post-war and Contemporary art.
The vibrant piece from 1895, the most famous art work in the world still remaining in private hands, went under the hammer at Sotheby's Impressionist and modern art auction, where clients and press packed the salesroom for the much-anticipated sale.
Bidding started at around $50 million U.S. for the work, one of four versions by the Scandinavian painter being sold by Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, and elapsed over about 15 minutes until an unnamed bidder by telephone gave the final offer of $119,922,500 U.S., including commission. The sales room at Sotheby's erupted in applause and cheering.
The previous record for the most expensive work of art sold at auction had been held by Picasso's Nude, green leaves and bust, which went for $106.5 million U.S. at Christie's two years ago.
In recent decades The Scream, a picture of a person with hands pressed to head against a backdrop of swirling vibrant colors, has become a ubiquitous image appropriated for everything from coffee mugs to editorial cartoons. It is second only in worldly fame to the Mona Lisa.
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