They are popular
About female artists whose prices are skyrocketing at auction.
André Breton saw in her the “lucid madness” that Michelet attributed to the figure of the witch. What would Leonora Carrington (1917-2011) have thought of the madness that took hold of art buyers on May 15 of this year at Sotheby’s in New York, when her tempera painting entitled Les Distractions de Dagobert soared to €26.3 million when it had been estimated at between €11 and €17 million? The surrealist painter and poet’s price reached its world record that day. And even dethroned Salvador Dali!
Certainly, this painting is emblematic in the work of the Mexican artist of English origin, and it is fortunate that it now belongs to the collections of Malba (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires) after having remained in the hands of a private collector for a long time. Just as it is fortunate that female artists are getting back on the art market. But this record auction price still says a lot about the path that still remains to be traveled before female artists are considered as artists at all. I cannot help but ask myself a few questions: do the indisputable qualities of this masterpiece of surrealism alone motivate the enthusiasm of art buyers to outbid each other? What part does the simple fact that it is now “trendy” to revalue works of art created by women play in their decision? Why is it such an event that Leonora Carrington has been catapulted into the top 3 surrealists, ahead of Dali but behind the still unbeatable Magritte? Or that she has also obtained 5th place in the list of the most expensive women at auction, behind Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe, Louise Bourgeois and Joan Mitchell?
In reality, it is mind-boggling to see the extent to which the art market has historically undervalued the works of female artists compared to those of their male counterparts, despite their talent and significant contribution to the history of art. We can of course only be pleased to see that this dynamic has begun to change in recent decades, with growing recognition of female artists and an increase in demand for their works.
For centuries, female artists have been marginalized, excluded from major art schools and collectors’ networks. The works of artists such as Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, and Artemisia Gentileschi were often overshadowed by their male contemporaries, with gender bias and social norms having long contributed to this underrepresentation. The conscious effort being made to rectify this inequality is commendable. Many art institutions, art galleries, and auction houses have begun to promote women artists more. Exhibitions have been organized to highlight the historical and contemporary contributions of women in art. For example, artists such as Yayoi Kusama and Cindy Sherman have gained notoriety, and their works now fetch high prices at auction. As we have seen, some female artists have recently broken auction records, reflecting their growing recognition. For example, a work by Louise Bourgeois sold for over €32 million in 2019, setting a record for a female sculptor. Similarly, Jenny Saville saw one of her works sold for almost €12 million in 2018, a record amount for a living artist at the time.
As Beaux Arts Magazine writes in its summer issue, “this catch-up phenomenon, which follows decades of withdrawal, or even invisibility, of certain signatures, was further confirmed during the last major sales in New York last May. Representing 17% in number of lots (14% in value) in 2019 in contemporary art sales at Sotheby’s, the share of women climbed to more than 42% of lots (nearly 30% in value). Thus, a major painting by the African-American painter Faith Ringgold (who died last April), representing a dinner at Gertrude Stein’s, opened the prestigious contemporary art sale. “I presented it as the first lot to mark this new history,” says Grégoire Billault, international director of the department. Estimated at best at €900,000, the 1991 canvas, which was part of a traveling retrospective in American museums from February 2022 to February 2024, sold for €1.4 million, shattering the previous record for the artist of €407,000 in 2015. »
The expert in impressionist and modern art Thomas Seydoux is not fooled either: "Female artists are all the more in the wind because there is not only a market revaluation of their formerly neglected signatures, but also because they benefit from a surge of novelty and rediscovery. While for their male counterparts, the maturity of the market brings a certain fatigue and a drop in interest." We are not going to complain that the wheel is turning.
The increased presence of women artists’ works in museums and temporary exhibitions has of course contributed to increased recognition and a rise in their ratings. Initiatives such as grants, residencies, and prizes reserved for women in art have also played a role. Movements such as #MeToo and discussions on gender equality have raised public awareness and encouraged a re-evaluation of women artists. Nevertheless, for the most part, collectors and investors are beginning to recognize the potential of women artists’ works more as undervalued investments that can offer a good long-term return on investment… than as masterpieces whose artistic qualities alone deserve high sums. But since that’s the way the world turns, let’s already rejoice in this time of records. And let’s hope that one day there will no longer even be statistics established between works of art for sale by women and works of art for sale by men…
Article written by Valibri en Roulotte
Illustration: Leonora Carrington, Les Distractions de Dagobert (1945). Courtesy Sotheby's.