A “Still Life” by Giorgio Morandi from 1955 reached 1.2 million euros, while two other paintings by the artist, “Flowers” and “Landscape”, sold for 393,700 euros and 241,300 euros, respectively: these are some results of contemporary art Auction organized by Sotheby’s in Milan, in the rooms of the Palazzo Serbelloni. Presiding for the first time at the Milan auction was Isabelle Paagman, Senior International Contemporary Art Specialist at Sotheby’s, who sold 55 lots on the podium, reaching a total value of 10.7 million euros, largely in line with the pre-auction estimate corresponded. The final auction in 2023 brought this year’s total sales to 38.8 million euros, the highest total in 15 years for Sotheby’s in Italy. In the eight auctions held in Milan this year, 81% of the lots offered found new homes and more than half of them (58%) were sold at prices above estimates. In its first appearance at auction, Lucio Fontana’s blank canvas “Concetto Spatial” (1960) exceeded its high estimate and sold to an online bidder for 1 million euros (est. 600,000-800,000 euros). Another eight works by Fontana were sold at the auction, including: “Concetto Spatial” from 1961 for 1 million, “Concetto Spatial, Teatrino” from 1964-65 for 381,000, “Concetto Spatial, Attese” from 1958 for 317,500. Mario Schifano’s monochrome yellow “Da Capo” challenged preconceptions about time and space and reached 406,400 euros. Online and telephone bidders also competed for another work by Schifano, “Untitled,” and the final price was twice the maximum estimate of 82,550 euros. A bright yellow study by Joseph Albers, “Homage to the Square,” reached 292,100 euros. Piero Manzoni’s white cloth “Achrome” reached more than double its maximum estimate and sold for 291,100 euros after being disputed by participants in the room and bidders on the telephone.
