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The largest auction ever held by Sotheby’s in Asia of a single owner’s art collection raised less money than expected on Thursday, a sign that rising global interest rates may be starting to weigh on the market for fine art.
A portrait by Amedeo Modigliani sold for considerably less than predicted, and 10 other artworks failed to sell when bidding fell short of reserve prices.
The auction, which was held in Hong Kong and streamed online for bidders around the world, produced total sales of $69.5 million including commissions, Sotheby’s said. The auction house had predicted last week that the sale would raise $95 million to $135 million before subtracting fees.
China’s best-known art investor, Liu Yiqian, and his wife, Wang Wei, who has managed the museums that hold many of the couple’s artworks, were selling part of their large collection. Mr. Liu is a former Shanghai taxi driver who has said he made a fortune with investments in Chinese real estate and pharmaceutical stocks. He became a global celebrity in 2014 and 2015 by paying top dollar for Chinese antiquities and Western paintings.
In 2014, he paid a record $36.3 million for an ancient Chinese porcelain cup, followed by $45 million for a 600-year-old silk wall hanging. He paid $170.4 million for Amedeo Modigliani’s risqué “Nu Couché” painting a year later. To display these and other purchases, Mr. Liu and Ms. Wang built three museums, two in Shanghai and a third in Chongqing, China.
Those three items were not included in Thursday’s sale. The auction did include a different Modigliani painting, “Paulette Jourdain,” which Sotheby’s had sold for $42.8 million in 2015.
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