ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

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

market-auction · 2026-04-26

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).

Key facts

  • Christie's and Sotheby's spring auctions in New York totaled over $1.4 billion.
  • Christie's 21st Century sale on May 11 reached $210.5 million, led by Basquiat's 'In this case' at $93 million.
  • A set of nine CryptoPunks NFTs sold for $16.96 million at Christie's.
  • Eleven artist records were set at Christie's 21st Century sale.
  • Sotheby's three sales on May 12 totaled $597 million.
  • Sotheby's Contemporary Art sale included Banksy's 'Love is in the Air' sold for $12.9 million, accepted in cryptocurrency.
  • Christie's 20th Century sale on May 13 achieved $481 million, with Picasso's 'Femme assise près d'une fenetre' at $103.4 million.
  • The auctions were sponsored by Brioni (Christie's) and Loewe (Sotheby's).

Entities

Artists

  • Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
  • Jordan Casteel
  • Rashid Johnson
  • Andy Warhol
  • Banksy
  • Claude Monet
  • Pablo Picasso
  • Vincent van Gogh
  • Mark Rothko
  • Cy Twombly
  • Gerhard Richter
  • Clyfford Still
  • Richard Diebenkorn
  • Roy Lichtenstein
  • Piet Mondrian
  • Wayne Thiebaud
  • Alighiero Boetti
  • Joan Mitchell
  • Grace Hartigan
  • Alice Neel
  • Barbara Hepworth
  • Henri Matisse
  • Willem de Kooning
  • Georges Seurat
  • Sigmar Polke
  • Zao Wou-Ki
  • Henri-Edmond Cross
  • Alex Da Corte
  • Jonas Wood
  • Nina Chanel Abney
  • El Anatsui
  • Joel Mesler
  • Mickalene Thomas
  • Martin Kippenberger
  • Cindy Sherman
  • Dana Schutz
  • Christopher Wool
  • George Condo
  • Keith Haring
  • Robert Colescott
  • Jeff Koons
  • Bruce Nauman
  • Alexander Calder
  • Elizabeth Peyton
  • Raymond Pettibon
  • Salman Tor
  • Leonor Fini
  • Edgar Degas
  • Paul Cézanne
  • Amedeo Modigliani
  • Childe Hassam
  • Alfred Sisley
  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
  • Lucio Fontana
  • Marino Marini
  • Franz Kline
  • Sam Francis
  • Hans Hofmann
  • Larry Rivers
  • Kenneth Noland
  • Jasper Johns
  • David Hockney
  • Anselm Kiefer
  • Jesús Rafael Soto
  • Alberto Giacometti
  • Joan Miró
  • Mark Bradford
  • Larva Labs
  • Camille Pissarro
  • Francis Picabia
  • Edvard Munch
  • Arshile Gorky
  • Wassily Kandinsky
  • Piero del Pollaiuolo
  • Bahman Mohasses
  • Frank Dobson
  • František Kupka
  • Jean Fautrier
  • Jean Dubuffet
  • Damien Hirst
  • Andreas Gursky
  • Kees van Dongen
  • Auguste Rodin
  • Pierre-Auguste Renoir
  • Jean-François Raffaëlli
  • Hans Arp
  • Louise Bourgeois
  • Rosemarie Trockel
  • Georg Baselitz
  • Frank Auerbach
  • Gilbert and George
  • Giulio Romano
  • Theo van Gogh
  • Jeanne Lanvin
  • George Bernheim
  • Paul Rosenberg
  • Simon Bauer
  • Dora Maar
  • Frida Kahlo
  • Max Beckmann
  • René Magritte
  • Remedios Varo
  • Dorothea Tanning
  • Paul Delvaux
  • Kay Sage
  • Georgia O'Keeffe
  • Wilfredo Lam
  • Jean Arp
  • Leonora Carrington
  • Milton Avery
  • Philip Guston
  • Barnett Newman
  • Marie-Thérèse Walter
  • Gustav Klimt
  • Cecily Brown
  • Willem De Kooning
  • Vilhelm Hammershøi

Institutions

  • Christie's
  • Sotheby's
  • Tate Modern
  • Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
  • New York Historical Society
  • Art for Acres
  • Brioni
  • Loewe
  • Artribune
  • National Gallery London
  • Breuer Building
  • Gagosian Gallery
  • Toledo Museum of Art
  • NABA
  • Mo Ostin Collection
  • Jan and Maria Manetti Shrem collection

Locations

  • New York
  • United States
  • London
  • United Kingdom
  • Hong Kong
  • China
  • Los Angeles
  • Texas
  • Paris
  • France
  • Montmartre
  • Singapore
  • Venice
  • Italy
  • Argenteuil
  • Giverny
  • Weehawken

Sources