15 March 2016: Sotheby’s inaugural “Contemporary Curated” sale in London today raised a total of £2.8 million (est. £2.4-3.4 million), driven by buyers new to the company. Guest-curated by the fashion designer Erdem Moralioglu, the sale followed in the footsteps of successful “Contemporary Curated” sales in New York, introduced in response to the ever-growing demand for artworks estimated at more accessible price-points for new collectors.

With estimates starting at just £500, the sale attracted almost 400 registrants - nearly a quarter of whom (23%) are under 40 years old.

The sale was led by Yayoi Kusama’s vibrant Fear of Death from 2008 that sold to a private collector from Asia for £305,000, followed by Antony Gormley’s cast iron Insider VIII/Weeds I that realised £173,000. Fourteen works were also sold to benefit PEER - the acclaimed Hoxton-based arts charity – that together raised over £56,000.

Two new artist records were set for Leonor Antunes (Portuguese, b. 1972) and Clemént Rosenthal (France, b. 1956).

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