Artemisia Gentileschi's 17th-century painting 'Lucretia' sold for €1.88 million ($2 million) at Dorotheum's Old Master sale in Vienna, more than double its high estimate. The work, previously unseen in public, was acquired by an Australian collection, continuing a trend of strong auction results for the Baroque artist.
ArtVerse Advisory, a London-based B2B firm, has launched a suite of services designed to help galleries and art advisors overcome capital constraints and inventory limitations. Founded by CEO Amit Mehra, the company provides professional intermediaries with access to a curated selection of primary and secondary market works—ranging from blue-chip artists like Andy Warhol to rising stars like Raghav Babbar—through flexible deal structures such as consignments and personalized payment plans.
Pace Prints is expanding its operations to Los Angeles, with plans to open a new production facility and small gallery space this fall. Unlike a standard gallery expansion, the Hollywood location will prioritize providing West Coast artists with a dedicated environment for long-term experimentation in printmaking. The move coincides with the publisher's debut at Frieze Los Angeles, featuring a roster of local and international artists including Jonas Wood and Hilary Pecis.
Artsy spoke with 12 leading collectors about the artists, exhibitions, and trends they are most excited to follow in 2026. Highlights include the re-centering of women artists, the rise of South Asian and LGBTQ+ artists, and the impact of AI on gallery operations. Collectors point to major institutional milestones such as LACMA's new campus, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, the Venice Biennale, and Art Basel's expansion into Qatar, as well as specific shows like Claire Tabouret's stained-glass commission for Notre-Dame and the Frida Kahlo exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
The Indian art market has undergone a dramatic transformation, shifting from a selective market with works priced between Rs 5-25 crore to a high-stakes arena where record-breaking sales are now common. Between 2023 and 2025, multiple works crossed the Rs 50-100 crore threshold, with M.F. Husain's 'Gram Yatra' (1954) achieving the highest price to date at approximately Rs 118 crore, acquired by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. The market has expanded to over Rs 3,000 crore, with projections of Rs 10,000 crore by 2030.
Sotheby's held a day sale on Wednesday featuring 30 works from the collection of cosmetics heir Leonard Lauder, generating $3.84 million against an estimate of $2.22 million to $3.29 million. The sale followed a strong Tuesday auction led by a Gustav Klimt portrait from Lauder's collection that achieved the second-highest price ever for an artwork at auction. Standout results included works by Dorothea Rockburne, Elizabeth Murray, and Lyonel Feininger that far exceeded their estimates, while a Claes Oldenburg sculpture sold for $444,500, the top price of the day.
Qatar has revealed that it is the owner of Gustave Courbet's famed self-portrait *Le Désespéré* (The Desperate Man, 1843–45), which has gone on view at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris for the first time in 17 years. The painting, previously listed as being on loan from an unknown private collector, was acquired by Qatar Museums, a state body that oversees the nation's art scene. Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, head of Qatar Museums, acknowledged the ownership during a tribute at the Musée d'Orsay, noting that the work will be on long-term loan there for five years before moving to the future Art Mill Museum in Doha, set to open in 2030.
A rediscovered oil painting by J.M.W. Turner, titled *The Rising Squall, Hot Wells, from St Vincent’s Rock, Bristol*, sold for £1.9 million ($2.6 million) at Sotheby’s Old Masters and 19th Century Paintings evening auction in London—more than six times its high estimate. The work, painted in 1792 when Turner was 17, had been misattributed and sold for just $506 at a Dreweatts auction the previous year. After cleaning revealed Turner’s signature, scholars confirmed its authenticity, and it was identified as Turner’s first publicly exhibited oil painting, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1793. The winning bidder was a private collector in the U.K., outbidding Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, which had raised over £100,000 from donors in a failed attempt to acquire the work.
Sotheby’s London will auction what is believed to be the only known self-portrait by Clara Peeters, a pioneering Flemish still life painter from the early 17th century. The painting, a vanitas still life featuring a presumed self-portrait and a still life of flowers in a glass vase, carries a presale estimate of £1.2 million to £1.8 million ($1.6 million–$2.4 million) and will be offered in the “Old Master and 19th Century Paintings Evening Auction” on July 2. The work was previously downgraded to the artist’s circle but is now accepted as an autograph Peeters, with a provenance dating back to 1767.
The US Marshals Service is auctioning four artworks by Pablo Picasso, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Diane Arbus that were surrendered to the US Department of Justice in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal. The online-only auction, run by Gaston and Sheehan auction house in Texas, began on July 16 and closes on September 4, with no buyer's premium. The works include Basquiat's *Self Portrait* (1982) and *Red Man One* (1982), Picasso's *Tête de taureau et broc* (1939), and Arbus's *Child with a Toy Hand Grenade* (1962). The pieces were linked to fugitive financier Jho Low and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who surrendered them after they were located in Switzerland.
A previously unaccounted-for self-portrait by 18th-century French artist Adélaïde Labille-Guiard sold at Tajan auction house in Paris for €843,800 ($988,785), far exceeding its estimate of €300,000–€500,000. After the hammer fell, a representative of the Palace of Versailles invoked France's droit de préemption law to claim the 1782 pastel work for the national collection, preventing its private sale.
Major London auction houses Sotheby's and Christie's posted strong results in early March, with their Modern and contemporary art evening sales raising £131m and £197m respectively. These figures represented significant increases over the previous year, with high sell-through rates, despite concurrent geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East. Key lots included Francis Bacon's 'Self Portrait' selling for £16m and Henry Moore's 'King and Queen' achieving a record £26.3m.
Four artworks by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Pablo Picasso, and Diane Arbus, seized by the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, sold for a combined $36 million in an online auction conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service. The lots included Basquiat's *Self Portrait* (1982) for $8.3 million and *Red Man One* (1982) for $22 million, Picasso's *Tête de taureau et broc* (1939) for $5 million, and Arbus's *Child with a Toy Hand Grenade* for $500,150. The auction, held by Gaston and Sheehan in Texas, ran from July 16 to September 4.
A rediscovered watercolor sketch by Man Ray, created in 1913 when he was in his early twenties, has resurfaced after decades in an attic and sold for £18,000 ($24,000) at Dreweatts auction house in Newbury, England, on July 10. The work, titled *Nude Playing Musical Instrument [Study for “Tapestry Painting”]*, is a preparatory study for a lost larger oil-on-linen tapestry and offers rare insight into the artist's pivotal transition from traditional painting to avant-garde experimentation inspired by European modernism encountered at the 1913 Armory Show.
Sotheby’s London kicked off its Spring 2026 marquee season with a series of high-energy auctions, totaling £154 million across its Modern & Contemporary sales. The week was highlighted by a "white-glove" evening auction that achieved a 100% sell-through rate, led by Francis Bacon’s 1972 Self-Portrait which sold for £16 million. Significant records were set for British masters, most notably Leon Kossoff, whose painting "Children’s Swimming Pool" shattered estimates to reach £5.2 million.
Freeman's auction house is presenting a 'Post-War & Contemporary Art' sale featuring 83 lots that span eight decades of art history. The auction includes notable works such as a Richard Mayhew landscape, an Andy Warhol text-based canvas, a Robert Rauschenberg solvent transfer, a Peter Halley abstraction, and monumental outdoor sculptures by Allan Houser. Other highlights include pieces by Caio Fonseca, Jamie Nares, Beverly Pepper, and a range of contemporary voices like Ann Craven, Bunny Rogers, and Sterling Ruby.