ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Christie's London Surrealist Sale Tops £130 Million

market-auction · 2026-04-26

On March 5, 2025, Christie's London evening auctions achieved over £130 million in sales, boasting a 94% sell-through rate by lot and 97% by value. The 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale raised £82.2 million, highlighted by Francis Bacon's Portrait of Man with Glasses III and Portrait du Docteur Boucard, both fetching £6.6 million, along with Tamara De Lempicka's Portrait du Docteur Boucard, which set a record for a male portrait by the artist. Amedeo Modigliani's Portrait de Lunia Czechowska sold for £6.2 million, while Michael Andrews' School IV: Barracuda reached £6 million. The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale brought in £48 million, led by René Magritte's La reconnaissance infinie at £10.3 million.

Key facts

  • Christie's London evening sales on March 5, 2025, totaled over £130 million.
  • 94% of lots sold by lot, 97% by value.
  • 20th/21st Century Evening Sale: £82.2 million, 72% of lots first time at auction.
  • Francis Bacon works sold together for £6.6 million.
  • Tamara De Lempicka set a new auction record for a male portrait at £6.6 million.
  • Amedeo Modigliani's Portrait de Lunia Czechowska sold for £6.2 million.
  • Michael Andrews set a new artist record at £6 million.
  • Egon Schiele's Knabe in Matrosenanzug sold for £3.3 million under Nazi restitution.
  • Danielle Mckinney set a new auction record at £264,600.
  • Sanya Kantarovsky's The House of the Spider sold for £289,800.
  • The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale totaled £48 million.
  • René Magritte's La reconnaissance infinie sold for £10.3 million.
  • Paul Delvaux's La ville endormie sold for £6.1 million (estimate £1.2-1.8 million).
  • Paul Delvaux's Les belles de nuit sold for £4.4 million (estimate £500,000-1 million).
  • Jean (Hans) Arp set a new record for a painted relief at £3.4 million.
  • Giorgio de Chirico's Gli archeologi sold for £378,000.

Entities

Artists

  • Francis Bacon
  • Tamara De Lempicka
  • Amedeo Modigliani
  • Michael Andrews
  • Egon Schiele
  • Danielle Mckinney
  • Sanya Kantarovsky
  • René Magritte
  • Paul Delvaux
  • Jean (Hans) Arp
  • Giorgio de Chirico
  • Fritz Grünbaum
  • David Hockney
  • Jadé Fadojutimi
  • Claude Monet
  • Pierre Bonnard
  • Camille Pissarro
  • Pierre-Auguste Renoir
  • Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
  • Hermann Max Pechstein
  • Alexej von Jawlensky
  • Vilhelm Hammershøi
  • Alighiero Boetti
  • Salvo
  • Lucio Fontana
  • Hannah Höch
  • Meret Oppenheim
  • André Breton
  • Peter Lacy
  • Antonio Mirabelli

Institutions

  • Christie's
  • Gagosian
  • NABA, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti
  • Sotheby's
  • Artribune

Locations

  • London
  • United Kingdom
  • Tangier
  • Morocco
  • California
  • United States
  • New York
  • Denmark

Sources