Christie's and Sotheby's New York spring auctions total over $1.4 billion

Christie's and Sotheby's held five spring auctions over three evenings in New York, generating over $1.4 billion combined. Christie's 21st Century evening sale on May 11 achieved $210.5 million, led by Jean-Michel Basquiat's 'In this case' at $93 million (with premium) and a set of nine CryptoPunks NFTs at $16.96 million. Eleven artist records were set, including for Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Jordan Casteel, and Rashid Johnson. Sotheby's three sales on May 12 totaled $597 million: 'American Visionary: The Collection of Mrs. John L. Marion' brought $157.2 million, with Andy Warhol's 'Elvis 2 Times' at $37 million; the Contemporary Art sale reached $218.3 million, featuring Basquiat's 'Versus Medici' at $50.8 million and Banksy's 'Love is in the Air' at $12.9 million (accepted in cryptocurrency); the Impressionist & Modern Art sale added $221.3 million, led by Claude Monet's 'Le Bassin aux nymphéas' at $70.3 million. Christie's 20th Century evening sale on May 13 achieved $481 million, with Pablo Picasso's 'Femme assise près d'une fenetre (Marie-Thérèse)' selling for $103.4 million, a record for the artist at auction. Other highlights included Monet's 'Waterloo Bridge, effet de brouillard' at $48.5 million, Vincent van Gogh's 'Le pont de Trinquetaille' at $37.4 million, and Mark Rothko's 'Untitled' at $38.1 million. The auctions were sponsored by fashion brands Brioni (Christie's) and Loewe (Sotheby's).