Christie's First-Half Sales Up 10 Percent From Last Year

LONDON—Christie's International's auction and private sales for the first half of this year have increased by 10 percent over last year, Bloomberg reports. The sale of £1.8 billion ($3.6 billion) worth of art in 2008, compared with £1.6 billion last year, is largely due to the presence of new buyers from Russia, Asia, and the Middle East. Sales conducted in the Asia and Middle East region have gone up 81 percent from last year, and worldwide sales of Asian art are up 63 percent. European and U.K. sales increased only 6 percent, while sales in the Americas declined 1 percent.

The auction of Monet's Le Bassin aux Nympheas for a record £40.9 million in June helped Impressionist and modern art outperform contemporary art so far in 2008. Totals released by Christie's include private sales, which increased from £82 million in the first half of 2007 to £153 million so far this year. Private sales comprise deals brokered by Christie's as well as sales made by the auction house's subsidiary Haunch of Venison.