Art News. Vasari Codex

trending_up market schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 36 link 20 artists, 2 galleries

Christie’s Double-Header Totals $1.1 B., With Several Trophy Works Notching New Records

Christie’s held two evening sales on Monday—the S.I. Newhouse collection and a 20th-century art sale—that together generated $1.1 billion across 64 lots. The Newhouse tranche alone made $630.8 million, bringing the cumulative total of the collection to over $1 billion, making it likely the most expensive collection ever sold at auction after Paul Allen’s $1.7 billion blockbuster. Top lots included Jackson Pollock’s *Number 7A, 1948* at $181.2 million (the fourth most expensive painting ever sold at auction), Constantin Brâncuși’s *Danaïde* at $107.6 million, and a Mark Rothko work at $98.4 million.

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trending_up market schedule Dec 2, 2025 visibility 18 link 9 artists, 1 gallery

simon de pury art market confidence

The article reports on the upcoming Art Basel in Miami Beach and the improved mood in the art market, driven by strong auction results. Sotheby's emerged as the clear winner over Christie's in the fall 2024 auctions, achieving over $2.2 billion in total sales across Sotheby's, Christie's, and Phillips. Key consignments included the Leonard Lauder Collection, featuring a record-making Klimt, a Frida Kahlo that became the highest-selling work by a woman artist, and Maurizio Cattelan's golden toilet. The article credits Sotheby's move into the Breuer building—formerly home to the Whitney, the Met, and the Frick—for enhancing the presentation and aura of the previews.

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trending_up market schedule Sep 27, 2025 visibility 17 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

yves klein blue painting christies paris

Christie’s has secured a monumental Yves Klein painting, *California (IKB 71)*, for its October 23 sale in Paris. Measuring 14 feet wide, it is the largest format the artist ever made in his signature International Klein Blue (IKB) and carries an estimate of €16–25 million ($18–29 million). The work was created in 1961 and has a newly uncovered provenance: after being shown in Los Angeles at Virginia Dwan’s gallery, it stopped in New York for an exhibition with dealer Leo Castelli before returning to Paris. It has been in a New York collection since 2005 and was on long-term loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 2005 to 2008.

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trending_up market schedule Jan 9, 2026 visibility 33 link 15 artists, 1 gallery

top artists auction 2025

The article reports that the top tier of the art auction market rebounded strongly in 2025, with the ten most expensive lots totaling $757.1 million, a 48% increase from 2024. Gustav Klimt became the top-selling artist, driven by the sale of his *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* (1914–16) from the collection of the late Leonard Lauder, which was the most expensive artwork of the year. The rankings saw significant shifts: René Magritte, the top artist in 2024, fell to sixth place, while blue-chip names like Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Jean-Michel Basquiat strengthened their positions. Notably, no women or living artists appeared among the top 20 sellers in 2025, a reversal from the previous year when Yayoi Kusama and Joan Mitchell were present.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 5, 2025 visibility 23 link 23 artists, 2 galleries

consignors november 2025 new york sales christies sothebys

As the fall auction season returns to New York, Christie’s and Sotheby’s are preparing for evening sales amid an uneven art market. The article reveals key consignors behind major lots, including a Frida Kahlo painting from 1931, estimated at $6–8 million, owned by Miami-based Francisco and Fiorella Pérez Díaz, and three French Post-Impressionist works from the collection of the late Argentine patron Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier. The market context includes underwhelming results at Art Basel in Switzerland but strong attendance at Frieze London and Art Basel Paris, with collectors showing willingness to spend only on exceptional, well-priced works.

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trending_up market schedule Dec 8, 2025 visibility 17 link 5 artists, 1 gallery

rembrandt print old master record

A rare Rembrandt drypoint print, *Arnout Tholinx, Inspector* (ca. 1656), sold for £3.1 million ($4.1 million) at Christie’s London on December 3, setting a new world auction record for an Old Masters print. The work, commissioned by a medical inspector during Rembrandt’s financial struggles, was part of the Sam Josefowitz collection and last appeared at auction 101 years ago. The sale, dedicated to over 100 Rembrandt prints from Josefowitz’s collection, totaled £8.6 million ($11.4 million), with other notable lots including *Christ presented to the People* and *Christ healing the Sick*.

