Sotheby’s art sale, Rembrandt to Richer made a whopping $192.7 million

Muskaan Thakur

One of the most awaited live auctions, Sotheby’s cross-category evening sale ‘Rembrandt to Richer’ was live-streamed. The auction house sold a total of 65 artworks. 150,000 people had tuned in to see this live auction.

Rembrandt to Richer had a historical mix by Rembrandt Van Rijn and Gerhard Richter.

It was hosted by auctioneer Oliver Barker who took bids on-camera in an empty salesroom. A selected group of 30 clients were allowed to attend the auction in person. Due to its remarkable success, this sale became a benchmark for live offerings.

The sale was led by one of the only three self-portraits by Rembrandt left in private hands. It’s estimated price was 12,000,000 – 16,000,000 GBP and it was sold for14,549,400 GBP, setting a new auction record for a self-portrait by an artist.

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Joan Miro’s Peinture (Femme Au Chapeau Rouge) was estimated to sell for 20,000,000 GBP. It was sold for 22,302,104 GBP, making it the most priced sale of the event. The painting dates back to 1927. It’s from his acclaimed series, Dream. It was previously owned by Sculptor Alexander Clader and was entered in the auction by an American private collector, Ronald Perelman, owner of Cosmetic brand, Revlon.

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Banksy’s tempestuous “Mediterranean sea view 2017” pointedly alludes to the thousands of lives lost at sea during the European migrant crisis of the 2010s. Comprising three re-worked oil paintings, the artwork was originally made for and displayed in the lobby of @banksy @walledoffhotel in Bethlehem. It will now be offered in our cross-category Evening Sale, #RembrandtToRichter on July 28. Proceeds will go towards building a new acute stroke unit and purchasing children’s rehabilitation equipment for BASR hospital in Bethlehem. Click the link in bio for more info! ☝️ #SothebysContemporary #Banksy

A post shared by Sotheby's (@sothebys) on Jul 26, 2020 at 6:50am PDT

Whereas, three of Banksy’s artworks from ‘Mediterranean Sea View 2017’ were sold for a much higher price than expected, almost double than estimated 8,000,000 – 1,200,000 GBP. However, it went under the hammer for 2,235,000 GBP.

Five of the lots were sold for more than $10 Million. The cross-category sale has said to raise a total amount of 149.7 Million GBP – 192.7 Million GBP.