Modern Sculpture takes centre stage…

Over recent months collectors have shown particularly strong interest in the mediums of photography…and sculpture.

In fact, since April 2004 prices in the sculpture segment have risen 12.5% compared with 10.3% for paintings, 5% for drawings and 0.5% for prints. The strongest example of this trend occurred this year on 4 May when Constantin Brancusi’s “Oiseau dans l’espace” set a new record for a sculpture sold at auction: the 1.2 metre high work, created in 1922-1923, sold at Christie’s in New York for USD 24.5 million. Sculpted in marble, the piece had been estimated at USD 8-12 million. Prior to this sale, Brancusi also held the record auction price for a sculpture: USD 16.5 million, for a work entitled Danaide.

Indeed, the list of sculptors responsible for the top ten prices in the segment is relatively short. There are in fact only four: after Constantin Brancusi, there is Alberto Giacometti, with a top price of USD 13 million (November 2000) for his “Grande Femme Debout I”, followed by Henri Matisse for USD 12.7 million in May 2000, and finally, Edgar Degas, who holds the last three places in the top ten with versions of “Petite Danseuse de Quatorze”. The most expensive old master sculpture ever to change hands at auction is a bronze by Adrien de Vries that sold for USD 10 million in 1989, and arrives in eleventh place in the top price ranking.