centennial market analysis joan mitchell

A centennial market analysis of Joan Mitchell reveals that an untitled 1979 abstract work by the artist was the most expensive artwork on offer at Art Basel Miami Beach, priced at $18.5 million by Gray gallery. The article examines Mitchell's auction performance, noting that her record stands at $29.2 million set in 2023, and that three paintings have sold for over $20 million since then. Despite these strong results, her auction highs still trail behind male Abstract Expressionist contemporaries like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko.

at miami basel dealers notch seven figure sales digital art draws crowds

Art Basel Miami Beach opened its VIP preview on Wednesday with strong early sales, including multiple seven-figure deals. Major galleries like Hauser & Wirth, White Cube, Gladstone, and Pace reported significant sales, with a $3.9 million George Condo painting leading the pack. The fair introduced a new digital-art section called Zero 10, featuring works by Beeple, which drew large crowds. Collectors such as Craig Robins, Mera and Don Rubell, Norman Braman, and Beth Rudin DeWoody were among the early attendees, and the event featured high-profile works by Jeff Koons and Maurizio Cattelan.

phillips modern contemporary 2025 evening sale report

Phillips New York's modern and contemporary evening sale on Tuesday night generated $52 million, a 40 percent drop from the $86 million achieved in the same sale last year. The auction exactly met its pre-sale estimate, but five lots failed to sell and four were withdrawn. Despite the overall downturn, five new records were set for women artists, including Kiki Kogelnik, Ilana Savdie, Olga de Amaral, and Grace Hartigan. The top lot was Jean-Michel Basquiat's *Untitled* (1984) at $6.6 million, followed by works by Ed Ruscha and Donald Judd. Bidding was active for several works, with many going to US buyers, and a painting by Yu Nishimura, newly represented by David Zwirner, sold for more than double its estimate.

Pace Gallery Lands Brancusi Estate on Eve of Potential $100 Million Sale

Pace Gallery has secured global representation of the Constantin Brancusi Estate, announcing plans for a London exhibition this fall curated by art historian Jérôme Neutres. The news coincides with the auction of Brancusi's 1917 sculpture *Danaïde* at Christie's New York, estimated at $100 million, from the collection of late media mogul S.I. Newhouse. The estate was previously represented by Kasmin gallery, which closed last year. Pace's CEO Marc Glimcher emphasized the gallery's investment in modernist expertise and its ambition to become a market center for Brancusi works.

jeffrey deitch auction week

Art dealer Jeffrey Deitch shared his impressions of New York's $2.2 billion auction week, praising Sotheby's for its acquisition of the Breuer Building and the intimate atmosphere of its new salesroom. He highlighted the $527 million sale of Leonard A. Lauder's collection, the presence of major figures like Patrick Drahi, Larry Gagosian, and the Mugrabi clan, and lauded auctioneer Ollie Barker's skill. Deitch contrasted the experience with the old days of auction-going, noting the excitement and club-like feeling.

collectors reveal key advice part ii

Artnet News published part two of a two-part series featuring advice from 11 experienced collectors. Among them are comedian Cheech Marin, who began collecting Chicano art in the 1980s and opened the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture in Riverside, California in 2022, and Kiran Nadar, founder of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in India, who with her husband has amassed over 15,000 works. Marin emphasizes trusting instincts, building relationships with artists, seeing art in person, and warns about storage space becoming an addiction. Nadar advises staying open and curious, and not hesitating to explore the unfamiliar.

conditional authenticity appraisal reports recent cases

A Paris court seized 135 allegedly stolen paintings from Paris-based art authenticators ArtAnalysis in January, which had been holding the works for collector Mozes Frisch. The pieces are part of a 1,778-work collection supposedly by heavyweight Russian modernists. Palestinian businessman Uthman Khatib and his son Prince Castro Ben Leon claim the works were stolen from them by Frisch in 2019, and are suing in Germany for return of the works or $323 million. ArtAnalysis owner Laurette Thomas, Frisch, and collector Olivia Amar are countersuing Khatib for return of the Paris-held works plus $30.5 million in damages. The Khatibs' law firm Dentons hired Doerr Dallas Valuations to appraise the 135 disputed works, which assigned a $208 million valuation but included a caveat, likely related to the fact that many works were listed on the Art Loss Register in 2014 during an investigation into disgraced Israeli art dealer Itzhak Zarug, who was suspected of dealing fakes.

