Market & Auctions

Market trends, sales, auction results, major lots, records, and analysis from Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips and others.

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Italy Postpones VAT Cut on Artworks, Frustrating Dealers market-auction
Federico Mollicone, head of the Culture Commission in Italy's Chamber of Deputies, explains why the promised reduction of VAT on art sales was not included in the recent Culture…
Christie's to Hold First Auction Dedicated to AI-Generated Art in New York market-auction
Christie's has announced "Augmented Intelligence," the first auction exclusively dedicated to artworks created using artificial intelligence and machine learning. The online sale…
Finarte opens Naples branch at de Bonart hotel market-auction
Auction house Finarte, founded in 1959 by Milanese banker Gian Marco Manusardi, has partnered with the de Bonart Naples hotel, part of the Caracciolo Hospitality Group, to…
Sotheby's inaugural Saudi Arabia auction nets over $17 million with strong local buying market-auction
Sotheby's first auction in Saudi Arabia brought in over USD 17 million, with more than a third of the items acquired by local buyers. Held in Diriyah, Riyadh, this event followed…
Sotheby's Saudi Debut: $17M Auction Mixed Results market-auction
On February 8, 2025, Sotheby's held its first auction in Saudi Arabia, titled 'Origins: Modern And Contemporary Art', in the historic UNESCO site of Diriyah. The sale featured 100…
Stradivari violin sold for $11.3 million at Sotheby's New York market-auction
Sotheby's New York sold the Stradivari Joachim-Ma violin for $11.3 million on February 7, 2025, during its Masters Week. The auction lasted only a few minutes and fell short of…
Artribune and Catawiki Partner for Special Art Auction market-auction
Catawiki has joined forces with the Italian art publication Artribune to present 'Tributo all'Arte', an auction showcasing a diverse range of artworks from classical to…
Italian Government Rejects Art Market Reform, Industry Faces Crisis market-auction
On February 3, 2025, the Italian Chamber of Deputies discussed the Culture Decree Law without including any amendments for art market reform, sparking outrage from industry groups…
Christie's Paris to auction Onzea-Govaerts collection curated by Axel Vervoordt market-auction
On March 27, 2025, Christie's will hold a single-owner auction in Paris of the Onzea-Govaerts Collection, curated by designer, antiquarian and collector Axel Vervoordt. The…
Sotheby's tops auction house rankings in 2024 with $6 billion sales market-auction
In 2024, Sotheby's led the global auction house rankings with $6 billion in sales, outpacing Christie's, which recorded $5.7 billion, and Phillips at $843 million. On January 23,…
Alfonso Artiaco Gallery Flees Naples Historic Center Due to Overtourism market-auction
Galleria Alfonso Artiaco is relocating from Piazzetta Nilo in Naples' historic center back to Palazzo Partanna in Piazza dei Martiri, Chiaia, citing excessive tourism. The gallery…
Christie's CEO Guillaume Cerutti to Lead Pinault Collection market-auction
Christie's CEO Guillaume Cerutti will step down on February 1, 2025, to become President of the Pinault Collection and oversee cultural activities for the Pinault family's holding…
Il Ponte Casa d'Aste chiude il 2024 con fatturato stabile e guarda al 2025 con Millon Auction Group market-auction
Il Ponte Casa d'Aste ha chiuso il 2024 con un fatturato di €34,8 milioni, simile ai €34,9 milioni dell'anno scorso, riuscendo a vendere l'86% dei lotti. L'arte moderna e…
Iris Apfel's private collection to be auctioned by Christie's market-auction
Nearly a year after her death, the private collection of style icon and interior designer Iris Apfel will be auctioned by Christie's. The online sale runs from January 28 to…
Museo Reina Sofía Adds 470 Works Worth €8 Million in 2024 market-auction
In 2024, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid expanded its collection by acquiring 470 pieces from 227 artists at a cost of around €8 million. Director Manuel…
Art Market 2024: Surrealism Records, Fairs in Flux, and Generational Wealth Shift market-auction
In 2024, the art market encountered significant vulnerabilities, marked by declines in auction revenues of double digits, price moderation, and the shuttering of galleries.…
Pendragon's Silvio Negri-Clementi on Italy's board game market market-auction
Silvio Negri-Clementi, CEO of Italian studio Pendragon, discusses the state of the board game market in Italy. Italy lags behind Nordic, Anglo-Saxon, and Central European…
The Role of Art Agents in Supporting Contemporary Artists' Careers market-auction
Art agents serve as professional representatives for contemporary artists, handling career management in a complex art market. They provide services including promotion, sales…
Cambi's Milan Auction Features Kandinsky, Isgrò, and Gilardi market-auction
Cambi Casa d’Aste is wrapping up the year with its final auction for Modern and Contemporary Art on December 18, 2024, in Milan. This event will showcase 180 lots, including…
Italian Auction Season: Modern and Contemporary Art Sales Report market-auction
From late November to early December 2024, the Italian auction scene for modern and contemporary art was quite active. On November 27, Blindarte in Naples and Milan auctioned…
