Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) was a Danish-French artist renowned for his major influence on Impressionist and Post-impressionist painting. Pissarro was born in the Danish West Indies on the island of St.Thomas, but when he was 12 he was sent to Paris, where he studied painting and helped shape the Impressionist movement.While the Impressionists lived in Paris and are known for their portrayals of city streets and country leisure, Pissarro chose to live in the countryside and mostly paint images of the day-to-day life of French peasants and quiet towns. But one of his most famous paintings is of a city street scene. Pissarro experimented with multiple styles, including a period when he implemented the artist Georges Seurat’s “pointillist” approach. He was a prolific painter, and his passion for experimentation made him an artistic mentor to several younger artists, including influential artists such as Paul Cezanne and Paul Gauguin.During his lifetime, Pissarro sold few of his paintings, but, by the 21st century his paintings were selling for millions.On June 20, Sotheby’s will feature Pissarro’s six artworks at its Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sale in London. On June 21, Christie’s will auction one of his works at its Impressionist and Modern Works on Paper in London.Here is a performance analysis of Pissarro’s artworks in the auction market:1. Sales Trend in the Past 20 YearsThe sale volume and value graphs show a very consistent trend for the artist.In 2007, Pissarro registered his highest ever in sales totaling $60.5 million for 89 lots. In this year, an auction record for the artist was set at Christie's in New York, when a group of four paintings, “Les Quatre Saisons” (The Four Seasons), sold for $14.6 million (pre-sale estimates were $12 million – $18 million). Sales in the years that followed never reached the 2007 high, and in 2011, his total sales were $17.6 million on 51 lots. But in 2014, sales totaled $54.2 million, bolstered by the sale of the street scene "Le Boulevard Montmartre, Matinee De Printemps,” which fetched £19.9 million ($32.1 million). The painting, which at the time was said to be one of the greatest Impressionist works to come to auction in a decade, set an auction high for the artist, surpassing the high set in 2007, and was Pissarro’s top painting sold. 2. Volume of Artworks on Offer vs. Bought-in Rate2016 a lackluster year for the artist.The graphic below indicates an increasing trend in terms of lots on offer in the past decade, which reached a peak of 253 lots in 2016. While 2016 had the highest ever volume of artworks featuring in auctions, the bought-in rate was at an all-time high at 46.6 percent. It is evident in the sales trend chart in section-1, with 2016 registering a meager total $6.2 million.2017 was a better year for the artist, with a total sale of $29 million with a sale of 91 artworks. The bought-in rate still remained high at 43.4 percent.Some of his highest estimated works like "La Gare d'Orleans, Saint-Sever, Rouen" (estimate: $4 million - $6 million) at Christie's New York and "L'Hermitage En Ete, Pontoise" (estimate: $5.04 million -$3.7 million) at Sotheby's London remained unsold at Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in 2016, which affected Pissarro’s total sale in the year.3. Bought-ins by Auction HousesThe graphic below represents the artist’s lots and bought-in rates at the top two auction houses. Overall, the lots offered at Christie’s and Sotheby’s both were low as compared with the other auction houses. The bought-in rate overall at Sotheby’s has shown an increasing trend since 2014 and was very high at 45 percent in 2017.4. Average and Median Sale Price Trend in the Past 20 YearsAs seen in section-1, 2007 was the best year for the artist, with the average price registering at $679,787. Both average and median prices of the artist have shown a declining trend in the past eight years. 5. Highest-Priced Artworks Pissarro’s top 10 sold works were occurred at Christie’s and Sotheby’s.His highest ever sale was “Le Boulevard Montmartre, Matinee De Printemps,” painted in 1897 and signed C. Pissarro (lower left), which sold for $32.1 million at Sotheby’s Impressionist, Modern & Surrealist Art Evening Sale in London on February 5, 2014.“L'Hiver” was his second highest sold work, when it brought in $14.6 million in 2007 at Christie’s.“Les quatre saisons (L'hiver, Le printemps, L'ete, L'automne),” a majestic four canvas representation of the four seasons is one of the grandest achievements of Impressionist art, which was painted in 1872 and fetched $9.5 million at Sotheby’s London last year.6. Price Band in Which His Works Have Sold in the Past 20 YearsAbout 29 percent of Pissarro’s artworks were sold for less than $5,000, followed by 23 percent in the range of $10,000 to $50,000. Works that sold for more than $1 million totaled 158, or 8.8 percent, in the past 20 years. 7. Where His Works Have Sold the Most in the Past 20 YearsChristie’s and Sotheby’s accounted for 93.4 percent of the artist’s total sales in the past two decades.In terms of volume, while over 50 percent of the artist’s work is being sold at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, a significant 47 percent is being sold at other auction houses.From a geographical perspective, the United States leads with $328.1 million, followed by United Kingdom at $197.8 million, and France and Germany accounting for the rest.8. Top Selling Mediums in the Past 20 YearsIn the past 20-year period, Pissarro’s oil works/paintings achieved highest sale of $509.6 million for 424 lots.http://www.blouinartinfo.comFounder Louise Blouin
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