by Vanessa Schmitz-Grucker T
Richter not only dominated the German artist market but was also one of the top five in the world ranking for all creative periods combined . His prices have never been so high: in 20 years, they have risen by 719%. It was also an excellent year for Sigmar Polke, who accounted for $36 M, mainly in Germany. Lucian Freud was also well-placed thanks to his portrait of David Hockney, which went for $20.6 M. 100% of his lots found takers, as opportunities at auction are decidedly rare. Lastly, Kandinsky, that pillar of art history, saw his Calmed Tensions (1937) fetch $29.3 M: the second highest result for a work by the father of abstraction.
