Record-Breaking Old Master Sales in London Summer Auctions
The Old Master week in London wrapped up with outstanding achievements at Christie's and Sotheby's. On June 30, 2026, Christie's Old Masters Evening Sale and The Exceptional Sale garnered £50.7 million, establishing seven new world auction records. Among the highlights, Sir Thomas Lawrence's portrait of the first Duke of Wellington fetched £9.67 million, marking a record for the artist. Jan van Huysum's floral still lifes sold for £6.5 million and £5.5 million, both setting new benchmarks. The Exceptional Sale contributed £12 million, featuring a first edition of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights at £1.2 million and an Egyptian statue at £3.7 million. On July 1, Sotheby's The Hamilton Laocoön achieved £13.62 million, a record for neoclassical sculpture, while their Old Master auction reached £37.7 million, a 160% increase from July 2025, with over ten new records.
Key facts
- Christie's Old Master sales on June 30, 2026 totaled £50.7 million with seven new world auction records.
- Sir Thomas Lawrence's portrait of the Duke of Wellington sold for £9.67 million, a record for the artist.
- Jan van Huysum's Fruit and flowers in a wicker basket and Flowers in a terracotta vase sold for £6.5 million and £5.5 million respectively.
- A first edition of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights sold for £1.2 million, a record for 19th-century literature and for Brontë.
- An Egyptian statue from the Hovingham Hall Collection sold for £3.7 million in Christie's Exceptional Sale.
- Sotheby's single-lot sale of The Hamilton Laocoön by Auguste-Jean Marie Carbonneaux achieved £13.62 million on July 1, 2026.
- Sotheby's Old Master Evening Auction totaled £37.7 million, up 160% from July 2025, with over ten new records.
- Rembrandt's Let The Little Children Come Unto Me sold for £8 million, likely to a third-party guarantor.
Entities
Artists
- Sir Thomas Lawrence
- Jan van Huysum
- Emily Brontë
- Auguste-Jean Marie Carbonneaux
- Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
- Sir Edwin Henry Landseer
- Pieter Brueghel the Younger
- Hans Memling
- Jan van Mieris
- John Melhuish Strudwick
- Girolamo da Santacroce
- Adélaïde Labille-Guiard
- William Beckford
- Elisabeth Lobkowicz
- Antonio Mirabelli
Institutions
- Christie's
- Sotheby's
- Artribune
- Hovingham Hall Collection
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Paris
- France