For young dealers, being in New York is key to surviving and thriving

The article examines how young art dealers in New York are adapting to the city's high costs and competitive market during the May art season. It highlights galleries like Europa, Esther, and Gordon Robichaux participating in multiple fairs simultaneously, such as Frieze New York and Independent New York, to maximize sales and visibility. Dealers like Pali Kashi and Silke Lindner emphasize strategic resourcefulness, with some sales already covering fair costs, while referencing artist Josh Kline's essay on how real estate pressures stifle artistic risk-taking.

Japan's Art Market Growth and Asian Art News

japans art market growth asian art news

Japan’s art market demonstrated remarkable resilience in 2024, growing by 2% to reach $692 million despite a 12% contraction in the global art market. A government-commissioned report by economist Clare McAndrew revealed that the Japanese market is characterized by high-volume, lower-value transactions, with 93% of sales occurring at price points under $10,000 and dealers accounting for the vast majority of trade.

rebecca salsbury james

Rebecca Salsbury James, an artist who mastered reverse painting on glass and colcha embroidery, is gaining renewed attention. Born in 1891 in London to parents involved in the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, she later moved to Taos, New Mexico, where she lived until her death in 1968. She was married to photographer Paul Strand, a close friend of Georgia O'Keeffe, and exhibited at Alfred Stieglitz's gallery. Recent milestones include her inclusion in the 2025 Site Santa Fe International, a new acquisition by the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, and a record auction price for her work at Christie's in 2016.

The Box Shutters in Los Angeles After Nearly Two Decades

The Box, a pioneering Los Angeles gallery known for its nonprofit-style support of experimental and performance art, has announced its closure after nearly two decades. Founded in 2007 by Mara McCarthy, the gallery’s final exhibition featured late California painter Wally Hedrick, and a closing event will include a fashion show by Johanna Went. Mara McCarthy cited the shifting market for her father Paul McCarthy’s work and the loss of family homes in the Eaton Fire as factors behind the decision.

Under new ownership, Art Monte Carlo voices 'global ambitions'

The 10th edition of Art Monte Carlo took place from April 29 to May 1 in the Grimaldi Forum, featuring 26 exhibitors ranging from Old Master paintings to contemporary works by Picasso, Warhol, and Richter. The fair was acquired last year by Informa Prestige, a luxury offshoot of Informa, which also owns Miami's Untitled fair. Executive chair John Paton aims to grow the fair, nearly double its size within two years, and expand to another location, leveraging complementary audiences from yachting and supercars.

phillips nets lean 52 million in new york led by basquiat that david bowie bought for

Phillips’s Modern and contemporary art evening sale in New York totaled $52 million, a sharp decline from $86.3 million last year. Four lots were withdrawn before the sale, including works by Pablo Picasso and Jasper Johns, and five lots failed to sell, yielding an 86% sell-through rate (78% including withdrawals). The hammer total of $41.8 million fell below the pre-sale low estimate of $52.3 million. Notable sales included a Basquiat piece once owned by David Bowie, which sold for $6.59 million (Bowie bought it in 1995 for $93,400), and a Kiki Kogelnik painting that set a new artist record at $356,000. Five auction records were set overall, including for Ilana Savdie, Olga de Amaral, Grace Hartigan, and James Turrell.

marlene dumas record women artist christies sale

Marlene Dumas set a new auction record for the most expensive living female artist when her 1997 painting *Miss January* sold for $13.6 million at a Christie’s evening sale. The work, featuring a nude woman with a ghostly white face, was pre-sold with a third-party guarantee. Other women artists also broke personal records that night, including Simone Leigh (sculpture for $5.7 million) and Emma McIntyre (painting for $201,000). However, the top five priciest works of the week were all by men: Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti, René Magritte, and Piet Mondrian, with Mondrian’s *Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue* selling for $47.6 million.

talentspotter technology future human

Artnet Pro's Talentspotter feature highlights seven Asian artists pushing boundaries in contemporary art through diverse media such as 3D printing, VR, photography, and large-scale installation. The artists include Hà Ninh Pham from Vietnam, who creates speculative topographical works and virtual games, and Heecheon Kim from South Korea, who examines digital cognition and reality using GPS, AR, and VR. The article provides critical and market insights into each artist's practice, background, and recent exhibitions, originally published in the Asia Pivot newsletter.

Sotheby’s $433 Million Contemporary Evening and Mnuchin Sales Kicked Off New York’s May Marquee Auctions

Sotheby's held two major evening sales in New York—the Mnuchin collection sale and The Now & Contemporary Evening Auction—generating a combined $433.1 million. The Mnuchin sale achieved a white-glove result of $166.3 million, led by Mark Rothko's *Brown and Blacks in Reds* (1957) which sold for $85.8 million, while the contemporary auction reached $266.8 million, with Jean-Michel Basquiat's *Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown)* as the top lot. The results fell within presale estimates but marked a 133% increase over last May's contemporary sales.