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trending_up market schedule May 16, 2025 visibility 28 link 23 artists, 1 gallery

basquiat ruscha sothebys now contemporary art sale may 2025

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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trending_up market schedule May 11, 2026 visibility 34 link 6 artists, 3 galleries

New £5.5m record for Islamic glass leads London sales

The spring Islamic and Indian art auctions in London, held at Sotheby's and Christie's in late April, achieved strong results despite geopolitical tensions. Sotheby's Arts of the Islamic World & India sales totaled £14.8m, while Christie's Art from the Islamic and Indian Worlds sale and the Mary and Cheney Cowles collection brought in £17.6m. The top lot was a rare 14th-century Mamluk gilded glass bowl from the Toledo Museum of Art, which sold for £5.5m—a new auction record for Islamic glass. Other highlights included a 17th-century Mughal astrolabe that sold for £2m at Sotheby's, setting a record for an Islamic scientific instrument, and strong sales of Iznik ceramics from two old English collections.

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trending_up market schedule Sep 16, 2025 visibility 18 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

gladstone gallery calder mobile fineberg collection art basel paris

Alexander Calder's market remains strong despite a broader art market downturn. Thirteen Calder works have sold for over $1 million at auction this year, all within or above estimates, led by Christie's sale of *Gypsophila* (1949) for $8.5 million. Next month, Gladstone Gallery will bring Calder's standing mobile *Caged Stone on Yellow Stalk* (ca. 1955) to Art Basel Paris, priced at $5.5 million, after it sold for $3.2 million at the Gerald Fineberg collection sale in 2023. This market resilience coincides with major institutional shows: the opening of Calder Gardens in Philadelphia and a Whitney Museum exhibition celebrating the centennial of Calder's *Circus* (1926–31).

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trending_up market schedule Apr 22, 2025 visibility 19 link 5 artists, 1 gallery

sothebys 70 million giacometti bust may auction

Sotheby’s will offer Alberto Giacometti’s 1955 bronze bust *Grande tête mince (Grande tête de Diego)*, hand-painted by the artist as a tribute to his brother Diego, at its May 13 modern art evening sale in New York with an estimate exceeding $70 million. The 25-inch-tall work, one of six casts, is being sold anonymously through the Soloviev Foundation and comes from the estate of real estate magnate Sheldon Solow. It was exhibited at the 1956 Venice Biennale and spent nearly two decades at the Fondation Maeght before Solow acquired it in 1980. The sale also includes a Piet Mondrian painting estimated at $50 million at Christie’s as part of the Leonard Riggio collection.

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trending_up market schedule Feb 5, 2026 visibility 15 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

michelangelo sistine chapel study christies

A previously unknown Michelangelo drawing, a red chalk study for the foot of the Libyan Sibyl on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, was discovered after an owner submitted a photograph to Christie's online estimate service. The work, created around 1511–12, sold at Christie's New York for $27.2 million, far exceeding its $1.5–2 million estimate and setting a new auction record for a Michelangelo drawing. The anonymous seller inherited the piece from his grandmother, and it had been in his family since the late 1700s.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 19 link 16 artists

november marquee auction sales midpoint analysis

Christie's and Sotheby's November marquee auctions in New York generated a combined $1.4 billion, with Sotheby's achieving a record $706 million from a double-header sale. The highlight was Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer" (1914–16), sold for $236.4 million from the collection of late cosmetics heir Leonard Lauder, becoming the most expensive modern artwork ever sold at auction. Christie's Monday sale brought in $690 million, falling short of its $731.5 million high estimate but still marking a 42% increase over its equivalent sale last November.

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trending_up market schedule May 29, 2025 visibility 17 link 5 artists, 1 gallery

will this ultra rare painting by famed filipina painter anita magsaysay ho break records

