Christie’s celebrates 25 years of Italian art sales with Paris auction
On October 23, 2025, Christie’s Paris will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its Italian art auction series, Avant-Garde(s), featuring Thinking Italian. Among the highlights is Yves Klein’s California (IKB 71), anticipated to fetch over €16 million and being offered for the first time since 1961. This four-meter-wide piece hails from an American collection and was previously displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 2005 to 2008. Additional notable items include a tapestry by Mimmo Paladino and Alighiero Boetti (€150,000-200,000), a piece by Gino De Dominicis (€80,000-120,000), and Mario Schifano’s Grande Quadro Equestre Italiano (€150,000-200,000). Mariolina Bassetti, Chairman of Christie’s, called for reforms to Italy's 1939 export law. The auction will align with a private exhibition in Milan from November 11 to December 5, 2025.
Key facts
- Christie’s Paris holds Avant-Garde(s) including Thinking Italian on October 23, 2025.
- The auction celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Thinking Italian series, started in London in 2000-2001 and moved to Paris in 2022.
- Yves Klein’s California (IKB 71), 1961, is the top lot, estimated above €16 million, offered at auction for the first time.
- The Klein monochrome was last publicly exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 2005 to 2008.
- The Alessandro Grassi Collection includes works by Paladino, Boetti, De Dominicis, and Schifano.
- Boetti’s Ammazzare il tempo (30 Afghan tapestries) is estimated at €1,000,000-1,500,000.
- A rare 1959 Jannis Kounellis alphabet work is estimated at €1,000,000-1,500,000.
- Mariolina Bassetti calls for reform of Italy’s 1939 export law to boost the art market.
- Christie’s will host a private selling exhibition in Milan, Attraverso / À Travers, from Nov 11 to Dec 5, 2025.
- The auction audience is 30% Italian, 30% European, 30% American, and 10% from Middle East and Asia.
Entities
Artists
- Yves Klein
- Alighiero Boetti
- Lucio Fontana
- Domenico Gnoli
- Tancredi
- Piero Manzoni
- Arnaldo Pomodoro
- Mario Schifano
- Giovanni Anselmo
- Jannis Kounellis
- Maurizio Cattelan
- Mimmo Paladino
- Gino De Dominicis
- Alex Katz
- Andy Warhol
- Pablo Picasso
- Gino Severini
- Giacomo Balla
- Alberto Burri
- Paul Signac
- René Magritte
- Max Ernst
- Alessandro Grassi
Institutions
- Christie’s
- Galleria Apollinaire
- Colorama
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Art Basel
- NABA Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti
- Artribune
- Christie's
- Art Basel Paris
- PAC Milano
- Guggenheim New York
- Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci
- MoMA
- Tate
- Centre Pompidou
- GNAM
- Palazzo Clerici
Locations
- Paris
- France
- London
- United Kingdom
- Milan
- Italy
- New York
- United States
- Hong Kong
- China
- Gelsenkirchen
- Germany
- Afghanistan
- Switzerland
- Middle East
- Asia
- Prato