Market & Auctions

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

Most recent stories

Matteo Gardonio appointed director of Il Ponte Casa d’Aste’s 19th-20th century department market-auction
Matteo Gardonio, formerly an academic and scientific researcher specializing in the 19th and early 20th centuries, has been appointed director of the Paintings and Sculptures of…
Italian auction houses and the low-end art market opportunity market-auction
According to Artprice, in 2018 over 50% of secondary market art sales in the Western world were hammered at under $1,000. Citing The Art Market Report 2018, exactly 239,803 works…
Christie's Thinking Italian Milan achieves 94% sold lots and 99% value in 2019 auction market-auction
Christie's achieved 94% of lots sold and 99% of value sold during its Milan Art Week 2019 auctions, comprising the Evening Sale on April 3 and the Day Sale on April 4. The top lot…
Lula Livre Auction in São Paulo Features 50 Signed Photos of Ex-President by 43 Brazilian Photographers market-auction
The Leilão Lula Livre is set to occur on Wednesday, April 3, at the Sabiá bar in São Paulo, with options for online attendance. The event, organized by Fotógrafos pela Democracia,…
BLINDARTE Launches Trampoline Auction for Emerging Artists market-auction
Naples-based auction house BLINDARTE, with a Milan office, has launched an initiative called Trampoline | The Artists and Collectors Artpot, an online auction in May 2019 designed…
Massimo De Carlo Moves Gallery to Portaluppi Masterpiece, Abandons White Cube market-auction
Massimo De Carlo has relocated his Milan gallery from Lambrate to Casa Corbellini-Wassermann, a 1930s masterpiece by architect Piero Portaluppi. The inaugural exhibition,…
Gio Ponti's Casa di Fantasia collection achieves white glove sale at Phillips London market-auction
Phillips London, in collaboration with Italian auction house Cambi, achieved a white glove sale for the Casa di Fantasia collection by Gio Ponti on March 2019. The 30 lots,…
Various Small Fires Opens Seoul Branch, Bridging East-West Art Markets market-auction
Los Angeles gallery Various Small Fires has opened a new location in Seoul, South Korea, aiming to serve as a bridge between Eastern and Western art markets. Founder Esther Kim…
Vietnam's Contemporary Art Scene Gains International Attention market-auction
The contemporary art scene in Vietnam is attracting global interest, highlighted by notable auction outcomes at Sotheby's in 2022. Lê Thiên Bảo, curator at the Factory…
George Michael’s art collection auction at Christie’s London exceeds expectations market-auction
On March 14, 2019, George Michael’s art collection was auctioned at Christie’s London, generating over £9 million from the sale of all 58 items. Notably, 24% of the participants…
Freitag Launches New Bag Collection Combining Recycled Truck Tarps with PET Bottle Textiles market-auction
Zurich-based bag manufacturer Freitag has introduced a new line of bags called Tarp on PET (ToP), which blends their signature recycled truck tarps with textiles made from 100%…
Finarte si trasferisce in ex cinema a Milano con progetto da 4 milioni market-auction
Finarte, la casa d'aste, sta cambiando sede e si sposterà in Via Paolo Sarpi 8, in un ex cinema storico, il Teatro Aurora. Questo nuovo spazio fa parte del distretto IDD, che si…
Sotheby's and Christie's London Auctions: Mixed Results with Hockney Leading market-auction
Sotheby's London auction on March 2019 was subdued, with no works exceeding £10 million and total sales around £93 million, down from the previous year. Christie's fared better,…
Monet fails to break through at Sotheby's and Christie's London winter auctions market-auction
Sotheby's and Christie's held their winter auctions in London in February 2019, drawing 9,000 visitors to Sotheby's previews. Monet was the star lot for both houses: Sotheby's…
UniCredit to sell its 60,000-piece art collection to fund social impact banking market-auction
UniCredit has announced a gradual sale of its vast art collection, comprising at least 60,000 works spanning from antiquity to contemporary art, including over 4,000 photographs.…
Takashi Murakami releases iPhone cases featuring his iconic smiling flower market-auction
Born in 1962, Takashi Murakami is a well-known contemporary artist from Japan, celebrated for his fusion of traditional art with elements of anime and manga. He has introduced…
Supreme skateboard collection sells for $800,000 at Sotheby's market-auction
Ryan Fuller, a Los Angeles-based collector, sold his complete archive of 280 Supreme skateboards through Sotheby's for $800,000. The collection, assembled over 13 years, was…
Mid-size galleries face existential crisis in polarized art market market-auction
The art market is increasingly divided between large galleries and new entrants, putting pressure on mid-sized galleries. According to the 2018 Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market…
RICS Milan Conference Calls for International Art Valuation Standards market-auction
At a conference titled 'Fair Art: Art and International Valuation Standards' hosted by RICS at the Bank of Italy in Milan, industry experts highlighted the lack of transparent and…
New evidence in Robert Indiana estate trial implicates assistant and publisher market-auction
