The 20 Most Expensive Artworks Hitting the Auction Block This Season

The May 2026 New York auctions at Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips will feature 20 high-value lots priced at $30 million or more, including works by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Cy Twombly, Gerhard Richter, and others. The sales are staggered around the Venice Biennale and Frieze New York, with Sotheby’s holding its contemporary evening auction on May 14 and Christie’s its 20th-century sale on May 18. Notable consignments come from the estates of S.I. Newhouse, former MoMA board president Agnes Gund, and dealer Marian Goodman.

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The FOG Design and Art Fair celebrated its 10th anniversary with a buoyant 2024 edition at San Francisco's Fort Mason Center, opening January 18. The fair saw brisk sales, including a Jim Hodges canvas sold for $115,000 at Gladstone Gallery and multiple works by Anicka Yi, Yayoi Kusama, Wolfgang Tillmans, and Ruth Asawa at David Zwirner. Tina Kim Gallery sold works by South Korean artists Kim Tschang-Yeul and Ha Chong-Hyun, as well as two Pacita Abad pieces, with one fetching $200,000 to $250,000. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) acquired several works for its permanent collection via the FOG Forum Fund, including pieces by Maria Pergay, Duyi Han, and Katie Stout.

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Hauser & Wirth has sold its Upper East Side townhouse at 32 East 69th Street for $10.5 million to a developer, ending a decades-long presence in the neighborhood. The property, purchased in the 1990s as a family residence, was renovated by architect Annabelle Selldorf and later used as gallery space from 2009, hosting exhibitions by artists like Pope.L, Anna Maria Maiolino, Luchita Hurtado, and Arshile Gorky. Gallery co-founder Iwan Wirth cited a shift in the family's center of gravity to Chelsea and the business's expansion downtown with new locations on West 18th Street and Wooster Street in SoHo.

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Days before a Louise Nevelson sculpture was to be auctioned at Sotheby’s in May 2022, Pace Gallery founder Arne Glimcher declared the work inauthentic, claiming it was assembled by the artist’s son, Mike, rather than by Nevelson herself. The consigner, the estate of collector Hardie Beloff, has now sued Pace Gallery in US District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania, alleging that Glimcher deliberately sabotaged the sale to protect Pace’s control over Nevelson’s market. The lawsuit centers on Glimcher’s call to Sotheby’s, where he warned the work would not be included in a forthcoming catalogue raisonné, and on a 1993 appraisal in which he had valued the same sculpture at $85,000 without questioning its authenticity.

Marian Goodman’s Prized $65 Million Collection Lands at Christie’s

Christie’s has announced the sale of the private collection of the late legendary art dealer Marian Goodman, who passed away in January at age 97. Estimated to bring in approximately $65 million, the collection is headlined by a group of significant works by Gerhard Richter, an artist Goodman championed for four decades. The centerpiece of the auction is Richter’s 1982 painting "Kerze (Candle)," which carries a high estimate of $50 million and will lead a series of dedicated sales in New York this May.

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Maurizio Cattelan's 18-karat gold toilet sculpture, *America* (2016), sold at Sotheby's New York for $12.1 million to Ripley's Believe It or Not!, the entertainment franchise known for oddities. The work, consigned by hedge-fund manager Steve Cohen, was auctioned from the Breuer Building and drew long viewing lines. Despite a playful bidding process led by auctioneer Phyllis Kao, the final price fell short of Cattelan's auction record of $17.2 million set by *Him* (2001) at Christie's in 2016.

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Ripley’s Believe It or Not! has been revealed as the buyer of Maurizio Cattelan’s 18-karat gold toilet sculpture “America” (2016), which sold for $12.1 million at Sotheby’s “Now & Contemporary” auction on November 18, 2025. The work, consigned by billionaire collector and Mets owner Steve Cohen, hammered at $10 million after a single bid, just above the value of its raw gold. Sotheby’s had previously only identified the buyer as a “Famous American Brand.” Ripley’s announced the acquisition on Instagram, calling it the most valuable object in its collection and noting plans for public display, possibly allowing visitors to sit on the fully functional toilet.

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Maurizio Cattelan's 18-karat gold toilet, titled *America* (2016), sold for $12.1 million at Sotheby's “The Now & Contemporary” sale on Tuesday evening, falling short of the artist's auction record. The work, owned by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, hammered at $10 million—just above the value of its gold content—after a single bid. It was installed in a bathroom at Sotheby's Breuer Building for viewing but not use. The consignor was revealed to be Cohen, who acquired the piece from Marian Goodman Gallery in 2017. The sale accepted cryptocurrency, and the work did not carry a guarantee.

