Christie’s Modern British and Irish Art evening sale in London on Wednesday netted £17.3 million ($23 million), marking a 20 percent increase on last year’s equivalent sale. Barbara Hepworth’s The Family of Man (Figure 9, The Bride) (1970) was the night’s highest-selling lot, going for £3.9 million ($5.2 million).
The sale’s sell-through rates were 90 percent by value and 81 percent by lot, while 39 percent of the works sold above their high estimate. However, the sale overall did fall well short of its high estimate of £22.6 million ($30 million).
(All quoted prices include buyer’s premium unless otherwise noted.)
Hepworth also took the second-highest selling lot; her Vertical Wood Form (1968) was bought for £1.4 million ($1.8 million). The Meeting (1933) by Sit Stanley Spencer sold for the same price and Bridget Riley’s Dendera (1983-2002) went for £1.2 million ($1.6 million).
Nicholas Orchard, head of Modern British and Irish art at Christie’s, told ARTnews that he was “delighted” with the result.
“It outlines the continued international demand for Modern British and Irish art, as well as Christie’s leadership in this category,” he said. “Highlights including Dame Barbara Hepworth’s The Family of Man (Figure 8, The Bride), the highest price achieved at a Modern British and Irish Art auction in London to date in 2025, and L. S. Lowry’s rare Cotswolds landscape Bourton-on-the-Water (1947)(selling for $965,200 [$1.2 million], over 60 percent above high estimate) demonstrate both the depth of quality and the enthusiasm of collectors worldwide for this category. We are thrilled to see such important works achieve strong results and look forward to building on this momentum in future sales.”
Christie’s Modern British and Irish Art day sale kicked off on Thursday, and the house is gearing up for its other 20th/21st century auctions in Paris this week to coincide with Art Basel Paris.
