Why Zhang Daqian is outselling Van Gogh at auction
China’s most successful businessman is in hot demand on the auction circuit. In his latest sale, the Chinese entrepreneur’s collection of paintings sold for more than $1.8 million at an Sotheby’s auction.
In the sale of paintings by 19th-century artist Van Gogh that ended earlier this month, Zhang Daqian’s $1.7 million collection achieved its highest price ever, surpassing the $1.4 million that his collection of 30 works sold for in 2008.
Zhang Daqian is in demand amid China’s ongoing property market reforms, which have forced the country’s millionaires into an unprecedented frenzy to sell their excess assets.
In Zhang’s latest sale, the businessman’s $1.8 million collection of paintings sold for more than $1.5 million. Zhang Daqian’s $1.6 million collection of paintings, which was also part of the sale, sold for more than $1.1 million. The auction house notes that Zhang Daqian’s 2010 collection of paintings sold for almost $1.1 million during a pre-sale, while the same collection in 2008 sold for more than $1.2 million.
In the same sale, Zhang Daqian’s 2011 collection of paintings sold for more than $1 million. Zhang’s collection of paintings sold for more than $1.5 million in 2012. Zhang Daqian’s 2012 collection of paintings sold for more than $1 million. Zhang’s collection of paintings sold for more than $1.3 million in 2013 and almost $1 million in 2014. Zhang’s collection of works sold for more than $1.2 million in 2008.
During the same period, his collection of paintings sold for more than $1 million in three other auctions, which followed the pre-sale. He has also sold his collection of paintings in Hong Kong and Sotheby’s in 2007, 2010 and 2012.
Zhang’s collection of paintings was the most expensive in Sotheby’s history last year, when it sold for $1.7 million