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Top 200 Collector Steven A. Cohen has been revealed as the consignor of Maurizio Cattelan's golden toilet sculpture, *America* (2016), which will be auctioned at Sotheby's on November 18. The work, made of 18-karat gold and weighing over 100 kilograms, was purchased from Marian Goodman Gallery in 2017. It will be displayed in a bathroom at Sotheby's Breuer Building before the sale, with a starting bid expected around $10 million based on the price of its weight in gold. The piece has a notable history: one version was exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum, offered to the Trump White House as a loan alternative to a van Gogh painting, and another was stolen from Blenheim Palace in 2019, making Cohen's the only extant version.

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Sotheby's is auctioning Maurizio Cattelan's solid gold toilet, titled "America" (2016), during its November evening sale at the Breuer Building in New York. The 18-karat, 100-kilogram functional toilet will be on view from November 8, though visitors will not be allowed to use it. The starting bid will be determined by the work's weight in gold, estimated around $10 million. The piece was previously exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum in 2016, where over 100,000 visitors used it, and at Blenheim Palace in the UK, where it was infamously stolen in a smash-and-grab heist and never recovered. Sotheby's will accept cryptocurrency for the sale, following the precedent set by Cattelan's banana artwork last year.

Dealers at TEFAF Maastricht Report Robust Sales, Offering Works Ranging from Two Inches to Room-Size

Dealers at TEFAF Maastricht Report Robust Sales, Offering Works Ranging from Two Inches to Room-Size

Dealers at the TEFAF Maastricht art fair reported strong sales, defying concerns over global unrest and geopolitical tensions that limited some collectors' travel. The fair, featuring 277 dealers from 24 countries, saw a high caliber of international collectors engaging with works ranging from monumental 18th-century sculptures to minuscule, intricately detailed pieces. First-time exhibitors and veterans alike expressed satisfaction, with one rare books dealer calling it his best year in three decades of participation.

The Most Expensive Jean-Michel Basquiat Works Ever Sold at Auction

ARTnews published a listicle ranking the most expensive Jean-Michel Basquiat works ever sold at auction, updated as of May 15, 2026. The article traces Basquiat's rise from street artist under the moniker SAMO to a major figure in the downtown New York scene, highlighting key relationships with Keith Haring, Diego Cortez, and curator Henry Geldzahler. It notes that Basquiat's entire mature output was created between 1981 and 1984, and that his 1983 painting *Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown)* sold at Sotheby's in May 2026 for $52.7 million, placing it among his top sales. The piece also details earlier top sales, including *Untitled* (1982) for $29.3 million at Christie's in 2013 and *Flesh and Spirit* (1982–83) for $30.7 million at Sotheby's in 2018.

This month’s blockbuster auctions in New York could bring upwards of $2.5bn

This month's May auctions in New York are projected to generate between $1.8 billion and $2.6 billion across Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Phillips, and Bonhams. Major highlights include the estates of legendary dealers Marian Goodman and Robert Mnuchin, with top lots such as Gerhard Richter's *Kerze (Candle)* (est. $35m–$50m) at Christie's and Mark Rothko's *Brown and Blacks in Reds* (est. $70m–$100m) at Sotheby's. Additional offerings include works from the late S.I. Newhouse collection, featuring Jackson Pollock's *Number 7A* and Constantin Brâncuși's *Danaïde*, each estimated at $100m, as well as pieces from the collections of Agnes Gund and Marilyn Arison.

Robert Therrien Estate Leaves Gagosian for David Zwirner, Olney Gleason Now Represents Jill Magid, and More: Industry Moves for May 6, 2026

The ARTnews article reports a series of significant gallery representation changes and industry moves in the art world as of May 6, 2026. Key shifts include the Robert Therrien Estate leaving Gagosian for David Zwirner, Olney Gleason now representing Jill Magid, and several other artists—Tianyue Zhong, Africanus Okokon, Seung Ah Paik, Khalif Tahir Thompson—joining or switching galleries. Miriam Machado has been named director of the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum. The article also notes the rising costs and commercial realities of staging exhibitions at the Venice Biennale, including a Christie's selling show at Palazzo Ca' Dario.

