Important results for the Modern and Contemporary Art session of November 25 and 26 at the Il Ponte auction house in Milan, which ended as one of the most relevant in recent times for the Italian market, not only for the magnitude of the results, but also for the solidity of the adjudications and for the response of the public, marking a significant step within an increasingly competitive international context. In fact, the auction totaled more than 8.6 million euros, with 91% of lots sold and an average revaluation of 210%, percentages that confirm the growing role of Italian auctions in the European scene and testify to the quality of the selection proposed by the department, led by Freddy Battino for fifteen years.
The figure that attracted the most attention was the new auction record set by a work by Amedeo Modigliani, the Portrait of Beatrice Hastings, which sold for 2,816,000 euros. The painting marked not only a record for the auction house’s sales history (thus highest adjudication ever for Il Ponte) but also the best result ever obtained in Italy for a work by Modigliani, significantly expanding the market references linked to his name. The record was the centerpiece of two days of sales marked by consistent participation and a continuous flow of relaunches, supported also by the interest generated by the catalog, which garnered the attention of more than twenty-five thousand users connected online.
The auction offered a broad and articulate panorama through works considered to be of museum quality, distributed in a selection capable of bringing into dialogue already historicized artists and central figures of the Italian twentieth century. Among the most significant results were the adjudications of some of the most representative personalities of the century. Giorgio de Chirico recorded an important performance with Il Trovatore of 1945, adjudicated at 422,400 euros, confirming the stability of his market and the relevance of works from the post-metaphysical period. Osvaldo Licini found an equally significant match with Rebel Angel on a Red Background from 1950, which sold for 384,000 euros. The result reaffirms the growing interest in the artist’s mature phase, now considered central to the definition of his creative parabola and increasingly sought after by international collectors.
Lucio Fontana again demonstrated the breadth of international demand around his work with Concetto spaziale of 1966-67, which fetched 486,400 euros. The result is in continuity with a market trend that for years has focused on works from his golden period, considered exemplary in the definition of Spatialism and among the most sought-after by major collectors. The adjudication confirms the increasing selectivity of the market, which in recent years has sharpened its focus on precise series and variants within Fontana’s production.
No less relevant was the section devoted to informal matter, represented by one of Alberto Burri’s best-known works, Combustion of 1964, which sold for 307,200 euros. The work, which belongs to one of the Umbrian master’s most recognizable and significant series, found a match aligned with the solidity of his market, which continues to register constant interest in works traceable to the central decades of his activity.
The sculpture section contributed greatly to the overall result, highlighting a new world record for Alberto Viani. His work Nude in the Sun of 1956, which fetched 243,200 euros, marked an absolute record for the artist, confirming the growing attention to his production and offering a further indicator of the vitality of the market related to twentieth-century Italian sculpture, a segment that in recent years has been experiencing a new appreciation by both private collectors and institutions.
Other notable adjudications include Alighiero Boetti’s embroidered triptych, Ammazzare il tempo from 1979, which sold for 217,600 euros. The artist’s textile works have maintained a leading role in the preferences of international collectors for years and continue to record solid results in European and American auctions. The work presented at Il Ponte fits perfectly into this trend, confirming the appeal of an artistic corpus that remains among the most recognizable of the second half of the Italian 20th century.
The two days of the sale highlighted the auction house’s ability to build a balanced catalog, in which the presence of works of great quality generated constant interest and fostered close competition among bidders, with raises animating both sessions. The turnout recorded online played a decisive role, marking further confirmation of the growing weight of digital participation in Italian auctions. The overall result, exceeding 8.6 million, is thus a tangible indicator of the dynamism of the national market, in which high-profile works continue to find an attentive audience willing to invest.
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| Auctions, record at Il Ponte: Modigliani leads auction of more than 8.6 million |
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