León Gallery's Spectacular Mid Year Auction 2025 will feature a rare egg tempera painting by pioneering Filipina modernist Anita Magsaysay-Ho titled *Water Carriers / Taga-igib* (1947). The work is expected to draw strong market interest, following the artist's previous egg tempera sales at the same auction house—*Tinapa (Fish) Vendors* (1975) and *Fruit Market* (1957)—which fetched $1.52 million and $1.56 million respectively. Only about 20 works by Magsaysay-Ho exist in this delicate medium, making this lot exceptionally scarce. The sale also includes three works by Spanish Filipino artist Fernando Zóbel, whose market has recently surged after exhibitions at the Prado Museum, Ayala Museum, and National Gallery Singapore.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 7, 2025 visibility 12 link 13 artists, 2 galleries

londons old masters week sees rare works sell and mid market paintings struggle

Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams held Old Masters auctions in London, with Christie's achieving a record £31.9 million ($43.7 million) sale for Canaletto's *Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day* (circa 1732), more than half the sale's total of £60.8 million. The painting, once owned by Robert Walpole, set a new auction record for the artist. Sotheby's evening sale brought in £14.5 million, with J.M.W. Turner's rediscovered *The Rising Squall, Hot Wells, from St Vincent's Rock, Bristol* (1792) selling for £1.9 million, seven times its estimate. However, mid-market paintings struggled, and the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery failed to acquire the Turner despite fundraising £109,000.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 25, 2025 visibility 35 link 30 artists, 9 galleries

Discover 10 Highlights from Art Basel Paris 2025

Art Basel Paris 2025, now in its fourth edition, took place from October 22–26 at the restored 1900 Paris Exposition venue, a Beaux-Arts landmark with Art Nouveau iron and glasswork. The fair hosted 206 international galleries and introduced a new 'Avant-Première' V.V.I.P. day on October 21, where each gallery could allocate six guest passes. Blue-chip sales were swift, led by Hauser & Wirth selling Gerhard Richter's *Abstraktes Bild* (1987) for $23 million to a European collector. Other notable sales included Bruce Nauman's neon sculpture *Masturbating Man* for over $4.7 million and Amedeo Modigliani's *Jeune fille aux macarons* (1918) for $10 million at Pace Gallery. The fair also featured curatorial sectors Emergence (16 solo presentations by emerging artists) and Premise (ten historical projects with works predating 1900).

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trending_up market schedule May 14, 2025 visibility 31 link 35 artists, 4 galleries

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.

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trending_up market schedule Mar 9, 2026 visibility 15 link 10 artists, 1 gallery

tracing the transition from mannerism to baroque at tefaf maastricht

London-based gallery Trinity Fine Art has announced a curated presentation for TEFAF Maastricht 2026 focusing on the stylistic evolution from Mannerism to the Baroque. The showcase features three significant works: an ambitious 1580 biblical scene by Lavinia Fontana, a rare and well-documented 1610 depiction of St. Jerome by Orazio Gentileschi, and a mature 1620 composition of the Holy Family by Giulio Cesare Procaccini.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 20, 2025 source 2 sources visibility 35 link 12 artists, 3 galleries

gagosian rewrites art basel paris rulebook by bringing old master to modern and contemporary fair

Gagosian has secured special permission from Art Basel Paris to exhibit a rediscovered Old Master painting by Peter Paul Rubens, titled "The Virgin and Christ Child, with Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptist" (c. 1611–14), at a fair that typically restricts its main sector to works created between 1900 and 2025. The painting, last sold at Sotheby’s New York in 2020 for just over $7 million, will be shown alongside modern and contemporary works by artists such as John Currin, Jenny Saville, and Pablo Picasso. The exception was granted by Art Basel’s management and Selection Committee due to the work's exceptional quality and its resonance with the gallery's booth.

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trending_up market schedule May 20, 2026 visibility 16 link 18 artists

Sotheby’s Pulls In $303.9 M. in a Solid but Subdued Modern Evening Sale Led by $48 M. Matisse

Sotheby’s Modern Evening Auction on Tuesday night achieved $303.9 million in total sales, with 98% of lots sold, led by Henri Matisse’s *La Chaise lorraine* at $48.4 million—the second-highest price ever for a Matisse painting at auction. Other top lots included Pablo Picasso’s *Arlequin (Buste)* (1909), which sold for $42.6 million, and works by Alberto Giacometti and Vincent van Gogh. However, bidding was often cautious, with few prolonged contests, and the total fell below the presale high estimate of $320.2 million, reflecting a tempered market atmosphere.

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trending_up market schedule May 18, 2026 visibility 15 link 5 artists

S.I. Newhouse’s Brâncuși Sells at Christie’s for Record-Breaking $107.6 M.

