GUEST: MARELIZE VAN ZYL, CEO of Aspire Art
Cape Town-born Marlene Dumas has set a new auction record, becoming the most expensive living female artist after her 1997 painting Miss January sold for $13.6 million (R246 million) at Christie’s on Wednesday night. The artwork, a last-minute consignment from the Rubell Family Collection, had been estimated between $12 million and $18 million, with a third-party guarantee in place.
Marlene Dumas’s Miss January (1997) sold for $13.6 million, including fees. Image: Christie’s. Bidding opened at $9 million and quickly escalated, with the hammer coming down at $11.5 million (before fees), prompting applause in the saleroom.