After two nights of first rate, not disastrous auctions, Christie’s twenty first century night sale on Could 14 continued the development, yielding $96.4 million on a pre-sale low estimate of $79.5 million.
That quantity is decrease than those for marquee gross sales held in the identical class at Christie’s. The home’s 21st century sale last May posted $114.7 million for 57 lots—some $34.4 million of which got here by way of works from the Rosa de la Cruz assortment. And in November, the same sale at Christie’s had 42 lots and yielded $106.5 million.
There have been admittedly fewer heaps on Wednesday evening. Of the 39 heaps provided, 24 of them had minimal worth home ensures and 17 had third-party ensures. 4 of the 39 heaps didn’t promote and three heaps have been withdrawn, leading to a sell-through charge of 90 p.c earlier than withdrawals and 81.4 p.c together with them.
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A number of artwork advisers informed ARTnews that the outcomes may have been a lot worse, contemplating the current fires in Los Angeles, the affect of latest tariffs, volatility within the inventory markets, and uncertainty in regards to the future. Plus, a number of reviews have famous giant declines in public sale gross sales of up to date artwork final 12 months.
“The market is humorous proper now,” artwork adviser Laura Lester informed ARTnews. “Particularly on the high finish, if individuals can wait, they’re ready. It’s clearly a tremendous time to be a purchaser searching for alternatives. And I believe the gross sales are proof of that.”
Abigail Asher, one other adviser, mentioned of the sale, “There’s nonetheless clearly exercise, nevertheless it must be on the proper worth ranges.” Ana Sokoloff, additionally an adviser, referred to as the sale “lackluster.”
The public sale was led by a selection of 14 works by blue-chip artists that when embellished the house of Ago Demirdjian and ARTnews High 200 collector Tiqui Atencio. Notably, Bicho, a 1960 sculpture by Lygia Clark, was withdrawn previous to the sale, and the works Grey Panel II by Ellsworth Kelly (estimate of $2 million to $3 million) and “Untitled” (March fifth) #2 by Felix Gonzalez-Torres (estimate of $500,00 to $700,000) have been purchased in.
The highest lot by estimate was Jean-Michel Basquiat‘s Child Growth (1982), which had an estimate of $20 million to $30 million and was consigned by mega-collector Peter M. Brant (who previously owned ARTnews). The seven-foot-wide portray hammered at precisely $20 million, or $23.4 million with charges, after eight bids, going to a purchaser on the cellphone with Christie’s world president Alex Rotter.
Marlene Dumas‘s Miss January (1997) offered for $13.6 million, together with charges.
Picture courtesy of Christie’s
That work was adopted by Marlene Dumas’s Miss January (1997), which got here from the Rubell Household Assortment and had an estimate of $12 million to $18 million. The nine-foot-tall portray opened at $9 million and hammered at $11.5 million, or $13.6 million with fees. The successful bid got here from a purchaser on the phone with Sara Friedlander, Christie’s deputy chairman for postwar and modern artwork. With this outcome, Dumas is now the world’s most costly dwelling feminine artist.
Some mentioned the sale of the Dumas work was energizing. “On this on this unsure world,” Asher mentioned, “to see an object of such uncooked energy and such feminist presentation attain a world document for a dwelling feminine artist was actually thrilling.” However others have been fast to level out that there bidding lasted only one minute and there wasn’t a lot exercise surrounding the work. Lester referred to as the sale of this piece “unexciting.”
Both approach, Dumas has formally surpassed the document set by Jenny Saville in 2018. Saville’s nude self-portrait Propped (1992) sold for £9.5 million ($12.4 million) in opposition to an estimate of £3 million to £4 million in October 2018 at Sotheby’s London.
Work by one other dwelling feminine artist, Simone Leigh, appeared to garner extra pleasure. Bidding for Leigh’s 10.5-foot-tall bronze sculpture Sentinel (2020) began at $2.6 million, and the piece finally hammered at $4.7 million, or $5.7 million with charges, on a excessive estimate of $5.5 million. The successful bid was a purchaser on the cellphone with Maria Los, Christie’s deputy chairman and head of shopper advisory for the Americas. The sale broke the artist’s previous auction record of $3 million, set by the sale of Las Meninas II (2019) throughout Sotheby’s modern night sale in Could 2023. Leigh could possibly be seen watching the sale of Sentinel on a livestream whereas attending MoMA PS1’s gala tonight.
Cecily Brown‘s Bedtime Story (1999). Picture courtesy of CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2025
Different high heaps included Cecily Brown’s Bedtime Story and Ed Ruscha‘s Blast Curtain from the house of Atencio and Demirdjian. Each works had excessive estimates of $6 million. Bedtime Story continued the development of girls artists commanding curiosity, hammering at $5.1 million or $6.2 million with charges. By comparability, Blast Curtain hammered at $4.6 million, or $5.6 million with charges.
Curiosity in feminine artists prolonged to Danielle Mckinney’s 2021 portrait The Idiot, which had a excessive estimate of $70,000. A 4.5-minute bidding battle erupted between a purchaser within the room, a web-based bidder, and a purchaser on the cellphone with Salome Tan Bo, Christie’s vp of Impressionist and fashionable artwork and the regional director for China. The net bidder was the eventual winner, with a hammer worth of $165,000, or $207,900 with charges.
Along with the benchmarks set by the Dumas and Leigh works, a brand new document was set for painter Louis Fratino after You and Your Issues (2022) offered for $756,000 together with charges.
Along with Child Growth, Brant additionally consigned John Currin’s Jaunty & Marne (1997), which additionally hammered at its low estimate of $2.5 million, or simply over $3 million together with charges.
Brant was additionally behind the withdrawal of an untitled 1988 Christopher Wool work that spells out “Helter Helter” and was estimated at $3.5 million to $5.5 million. He additionally had consigned Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Can Over Coke Bottle (1962), the final lot from Christie’s twentieth century sale on Monday evening, which was additionally withdrawn. Artnet Information’s Katya Kazakina previously reported the consignments for the works by Currin and Wool.
“I’ve lots of shoppers who’re feeling very cautious proper now, and that is simply not the time to make an enormous swing,” Lester mentioned. “And clearly, these auctions are pulling from the very high finish of the market, and so they’re very affected by this local weather.”
Emma McIntyre, Up bubbles her amorous breath (2021). Picture courtesy of CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2025
The night ended on a excessive be aware, with the sale of Emma McIntyre’s Up bubbles her amorous breath (2021). The portray garnered curiosity from fee bids, three specialists on the telephones, and a bidder within the room earlier than promoting to a purchaser on the phone with Los for a hammer worth of $160,000, or $201,600 together with charges, excess of its excessive estimate of $70,000. The portray, which didn’t have a assure, additionally set a brand new public sale document for the artist.
“It was ladies that carried the evening, and that was very thrilling,” Asher mentioned. “What can I say? Perhaps it’s as a result of I’m a feminist.”