A $15M De Kooning Leads Lévy Gorvy Dayan’s New Auction-Style Sales Experiment

Lévy Gorvy Dayan is launching LGD Hammer, a new live-bidding platform that blends private sales with auction dynamics. The inaugural sale on May 16 will feature a 1984 Willem de Kooning painting estimated at $10–15 million, led by co-founder Brett Gorvy, a former auction veteran. The article also reports on gallery closures (Stephen Friedman Gallery, Galerie Philipp Zollinger, Astor Gallery), artist moves (Zoe Leonard to Maxwell Graham, Kehinde Wiley among creditors), and Sotheby’s upcoming single-owner sale of Joe Lewis’s collection expected to exceed $200 million.

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The FOG Design+Art fair in San Francisco opened with a glitzy preview gala at Fort Mason Center, serving as a fundraiser for SFMOMA's education initiatives. VIP tickets started at $10,000 for the first hour, and by 7 p.m., the event filled to capacity as prices dropped to $250. Dealers reported a different energy this year, partly due to the recent Los Angeles wildfires affecting many participating galleries. Sales were strong, with New York dealer Ales Ortuzar selling multiple works by Suzanne Jackson in the first few hours. Local collector Sonya Yu, a recent ARTnews Top 200 listee, highlighted the resilience and sophistication of the Bay Area art community.

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Sotheby's three-part evening sale in New York on Thursday generated $186.1 million across 68 lots, landing near the high end of its $141 million to $204.9 million estimate. The sale included a focused 12-lot offering from the collection of late gallerist Barbara Gladstone, which sold all works without guarantees and totaled $18.5 million, and a 15-work guaranteed sale from dealer Daniella Luxembourg featuring postwar Italian artists, where Lucio Fontana's 'Concetto spaziale, La fine di Dio' (1963) achieved $14.5 million and Michelangelo Pistoletto's 'Maria Nuda' (1969) sold for $2.7 million after a five-minute bidding war.

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New York appraiser and art dealer Glenn Spellman discovered an abstract painting signed "E.H." on the Goodwill thrift store website last fall. Suspecting it might be by Eva Hesse, he enlisted his sister Kara Spellman, director of estates and acquisitions at Hollis Taggart gallery, who confirmed the painting's authenticity by consulting the artist's catalogue raisonné at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's library. The painting, titled *Landscape Forms* (1959), was acquired for $40,000 and will be auctioned at Christie's New York on May 15 with an estimate of $60,000–$80,000. A second Hesse work, *No title* (1964–65), will be offered at Phillips New York the previous day.

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Artnet News and Morgan Stanley have released a report analyzing the global art auction market across four major cities—London, Paris, Hong Kong, and New York—over the period from 2013 to 2023. Total auction sales for the first half of 2024 fell to $5.05 billion, down from $7.17 billion in the same period of 2023. The report highlights a dramatic 49 percent decline in London's auction sales following the 2016 Brexit vote, while New York has maintained its dominant position, driven by blockbuster collections like those of Peggy and David Rockefeller and Paul G. Allen. Hong Kong saw growth until the Chinese property crisis in 2022, and Paris has gained ground post-Brexit, with sales up 30 percent over 2013.

Is Hong Kong Back? The GRAND PRIX de Basel 2026

Hong Kong’s art scene experienced a massive surge of activity in March 2026, anchored by Art Basel Hong Kong and Art Central. The city hosted 240 galleries at the main fair, drawing over 91,000 visitors, alongside numerous boutique fairs, auction previews, and major institutional exhibitions. Highlights included a reassembled 1964 Yayoi Kusama installation at Art Intelligence Global, a lecture by Zhang Xiaogang at Asia Art Archive, and a poignant solo show by artist duo Chow and Lin at SC Gallery.

Tefaf New York wishlist: a Tiffany window and an Egyptian goddess with a nose job

The article highlights three standout artworks being offered at Tefaf New York. A Tiffany Studios stained-glass window, "Birches and Irises" (around 1915), designed by Agnes Northrop, is priced at $1.25 million through Macklowe Gallery. An Egyptian goddess bust from 570-526 BC, rediscovered at a regional auction in England and later authenticated after scientific study, is offered for £1.5 million by David Aaron. A painting by Cecily Brown, "Functor Hideaway" (2008), is listed at $3.9 million by Berggruen Gallery, coinciding with her current exhibition at London's Serpentine Gallery.

