During a single week of art auctions in New York this month, Sotheby's, Christie's and Phillips generated around $2.5 billion in sales, almost twice the amount achieved during last year's Marquee Week.
Christie’s
Christie’s New York brought major works to auction from important collections including of S.I. Newhouse, Agnes Gund, Marian Goodman and Henry S. McNeil. Christie’s promotional strategy alongside the quality of works on offer seemed to hit its mark. The auction house reported a record breaking attendance for "any sale exhibition preview" at its Rockefeller Centre, numbering 20,000.
Beginning with back-to-back sales on 18 May, Masterpieces: The Private Collection of S.I. Newhouse and the 20th Century Evening Sale totalled an impressive $1.1 billion from 97% of lots sold. Pollock’s Number 7A (1948) led the results at $180.2 million, followed by Brancusi’s Danaïde ($107.6 million) – the second highest for a sculpture ever at auction. The latter saw Nicole Kidman as part of the promotion, "go wild for the bronze sculpture" set to David Bowie’s Golden Years.
See also: The Newhouse Collection Returns to Christie’s
The excitement continued throughout the evening, with Rothko’s No.15 (Two Greens and Red Strip) from 1964 selling for $98.4 million. Part of the Agnes Gund collection, the canvas had kept a pride of place within the beloved art patron’s living room.
The results of 18 May marked the second time that auctions have exceeded the $1 billion mark in a single evening (the first time being the auction of Paul G. Allen's collection in 2022).
Max Carter, Christie's Global Chairman of 20th and 21st Century Art, reflected: "The extraordinary energy, spirited bidding, and $1.1 billion result speak for themselves: the market embraced this historic opportunity".
The two auctions, Impressionist and Modern Works on Paper Sale ($21.2 million) and Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale ($41.8 million), held on 19 May, were followed on 20 May by Defined Space: The Collection of Henry S. McNeil, Jr., which realised $25.9 million in a white-glove sale. This set the stage for Marian’s Richters & 21st Century Evening Sale later that evening, which was led by eight paintings by Richter, including Candle (1982), sold for $35.1 million. The evening sale achieved a total of $137 million.
Featuring works by Mitchell, Warhol, Johns and Banksy, the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale also surpassed the $100 million mark on 21 May. Highlights included Josef Albers’ Homage to the Square: Golden (1958), which sold for $3.55 million and set a new auction record for the artist.
Marquee Week concluded on Friday with total sales of $1.45 billion — the highest spring auction total in Christie’s history. Bonnie Brennan, Christie’s CEO remarked, "New York's billion-dollar Marquee Week is a pivotal reset for the market, and a proud moment for Christie's…the best May Marquee Week in our 260-year history."
Sotheby’s
Over at their new headquarters at the Breuer building, Sotheby’s spring sales brought in an impressive $908.6 million. Leading with Robert Mnuchin: Collector at Heart, the auction house’s double-header evening sale on 14 May featured Rothko’s Brown and Blacks in Red, 1957, which sold for $85.8 million. Works from the legendary collector and his wife Adriana presented an exceptional range from De Kooning to Miró, before The Now & Contemporary Evening Auction brought in $433.1 million in total. Highlights included Warhol’s portrait of Brigitte Bardot, which sold for $24.8 million and had been created for her husband, Gunter Sachs, whose collection retained the work for decades. The sale also featured notable works by Basquiat and Frankenthaler.
Roy Lichtenstein’s Girl in Mirror, 1964 ($6.4 million), one of the iconic images that defined Pop Art, headlined the Contemporary Day Sale on 15 May. Momentum continued over the weekend, with the Modern Evening and Day Sales achieving $373 million. After intense bidding, Matisse’s La Chaise lorraine from the Barbier-Mueller Collection sold for $48.4 million. This rare large still life, an early work from the artist’s Nice period, had previously been unseen for 50 years.
From the Enrico and Adele Donati collection, Picasso’s Arlequin (Buste) featured an early exploration of the enduring ‘harlequin’ motif, and sold for $42.6 million.
Dedicated single-owner sale from the David and Shoshanna Wingate Collection and a Modern Day Auction closed out the marquee week. Highlights included Giocometti’s La Clairiere (Composition avec neuf figures) ($23.1 million) and a Rothko ($9.3 million).
Phillips
Phillips' Modern & Contemporary Art auctions began on 19 May at its 432 Park Avenue location with an evening sale that brought in a total of $115.2 million. Apart from two works that were withdrawn at the last minute, all 41 lots found buyers that evening. Warhol's Sixteen Jackies (1964) fetched $16.2 million, while Lee Bontecou's Untitled (1985-2001) set a new record for a two-dimensional work by the artist: the depiction of a world landscape composed of undulating forms and energy fields sold for $4.2 million — more than double its upper estimate.
Richard Prince’s High Times (2017), channelling the spirit of the artist’s downtown years, achieved $838,500 in Phillip’s Morning and Afternoon Sessions on 21 May. New world records were set for Edvard Eriksen and Harald Slott-Møller, with the latter’s Summer Day (Sommerdag) achieving a remarkable $1.3 million from a low estimate of $30,000.
Works by Danish artists offered by Phillips throughout the week came from the collection of John L. Loeb Jr., who served as U.S. Ambassador to Denmark from 1981 to 1983. Together, the two auctions realised $30.5 million, contributing to Phillips' weekly total of $145.8 million.
Robert Manley, Chairman and Worldwide Head, Modern and Contemporary Art, remarked, "The market is alive and well…it is clear that the demand for important works spanning the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries endures."
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Despite pre-sale uncertainty over participation from collectors in the Middle East, the auction houses reported strong global participation and bidding across regions. This Spring Marquee Week brought about sales totalling over 100% increase from that of last year’s for the three auction houses. Albeit heavily led by star lots, New York’s May auctions broke new records for artists and houses alike, showing signs of optimism in the art market.