Sotheby’s Evelyn Lin On Asia’s Maturing Market, Young Collectors and the New Rules of the Hong Kong Sale

Sotheby’s recently concluded its spring marquee auctions in Hong Kong, generating a combined total of HK$711.8 million ($91.2 million). The sales were anchored by the success of Joan Mitchell’s 'La Grande Vallée VII,' which sold for $17.6 million, and achieved a nearly 100 percent sell-through rate by value. The performance was bolstered by the auction house's new 'Maison' headquarters, a dual-level retail and exhibition space that attracted over 44,500 visitors in the lead-up to the sales.

Cause for cheer at Art Basel as strong preview-day sales take many galleries by surprise

Major international galleries reported unexpectedly strong sales on the preview day of Art Basel, despite geopolitical tensions, stock market volatility, and uncertainty over US tariffs. Thaddaeus Ropac sold works by Georg Baselitz, James Rosenquist, and Robert Rauschenberg, while Gagosian, David Zwirner, Pace, and Hauser & Wirth also reported multimillion-dollar sales, including a Ruth Asawa sculpture for $9.5 million and a Pablo Picasso painting priced at $30 million. Many dealers expressed surprise at the speed and volume of sales, which defied the broader international environment.

At Sotheby’s, a $70M Giacometti Fails to Sell While Works By Munch and Cézanne Ignite Buyer Excitement

Sotheby’s Modern Evening Auction on May 13, 2025, achieved $186.4 million in sales but was overshadowed by the failure of its headline lot: Alberto Giacometti’s hand-painted bronze bust *Grande tête mince (Grande tête de Diego)*, estimated at $70 million. The work, consigned by the Soloviev Foundation, went unsold after minimal bidding, lacking a guarantee or irrevocable bid. Other highlights included a strong performance by Edvard Munch and Paul Cézanne works, with 40% of lots exceeding high estimates. Notable sales included Georgia O’Keeffe’s *Leaves of a Plant* ($12.97 million) and Alexander Calder’s *Four Big Dots* ($8.285 million), both fresh to market.

Sotheby’s May Auctions: Rothko’s $100M Masterpiece Headlines

Sotheby's is holding its most ambitious May auction series in New York, headlined by Mark Rothko's monumental painting *Brown and Blacks in Reds* (1957), estimated at $70–100 million. The sales include a dedicated auction for the collection of legendary dealer and collector Robert Mnuchin, valued at over $130 million, featuring works by Rothko, Franz Kline, and Jeff Koons. Other highlights include Jean-Michel Basquiat's *Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown)* (1983), estimated at over $45 million, and Willem de Kooning's *Untitled III* (1975), making its auction debut with a $25–35 million estimate. The series spans Modern and Contemporary art, with additional works by Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh.

Liu Wei’s "You Like Pork?" leads Poly Hong Kong modern and contemporary art sale at US$3.5m

Poly Auction Hong Kong concluded its modern and contemporary art sale on April 6, achieving a total of HK$76.4 million (US$9.8 million) with a 67% sell-through rate. The auction was headlined by Liu Wei’s 1995 masterpiece "You Like Pork?", which sold for HK$27.6 million (US$3.5 million) to a phone bidder. Other top performers included Zao Wou-Ki’s "15.07.67" from his Hurricane period and Wu Dayu’s "Rhymes of Beijing Opera," both of which surpassed the HK$10 million threshold.

20th and 21st Century auctions in New York total $965 million

Christie’s New York concluded its 20th and 21st Century Art sales week on November 21, 2025, generating a total of $964.5 million, the auction house’s highest in three years. The sales included the Collection of Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis, which alone brought in $218 million, led by Mark Rothko’s *No. 31 (Yellow Stripe)* at $62.1 million. Other top lots included works by Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, and David Hockney, each exceeding $40 million. Fifteen artist records were broken, including for Beauford Delaney, Leonor Fini, Firelei Báez, and Olga de Amaral. Bidding was active across all platforms, with the highest online bid ever placed at a live Christie’s auction.

Cindy and Howard Rachofsky’s Dallas Home Could Be Yours at a Discount, for $17.5 M.

Cindy and Howard Rachofsky, prominent art collectors and mainstays on the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list, have reduced the asking price of their Dallas home, the Richard Meier–designed Rachofsky House, from $23 million to $17.5 million. The property, completed in 1996 and located in the affluent Preston Hollow neighborhood, has been on the market since October 2024. The Rachofskys, whose collection includes over 800 works, previously hosted the Two x Two gala in support of AIDS- and art-focused initiatives in Dallas, but stopped hosting the event in 2024.