Art Basel Miami Beach 2024: Market Rethinks Strategy with $30M Picasso Unsold market-auction
The Art Basel Miami Beach, held for the first time since Donald Trump's election, concluded on December 8, 2024, drawing more than 75,000 attendees. Under the direction of Bridget…
Diego Giacometti record auction at Christie's Paris design sale market-auction
On December 3, 2024, Christie's Paris design auction achieved remarkable success, bringing in €19.4 million, exceeding expectations. A standout piece was Diego Giacometti's…
AI and NFTs: How Technology Reshaped the Art Market market-auction
In March 2021, Christie's opened bidding on Beeple's 'Everydays' at $100. Two weeks later, the sale closed at $69,346,250, a record for an NFT artwork. Before that, NFTs were…
Art Rental Services Offer Practical Solutions for Film, Commercial, and Corporate Settings market-auction
Art rental services provide a practical alternative for acquiring artwork, particularly for temporary or project-specific needs in film production, commercial design, and…
Ben Brown to Open New Gallery in Milan market-auction
Ben Brown, founder of Ben Brown Fine Arts, plans to open a new gallery and office in Milan, attracted by Italy's favorable tax conditions and dynamic art scene. Brown, who opened…
Cattelan's Banana Fetches $6.24M at Sotheby's, Paid in Cryptocurrency market-auction
Maurizio Cattelan's 'Comedian' (2019), a banana duct-taped to a wall, sold for $6.24 million at Sotheby's New York on November 20, 2024, far exceeding its $1-1.5 million estimate.…
Phillips New York auction falls short with Basquiat unsold market-auction
On November 19, Phillips held its Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York, achieving $54.1 million—down 23% from the $70 million garnered in 2023. The auction comprised…
Magritte's 'L'empire des lumières' Fetches $121.16M at Christie's, Setting New Auction Record market-auction
At Christie's New York on November 19, 2024, René Magritte's 1954 painting 'L'empire des lumières' sold for $121.16 million after a 10-minute bidding war, establishing a new…
Blindarte Autumn Auctions: Sol LeWitt, Kounellis, and Transavanguardia Highlights market-auction
Blindarte has unveiled its catalogs for the autumn auction scheduled for November 27 in Naples, which will include telephone bidding from Milan and online participation. The…
Sydell Miller Collection Achieves White-Glove Sale at Sotheby's New York market-auction
Sotheby's New York evening sales on November 18, 2024, totaled nearly $216 million, led by the Sydell Miller collection. The 'A Legacy of Beauty: The Collection of Sydell Miller…
STELLA Alliance Founders Chimere Cissé and Greta Scarpa Launch Platform to Empower Women Art Collectors market-auction
Chimere Cissé and Greta Scarpa, the creators of STELLA Alliance, are addressing the gender imbalance in the art market through a membership platform aimed at female collectors in…
Fondazione Perugia acquires two Perugino masterpieces at Vienna auction market-auction
Fondazione Perugia has purchased two panel paintings by Pietro Vannucci, known as Perugino (1446–1523), at a Vienna auction: "Cristo coronato di spine" (1497–1500) and "Vergine"…
Ai-Da's AI Painting Sells for Over €1 Million at Sotheby's market-auction
On November 8, 2024, Sotheby's auctioned the first artwork created by a humanoid AI robot, Ai-Da, titled 'AI God. Portrait of Alan Turing', for over €1 million. The sale raises…
Italian Supreme Court Ruling Reignites Debate on Art Collector Taxation market-auction
Italy's Supreme Court ruling 19363 of July 15, 2024 has reignited debate on taxing art collectors. The case involved a collector who sold a Claude Monet painting through a major…
Ai-Da's AI God portrait of Alan Turing sells for $1.124M at Sotheby's market-auction
The humanoid robot Ai-Da created the painting AI God. Portrait of Alan Turing (2024), which sold at Sotheby's for $1,124,000, far exceeding its estimate of $120,000–180,000. The…
Sotheby's and Christie's Asian Auctions: Rothko Debuts in Hong Kong, Zao Wou-Ki Leads Shanghai market-auction
Sotheby's and Christie's held major auctions in Hong Kong and Shanghai in November 2024. Sotheby's inaugurated its new Chater House headquarters with Modern & Contemporary Art…
Good StArt charity auction for neurological care in Milan market-auction
The third edition of Good StArt, a charity auction of contemporary art, design, and photography, will be held on November 28, 2024, at the TOG Foundation's center in Via Livigno…
Sotheby's Launches First Auction in Saudi Arabia with 'Origins' Sale and Riyadh Office market-auction
Sotheby's will conduct its inaugural auction in Saudi Arabia on 8 February 2025, marking the first international sale in the Kingdom. The event, titled Origins, is scheduled for…
Warhol's Trump Tower portrait heads to auction after being snubbed by Trump market-auction
On November 19, 2024, Phillips New York will auction Andy Warhol's 'Skyscrapers,' a 1981 portrait of Trump Tower, estimated at $500,000–$700,000. The work was never purchased by…
Sotheby's Milano to Auction Italian Design Masters market-auction
From November 6 to 15, 2024, Sotheby's Milano will host its second online design auction, showcasing the brilliance of 20th-century Italian design. Featured in the auction is the…

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