Press | Phillips

PHILLIPS’ MODERN & CONTEMPORARY ART DAY SALE REALISES £6 MILLION, BRINGING THE COMBINED TOTAL FOR THE WEEK TO £21.4 MILLION

Successful Auction Debut for Oliver Bak and Auction Records Set for Lenz Geerk, Kaari Upson and Xiyao Wang

London, 7 March 2025

Sale Total: £6,048,947 / $7,829,152 / €7,205,506

Evening Sale Total: £15,386,940 / $19,821,456 / €18,350,465

COMBINED TOTAL FOR THE WEEK: £21,435,887 / £27,650,608 / £25,555,971

Lots Sold: 98 | Lots Offered: 115

Sold by Lot: 85% | Sold by Value: 86%

Simon Tovey, Specialist, Head of Day Sale, Modern & Contemporary Art, said, “We are delighted with today’s strong result of £6 million, bringing our total for the Modern & Contemporary Art Evening and Day Sales to £21.4 million and capping off an exciting week in London. True to Phillips’ distinctive approach, our March Day Sale brought together a dynamic mix of blue-chip and contemporary works. Bidding opened with a fierce competition for Oliver Bak’s Pale Shadow, which achieved over three times its estimate, leading a strong showing for cutting-edge talent including Lenz Geerk, Joseph Yaeger and Pam Evelyn. Major highlights included works by Dame Elisabeth Frink and George Condo, alongside impressive results for Gilbert & George, Franz West, and Tracey Emin. Following the success of last night’s Evening Sale, today’s results reaffirmed robust buyer confidence, with competitive bidding from collectors across 48 countries—both in the room and via our digital platforms. These results underscore not only the enduring trust in Phillips but also the resilience of the London art market and the strength of the middle market.”

Top Ten Lots

Lot	Description	Estimate	Price Achieved
141	Dame Elisabeth Frink Ra, Seated Man II, 1986	£300,000 - 400,000	£444,500 $575,316/€529,488
119	George Condo, Untitled, 2008-2010	£250,000 - 350,000	£279,400 $361,627/€332,821
150	Gilbert & George, DUSTY CORNERS NO. 4, 1975	£100,000 - 150,000	£215,900 $279,439/€257,180
125	Franz West, Cool Book, 2007	£150,000 - 200,000	£177,800 $230,127/€211,795
167	Tracey Emin, Meet Me in Heaven I Will Wait For You, 2004	£60,000 - 80,000	£165,100 $213,689/€196,667
188	On Kawara, I Got Up, 1977	£50,000 - 70,000	£165,100 $213,689/€196,667
121	KAWS, UNTITLED, 2013	£180,000 - 250,000	£165,100 $213,689/€196,667
203	William Kentridge, Second-hand Reading, 2013	£15,000 - 20,000	£158,750 $205,470/€189,103
132	Anselm Kiefer, For Robert Fludd, the Secret Life of Plants, 2001	£100,000 - 150,000	£152,400 $197,251/€181,539
114	Oscar Murillo, untitled (news), 2017-2018, 2017-2018	£120,000 - 180,000	£152,400 $197,251/€181,539
146	Antoni Tàpies, En Forma de Cama (In the Form of a Leg), 1968	£180,000 - 250,000	£152,400 $197,251/€181,539

New Auction Records

Lot	Description	Estimate	Price Achieved
102	Lenz Geerk, Crying, Spitting, Sweating XI, 2017	£15,000 - 20,000	£60,960 $78,901/€72,616
	*previous record price: 2,250 GBP set in 2022
111	Kaari Upson, 168, 2013	£50,000 - 70,000	£88,900 $115,063/€105,898
	*previous record price: 37,500 GBP set in 2014
112	Xiyao Wang, On the way to Penglai Island no. 2, 2023	£30,000 - 50,000	£88,900 $115,063/€105,898
	*previous record price: 571,500 HKD set in 2024

*Lots 126, 130, 153, 176 were sold after the lots closed, whilst the sale was ongoing, and are therefore included in the total sale result.

Exchange Rate on 7 March 2025: GBP£1 = US$1.2943, €1.1912, HK$10.0585

07 March 2025

PHILLIPS’ MODERN & CONTEMPORARY ART DAY SALE REALISES £6 MILLION, BRINGING THE COMBINED TOTAL FOR THE WEEK TO £21.4 MILLION