The legal battle over Robert Indiana's estate has intensified as text messages presented in a Manhattan district court appear to implicate his assistant Jamie Thomas and publisher…
MFA Boston expands merchandising to China through Alfilo Brands partnership market-auction
The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston has partnered with Alfilo Brands, a Shanghai-based licensing company, to develop its merchandising program in China. Alfilo Brands holds…
Lévy Gorvy to Open Hong Kong Gallery in March 2019 market-auction
In March 2019, Lévy Gorvy, the gallery established by Dominique Lévy and Brett Gorvy, will unveil a new location in Hong Kong coinciding with the seventh edition of Art Basel Hong…
2019 Art Market Predictions: Van Gogh, Hockney, and Gender Equality market-auction
On February 27, 2019, Christie's will auction a Vincent van Gogh portrait titled 'Portrait de femme: buste, profil gauche', created between 1885 and 1886, with an estimated value…
2018 Art Market: Top Lots at Christie's and Sotheby's market-auction
The 2018 art market saw record prices at Christie's and Sotheby's, driven by major collections and Asian demand. Christie's reported its best-ever first half, led by the…
2018 Auction Records: Hockney, Saville, Marshall, and Major Collections market-auction
In 2018, David Hockney became the most expensive living artist when his 1972 painting 'Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)' sold for $90.3 million at Christie's New York…
LVMH acquires Belmond for $3.2 billion, entering experiential luxury market-auction
Bernard Arnault's LVMH has finalized the purchase of Belmond, a London-based company, for $3.2 billion. Belmond manages 46 hotels across 24 nations, featuring renowned locations…
Phillips New York relocates to 432 Park Avenue tower market-auction
Phillips auction house, founded in 1796, is moving its New York headquarters from 450 Park Avenue to 432 Park Avenue, the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere. The…
Walmart Acquires Art.com to Attract High-Earners market-auction
Walmart, the US retail giant, has acquired Art.com, an online art sales platform founded in 1998 in San Francisco. This acquisition is part of Walmart's strategy to expand its…
Il Ponte's autumn auction preview: modern and contemporary art in Milan market-auction
So, Il Ponte Casa d'Aste is hosting an autumn auction on December 18-19, 2018, at Palazzo Crivelli in Milan. They’re presenting 104 lots of modern and contemporary art. You’ll see…
Sotheby's First Mumbai Auction: Boundless India Nets $7.9 Million market-auction
On November 29, 2018, Sotheby's held its inaugural auction in Mumbai, titled Boundless: India, at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. The sale achieved $7.9 million against a pre-sale…
Sotheby's Milan Auctions Set New Record for Leoncillo market-auction
Sotheby's held its second and final Milan session of 2018 for modern and contemporary art at Palazzo Serbelloni, achieving strong results. The evening sale alone set a new auction…
Renoir Painting Stolen from Palais Dorotheum in Vienna market-auction
During the Vienna Art Week, a Pierre-Auguste Renoir painting valued at €120,000–€160,000 was stolen from the Palais Dorotheum auction house. The theft occurred on Monday, November…
Yasumasa Morimura: Market Profile and Auction History market-auction
Yasumasa Morimura, born in 1951 in Osaka, is a leading figure in Japanese contemporary art known for postmodern appropriations and self-portraiture where he impersonates…
Legal battles force sale of Robert Indiana's collection market-auction
Two works from Robert Indiana's estate, Ed Ruscha's Ruby and Ellsworth Kelly's Orange Blue, are being sold at New York auctions to cover legal fees. The legal dispute involves the…
Sotheby's Launches Inaugural Auction in India at Taj Mahal Palace Hotel market-auction
Sotheby's has entered the Indian art market with its first auction in the country, titled "Boundless: India," held at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai on November 29, 2018.…
David Hockney becomes most expensive living artist at Christie's market-auction
During the 20th Century Week in New York, Christie's garnered $1.1 billion from 9 auctions, while Sotheby's achieved $835 million, marking a 15% increase compared to November…
Abstract: Reality Exhibition and Auction at Saatchi Gallery market-auction
The Saatchi Gallery in London will host Abstract: Reality, a group exhibition of abstract and photorealistic contemporary works by emerging artists, from December 6 to 13, 2018.…
New York Auction Week: Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips Results market-auction
The auction held in New York concluded on November 16, 2018, featuring masterpieces from Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips aimed at discerning collectors. Christie's…
New York November Auctions: Deaccessioning Debates and the Kerry James Marshall Controversy market-auction
The November auction season in New York is underway, with major sales at Phillips, Sotheby's, and Christie's. At Phillips, Jackson Pollock's 'Number 16' (1950), donated by Nelson…
Christie’s to Auction Four Picasso Portraits of His Muses and Wives market-auction
Christie’s will auction four portraits by Pablo Picasso depicting his muses and wives on November 11, 2018, in New York. The lots come from the collection of Sam Rose and his wife…

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