This year’s New York November impressionist and Modern evening sales, scheduled to take place on Monday November 11th and Tuesday November 12th 2019 respectively at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, seem to break with the  trend of the past two years.

Looking at the number of lots catalogued and their Low Estimates, Pi-eX analysis shows that the profile of this year’s sales is much similar to the 2015 sales’ profile rather than that of the past 2 years:

• the numbers of lots catalogued at each auction house are very similar to 2015 both in absolute number and as a ratio:

• the Total Low Estimates of artworks by Picasso and Monet – the pillars of the November New York Impressionist sales – are very similar to the 2015 totals:

• ahead of the sales, the level of artworks’ guaranteed this year - both by Auction Houses guarantees (AHG) and Irrevocable Bids (IRB) - looks closer to the level observed in 2015 than to the high levels of the past two years:

While past performance is never a good predictor of future sales, a comparison with historical sales can help better understand trends and opportunities in the fine art market.

After the sales, Pi-eX will complete this analysis, especially looking at the performance of artworks in terms of Hammer Prices achieved versus Low Estimates.

When available, the 2019 reports will replace the 2018 New York November Impressionist evening sales reports.