New Orleans Galleries’ Spring Sale Blooms With Modern and Contemporary Works

New Orleans Auction Galleries has announced its upcoming Fine Art and Design sale, featuring 279 lots that span over a century of modern and contemporary art. The auction highlights a diverse range of works, including pieces by Mexican modernist José Clemente Orozco, Abstract Expressionist Grace Hartigan, and Southern Regionalist John McCrady. The selection focuses on themes of identity, social consciousness, and the intersection of text and visual media.

emma mcintyre 2025

Emma McIntyre, a New Zealand-born painter known for her oxidation technique using rust on canvas, has rapidly ascended in the art world. After earning MFAs in Auckland and Pasadena, she joined mega-gallery David Zwirner in 2024, with additional representation by Château Shatto in Los Angeles and Air de Paris. Her auction record was set at Phillips London in October 2025, with her work "Seven types of ambiguity" selling for $225,100. McIntyre's practice blends material experimentation—including iron oxide pigments and bubble wrap—with references spanning Greek myth to Rococo art.

meet the 20 collectors joining artnews top 200 collectors list

ARTnews has added 20 new collectors to its prestigious Top 200 Collectors list for 2025, reflecting the expanding global reach of serious art collecting. The new cohort includes figures from Latin America, the Gulf region, Southeast Asia, and the United States, such as Catherine Petitgas, Ariel Marcelo Aisiks, Sara Alireza, Faisal Tamer, Basma Al Sulaiman, Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, Purat “Chang” Osathanugrah, Belinda Tanoto, Andreas Teoh, artist Rashid Johnson, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation president Wendy Fisher, Napster cofounder Sean Parker, Fanatics founder Michael Rubin, and Oscar L. Tang and Agnes Hus-Tang, who donated $125 million to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Several new additions are second-generation collectors, and many have built private spaces to show their collections, such as Alexander Petalas’s Perimeter in London, Osathanugrah’s upcoming Dib Bangkok, and Basma Al Sulaiman’s virtual museum BASMOCA.

pritzker art collection sothebys breuer

Sotheby's will open its first auction season in the Breuer building this fall with the Pritzker collection, a private cache of paintings never before seen outside a Chicago living room. The collection, built by Cindy and Jay Pritzker, carries an overall estimate north of $120 million, with the lead lot being Vincent van Gogh's 1887 still life *Romans Parisiens (Les Livres jaunes)*, estimated at close to $40 million. Other highlights include works by Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, Max Beckmann, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Joan Miró, Camille Pissarro, and a 15th-century sea chart by Petrus Roselli.

crystal bridges tiffany stained glass window acquisition

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, has acquired a monumental stained-glass window by Tiffany Studios, titled *Mountain Landscape (Root Memorial Window)* (1917). Measuring approximately nine feet by seven feet, the window was commissioned by the fraternal organization Woodmen of the World as a memorial to its founder, Joseph Cullen Root. Its design is attributed to Agnes F. Northrop, a lead designer at Tiffany Studios for half a century. The window was originally installed in Omaha, Nebraska, moved to San Antonio, Texas in 1931 for a tuberculosis hospital chapel, and later stewarded by the Sunset Ridge Church of Christ. The acquisition, facilitated by stained-glass restorer Bryant J. Stanton, took about a year to finalize.

crystal bridges art bridges horseman collection native art

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Art Bridges Foundation in Bentonville, Arkansas, have acquired 90 works of contemporary Native art from the John and Susan Horseman Collection. The acquisition includes pieces by prominent Indigenous artists such as Kent Monkman, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Kay WalkingStick, and Cannupa Hanska Luger. Nine works will go to Crystal Bridges, while the remaining 81 will join Art Bridges' collection, which now totals around 250 works, with Native art making up a third. The works will be displayed in upcoming exhibitions at the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine and Crystal Bridges' expanded campus, with loans to partner institutions planned.

‘I told his family he was HIV positive’: Keith Haring’s best friend on life with the artist as unseen works go on show

A collection of unseen Keith Haring works, including a crib he painted for his best friend's unborn child, is going on display at Sotheby's New York before being auctioned in May 2025. The collection belongs to Kermit Oswald, Haring's childhood friend, and features 20 works, with a 1985 self-portrait estimated at $3m-$5m and the crib valued at $250,000-$350,000. Oswald shares intimate stories of their friendship, from childhood pranks in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, to their move to New York to study at the School of Visual Arts, and Haring's later collaboration with William Burroughs.