This year’s correction in the art market was expected, given the overheated climate of 2015. The top end of the market remained relatively strong despite the shakeup, but no single lot crossed the $100 million mark.Monet’s “Meule” (1891) came closest to breaching that number, and tops the list this year far ahead of any other work. The lot sold for more than $81 million at the Impressionist & Modern Evening Sale at Christie’s New York in November, double the estimate put forth by the house. The price just grazed past the previous record for the artist, set by “Le bassin aux nymphéas” (1919) at Christie’s London in 2008.Willem de Kooning’s “ Untitled XXV” (1977), Wassily Kandinsky’s “Rigide et courbe” (1935), Zhang Daqian’s “Peach Blossom Spring” (1982) and Henry Moore’s “Reclining Figure: Festival” (1951) were some of the other works that set records in their artists’markets.A strong appetite for works by Chinese artists remains, as demonstrated by the strong results and recovery in the Hong Kong sales this year. Contemporary artist Zhang Daqian consistently sold high-value and record setting works throughout 2016 and Chinese arists in the Modern category also had a remarkable year.“Lot and his Daughters” by Peter Paul Rubens was the highest grossing work in the Old Masters category, selling for more than £44 .9 million. And Jean-Michel Basquiat's “Untitled” (1982) was brought the most money of any Contemporary work, selling for more than $57 million at the Christie’s New York Postwar and Contemporary Evening Sale in May setting a record for the artists. All sale prices here and below are inclusive of the buyer’s premiums. Prices may differ slightly due to exchange rate conversions.
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