‘A Bull’ fails to set new auction record
The air was tense at Seoul Auction in Pyeongchang-dong, Seoul, on Tuesday evening. The space was unusually packed with some 300 bidders and press, whose eyes were all fixed at the display board waiting for lot 24, “A Bull” by Lee Joong-seob.
The day’s 117th Seoul Auction had been talked up for several weeks as the auction house had boasted the possibility that Lee’s oil painting may set a new record in Korean auction history, exceeding the price of Park Soo Keun’s “A Wash Place,” which had set the highest price record in the nation at 4.52 billion won in May 2007.
“Lee Joong-seob’s ‘A Bull’ will set a record at the auction as it is a monumental piece in Korean modern art history,” Lee Hak-jun, president of Seoul Auction, said last month.
Cameras started to flash half way into the auction as the much-talked-about piece appeared on the screen. The bid started at 3.4 billion won. The estimated price for the painting was between 3.5 billion won and 4.5 billion won.
Despite expectations, however, the fast-paced auction seemed to slow a little at the painting’s turn. Few bidders raised their hands and the competition died out sooner than expected, only raising the price six times, each by 20 million won.
The auctioneer banged the gavel and the painting was sold for 3.56 billion won, a price not even close to that fetched by “A Wash Place,” but rather closer to the lower end of its estimated price. It was sold to a private museum through a telephone bid.
“The price didn’t reach expectations due to the overall market sentiment. Park’s ‘A Wash Place’ was sold in May 2007, when the Korean art market was at the peak. The domestic market used to recover when the foreign market recovered, but they seem to have decoupled lately. We were hoping that the domestic market will recover its own momentum, but it is difficult work,” said Choi Youn-seok, head of fine art department at Seoul Auction.
“The external factors surrounding the art market, like the controversy over imposing a tax on artworks, seems to be another cause. About five to six people had showed interest in buying the piece before the auction but not all participated in the actual bidding.”
The government plans to impose a 20 percent transfer tax on artworks that cost more than 60 million won starting January 2011. Artworks by Korean artists who are still alive are exempted. Many art insiders are arguing for the withdrawal or postponement of the tax, asserting that it is not efficient and that it will further pull down the already depressed art market.
Lee’s painting still made it to second place in auction history, pushing Kim Whan-ki’s “Flower and Jar,” which was sold for 3.05 billion won in May 2007, to the third spot. About 70 percent of the works were successfully bid at this auction, marking total sales of some 9.24 billion won.
“This auction sold a piece for more than 3 billion won for the first time since the art market began declining following the peak in 2007. Though the work did not set a new record for the highest price in Korea, I am sure that high quality art like this will continue to be introduced into the market,” said Lee Hak-jun.
“A Bull,” 35.3 cm long and 51.3 cm wide, was last seen in public at an exhibition held by Gallery Hyundai in 1972. It was sent to the auction by an individual collector who exchanged the painting with three of Lee’s other paintings that he had bought in Midopa Gallery in 1955, at the artist’s request.
By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)
The day’s 117th Seoul Auction had been talked up for several weeks as the auction house had boasted the possibility that Lee’s oil painting may set a new record in Korean auction history, exceeding the price of Park Soo Keun’s “A Wash Place,” which had set the highest price record in the nation at 4.52 billion won in May 2007.
“Lee Joong-seob’s ‘A Bull’ will set a record at the auction as it is a monumental piece in Korean modern art history,” Lee Hak-jun, president of Seoul Auction, said last month.
Cameras started to flash half way into the auction as the much-talked-about piece appeared on the screen. The bid started at 3.4 billion won. The estimated price for the painting was between 3.5 billion won and 4.5 billion won.
Despite expectations, however, the fast-paced auction seemed to slow a little at the painting’s turn. Few bidders raised their hands and the competition died out sooner than expected, only raising the price six times, each by 20 million won.
The auctioneer banged the gavel and the painting was sold for 3.56 billion won, a price not even close to that fetched by “A Wash Place,” but rather closer to the lower end of its estimated price. It was sold to a private museum through a telephone bid.
“The price didn’t reach expectations due to the overall market sentiment. Park’s ‘A Wash Place’ was sold in May 2007, when the Korean art market was at the peak. The domestic market used to recover when the foreign market recovered, but they seem to have decoupled lately. We were hoping that the domestic market will recover its own momentum, but it is difficult work,” said Choi Youn-seok, head of fine art department at Seoul Auction.
“The external factors surrounding the art market, like the controversy over imposing a tax on artworks, seems to be another cause. About five to six people had showed interest in buying the piece before the auction but not all participated in the actual bidding.”
The government plans to impose a 20 percent transfer tax on artworks that cost more than 60 million won starting January 2011. Artworks by Korean artists who are still alive are exempted. Many art insiders are arguing for the withdrawal or postponement of the tax, asserting that it is not efficient and that it will further pull down the already depressed art market.
Lee’s painting still made it to second place in auction history, pushing Kim Whan-ki’s “Flower and Jar,” which was sold for 3.05 billion won in May 2007, to the third spot. About 70 percent of the works were successfully bid at this auction, marking total sales of some 9.24 billion won.
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| Lee Joong-seop’s “A Bull” was sold for 3.56 billion won at Seoul Auction on Tuesday. Chung Hee-cho/The Korea Herald |
“This auction sold a piece for more than 3 billion won for the first time since the art market began declining following the peak in 2007. Though the work did not set a new record for the highest price in Korea, I am sure that high quality art like this will continue to be introduced into the market,” said Lee Hak-jun.
“A Bull,” 35.3 cm long and 51.3 cm wide, was last seen in public at an exhibition held by Gallery Hyundai in 1972. It was sent to the auction by an individual collector who exchanged the painting with three of Lee’s other paintings that he had bought in Midopa Gallery in 1955, at the artist’s request.
By Park Min-young (claire@heraldm.com)
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답글삭제이중섭 황소, 기록경신 실패 ‘A Bull’ fails to set new auction record The air was tense at Seoul Auction in Pyeongchang-dong, Seoul, on Tuesday evening. The spac..