Sothebys London Contemporary Day Auction, Oct 14: (all prices in pounds)

1. Two Banksy Rat Peices, one at 4 times the estimate, one at more then 3 times. an ape peice at a little more then 3. plus two kid peices for 100+ hes clever, but not that clever. (Faile, who i like a little better then Banksy is also pulling those prices, so graff revival)
   
2. Peyton's drawings are better then her watercolours, but the prices dont reflect that
   
3. YBA's are in the middle of their estimates, but they arent going for nothing, at least in london prices seem to be settling. (cf a decent Opie portait and one of Perry's pots)
   
4. with buying a wolfgang laib marblemilk peice, do you get a life time supply of milk?
5. dan graham is way under rated as both a conceptualist and as a photog
6. nice big polke went unsold
   
7. all the big chinese names continue to go above estimate, including what i think is a new record for yue minjuin, at 538k
8. Great set of acculimation pieces by Arman from the late 60s and early 70s that are finally getting their due.
   
9. Best deal of the auction, a Twombly Roma drawing from 1964, for a little over 150, above an estimate of 120
10. the run on CoBRA work, including but not limited to Appel, that i thot would happen in the last few auctions seems to have dried up
11. who the hell is sidney janis, and why did warhol paint a (actually quite excellent, well worth 46k) portrait of him
12. decent but not extravagant wesselman prices
    
13. condo is like the worst painter to come out the lower east side 80s art boom, isnt he?
14. Basquit for 792, Haring for 367?!
15. is 31 for a Kiefer artist book a suggestion that his critical star is rising again (cf the big ny musuem show)
16. Dumas drawings either bought in or sold below estimate
17. Two gursky's bought in, but the usual german photo work (including dijkstra and ruff) sold well with in estimate
18. one work over a million american, three works over 500k

Christie's post war and contempary (day) (prices in pounds)

1. Hirst's prices are still crazy, an editioned bronze for 216, a late butterfly (cloying, and almost kitsch) for 636, dot painting for 602, spin painting (called:Gorgeous concentric 60 watt painting, Hirst continues to be one of the great titlers)
2. Bacon wins the record with a little over 8m
3. Doig's prices continue to confuse me, often going for more then a million, one here for 916, another for 180
   
4. Two Big Basquits bought in,
5. nice late 60s Auberbach head unsold
   
6. Two Kippenbergers bought in
7. one of Koons most art historically aware works, Small Vase of Flowers, went for 1.588m
8. Judd and Riley works from the mid 80s are now getting what their works from the early 60s used to get
9. some mid 80s warhols bought in, including a creepy, misprinted double fright wig
10. two princes, one brekas 500, one breaks 1m
11. Banksy for 172
12. two struths, both 6 figures
    
13. Same 10 Chinese painters, same prices
    

Sotheby's Evening Sale (London, Prices in Pounds)

1. Banksy for 322
2. Banksy for 204
3. Hirst Butterfly for 804, Hirst Dots bought in
4. The only great Hirst this season, sold for the actually fairly reasonable 840
5. I still have yet to figure out how you decide which Karawa to buy, and how a basically conceptual project continues to sell for mid to high 6 figures. and i love karawa.
   
6. Warhol Jackie 1.7m
7. Two Hockneys, a tarzan and a really nice swimming pool, for 860, and 1.19m respectivley, excellent work.
   
8. Auberbachs heads from the late 1990s, look closer to Freud then almost anything, has anyone written about how their realtionship treilsed thru their work? (this one went unsold)
   
9. two early (ie 74) portraits by Warhol sold for the same price
   
10. Atypical Rymans dont sell well at auctions,
    
11. Rothko for 2.26 (about as much as a Basquit)
    
12. The only Yuskavage in this auction went unsold