Among Christie’s top guaranteed lots in November: Amedeo Modigliani’s 1917 painting of a sultry nude, estimated at more than $100 million, and Roy Lichtenstein’s 1964 painting, “Nurse,” estimated at $80 million. If sold at target prices, both works would set auction records for the artists.
Sotheby’s hedged its risk on four additional guaranteed lots by finding clients who agreed to provide irrevocable bids at auction. One of these lots is Warhol’s portrait of Mao Zedong, estimated at more than $40 million, and sold by Cohen, according to two people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the information is private. Jonathan Gasthalter, a spokesman for Cohen at Sard Verbinnen & Co., declined to comment on the Warhol sale. Sotheby’s declined to comment.
While guarantees appeal to sellers, they can alienate buyers.
“A certain kind of collector doesn’t even buy at auction anymore,” said Wendy Cromwell, a New York-based art adviser. “It reminds me of proprietary trading. No one knows how they are structuring these deals.”