Overview
- New York’s five-day auction cycle reached roughly $2.2 billion in sales, a year-over-year increase of about 77% reported by Artsy.
- Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Elizabeth Lederer sold for $236.36 million, the second-highest auction price ever, with competition from Asian, American, and Middle Eastern bidders.
- Auction houses leaned on backing bids and negotiated reserves as low as 70%, pulled fewer lots, and enhanced presentation, including Sotheby’s new Breuer space, to reinforce sell-through.
- Buying concentrated on established names with more than 25 lots topping $10 million and strong results for Kerry James Marshall, Cecily Brown’s record, and Amy Sherald, while several artist markets underwent downward reassessments.
- Christie’s surpassed $960 million for the week and Sotheby’s logged a $706 million single-night total, yet extending this momentum to mixed-property sales remains the key challenge.