Dealer Matthew Brown More Than Doubles His Los Angeles Space with Move to Hollywood Media District: ‘I Really Believe in LA’

Los Angeles art dealer Matthew Brown is relocating his gallery to a significantly larger, 13,000-square-foot former warehouse in the Hollywood Media District. The new space, designed by architect Markus Dochantschi, more than doubles his exhibition area and includes offices, viewing rooms, and storage. The inaugural exhibition will feature artist Mimi Lauter, marking her first Los Angeles show in eight years.

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Actor Josh Brolin recently appeared on the Felix Podcast to discuss his extensive journey as an art collector, revealing the challenges even Hollywood stars face when navigating the gallery system. Brolin shared anecdotes about being placed at the back of waiting lists for high-demand artists like Danielle Mckinney and the humbling experience of having to prove his sincere passion for works to dealers like Jeffrey Deitch. The conversation highlighted his collection, which includes works by George Condo, Shara Hughes, and Jammie Holmes.

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This article from ARTnews reports on recent industry moves in the art world, including gallery roster additions and appointments. Jack Shainman Gallery added Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary artist Donyel Ivy-Royal, Esther Schipper now represents Tuan Andrew Nguyen in collaboration with James Cohan, Emalin took on Ghanaian artist Jonathan Okoronkwo, and Victoria Miro and Olney Gleason will jointly represent Emil Sands. Additionally, the Bass Museum of Art appointed Jasa McKenzie as associate curator. The piece also highlights a record-breaking $84.1 million sale of William I. Koch's Western art collection at Christie's, which set five new artist records, including Frederic Remington's reset twice.

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The second edition of the Aspen Art Fair opened at the historic Hotel Jerome with over 40 exhibitors from more than 15 countries, more than doubling its size from the previous year. The fair is one of three major events during Aspen Art Week, alongside Intersect Aspen Art and Design (now in its 15th edition) and the AIR Festival, a $20 million initiative by the Aspen Art Museum. Dealers and advisers, including Paul Henkel of Palo Gallery and Christian Gundin of El Apartamento, noted that while there are too many art fairs globally, Aspen's smaller, hyper-focused format attracts serious collectors and fosters stronger relationships. Blue-chip galleries like Sean Kelly and Marianne Boesky also participated, with Boesky having a long history in the town.

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New York-based dealer Harper Levine is planning to open a new location of his gallery, Harper's, in Bangkok, Thailand, in spring 2026. The 2,500-square-foot space will be in the Siam Patumwan House, headquarters of Siam Motors Group, near the Jim Thompson House and Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. The expansion follows a pop-up show in Bangkok last year and will include an exhibition space, an advisory for Southeast Asian clients, a hospitality program, and an artist residency starting in 2026. StudioMDA, which has worked with Harper's and Marian Goodman Gallery, is handling the design.

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Amid a sluggish broader art market, the design category is surging. Major auction houses—Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips—held design sales in early June 2025 that far exceeded expectations. Sotheby’s New York design sales totaled $37.5 million, Christie’s $23.6 million, and Phillips $4 million, representing a 62.3 percent year-on-year increase across all three houses. Notable highlights include the Goddard Memorial Window by Tiffany Studios, which sold for $4.29 million, the second-highest price for a Tiffany window at auction. The sales attracted many new buyers, with Sotheby’s and Phillips reporting over 20 percent of buyers were new to the houses.

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This week's art industry roundup covers major personnel changes at Phillips, with Cheyenne Westphal stepping down as global chairwoman and Jean-Paul Engelen departing for Acquavella Galleries, alongside promotions of Robert Manley and Miety Heiden. Auction results show mixed performance: Christie's Riggio collection brought $488.8 million, but Sotheby's and Phillips saw declines, while Marlene Dumas set a record for a living woman artist at Christie's. Other highlights include the launch of Derrick Adams' Scout Art Fair in Baltimore, Art Basel's inaugural awards, and the opening of Destinee Ross-Sutton's gallery in Stockholm.

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.

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Frieze Los Angeles has announced its 2026 exhibitor list, featuring 95 galleries from 22 countries at the Santa Monica Airport, running from February 26 to March 1. The lineup includes blue-chip names like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, and David Zwirner, alongside local staples such as Commonwealth & Council and David Kordansky Gallery. First-time participants include El Apartamento, Bradley Ertaskiran, and Sprüth Magers returns after a hiatus. The Focus section, curated by Essence Harden, highlights galleries under 12 years old. Notable absentees include Marian Goodman Gallery, Bortolami, and Sean Kelly, while five galleries that participated in 2025 have since closed. The fair follows a challenging 2025 edition impacted by LA wildfires, which prompted withdrawals and a charity initiative.