A Constantin Brâncuși sculpture titled *Danaïde* (1913), formerly owned by media magnate and top art collector S.I. Newhouse, sold at Christie’s on Monday night for a hammer price of $93 million, totaling $107.6 million with fees. This set a new auction record for the modernist sculptor, surpassing the previous record of $71.2 million set by another Brâncuși work in 2018. The bronze head with gold leaf and black patina attracted half a dozen bids before selling to a client represented by Maria Los, deputy chairman of client advisory Americas. The work was one of six bronze casts, the only gilded example still in private hands, and had notable provenance, having been purchased by Eugene and Agnes Meyer at Brâncuși’s first solo exhibition in 1914.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 27, 2026 visibility 28 link 3 artists

This 17th-Century ‘Supercomputer’ Could Set a New Auction Record

A rare 17th-century Mughal astrolabe, crafted in Lahore in 1612 by brothers Qa'im Muhammad and Muhammad Muqim, is heading to Sotheby's London on April 29 with an estimate of £1.5 million to £2.5 million ($2 million to $3.4 million). Weighing nearly 20 pounds and measuring the diameter of a large cooking pot, it is one of only two known astrolabes by these makers—the other resides in the National Museum of Iraq. Commissioned by Aqa Afzal, a Safavid-born deputy governor of Lahore, the instrument lists 94 cities, 38 stars, zodiac signs, and includes quadrants for trigonometry and solar calculations, blending Islamic and Sanskritic astronomical traditions.

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trending_up market schedule Jan 30, 2026 visibility 19 link 3 artists

perugino decemvriri altarpiece sothebys morgan

Sotheby's is launching its inaugural Old Masters Week at its new Breuer building location in New York with a special exhibition of works heading to auction. The centerpiece is the 'cimasa' (top panel) of Pietro Perugino's 'Decemviri Altarpiece' (1495), on an exceptional loan from Italy's National Gallery of Umbria and traveling outside Italy for the first time. After its display at Sotheby's, the panel will be exhibited at the Morgan Library and Museum alongside Giovanni Bellini's newly restored 'Pietà' (c. 1470), which is also making its U.S. debut.

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trending_up market schedule Jan 9, 2026 visibility 16 link 4 artists

peter paul rubens drawing attribution klaas muller

Belgian art dealer Klaas Muller has identified a previously unattributed oil-on-paper study as a work by Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens, titled "Bearded old man, looking down to his left" (ca. 1609). Muller purchased the piece for under €100,000 at a lesser-known northern European auction house three years ago, where it was listed as an unknown artist from the "Flemish school." After recognizing the bearded figure as Saint Thomas from Rubens's "Apostolado Lerma" series at the Prado, Muller commissioned research from art historian Ben van Beneden, former director of Rubenshuis, who confirmed the work's exceptional quality and likely attribution to Rubens. The study also features a ghostly woman's face visible when turned upside down, reflecting Rubens's playful reuse of materials.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 18, 2025 visibility 21 link 14 artists

the phillips collection to deaccession georgia okeeffe arthur dove georges seurat

The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., is proceeding with plans to auction major works by Georgia O'Keeffe, Arthur Dove, and Georges Seurat at Sotheby's on November 20, despite sharp backlash from former curators, members of the Phillips family, and the museum's non-governing members body. The works—including O'Keeffe's *Large Dark Red Leaves on White* (estimate $6–8 million), Seurat's conté crayon drawing ($3–5 million), and Dove's *Rose and Locust Stump* ($1.2–1.8 million)—are considered central to founder Duncan Phillips's vision. Director and CEO Jonathan Binstock argues the proceeds will fund a permanently restricted endowment for commissioning new work by living artists, acquisitions, and collection care, aligning with Duncan Phillips's belief in supporting contemporary practitioners.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 10, 2025 visibility 24 link 12 artists

sothebys matthew carolyn bucksbaum magritte jean dubuffett

Sotheby's will sell ten works from the Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum collection in its fall auctions, with six pieces by René Magritte, Jean Dubuffet, Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, and Paul Klee featured in the Modern Evening auction on November 20. The group of six works carries a total estimate of $18 million to $24 million, led by Magritte's *Le Jockey perdu* (1942) at $9–12 million and Dubuffet's *Restaurant Rougeot II* (1961) at $6–8 million. Sotheby's executives Julian Dawes and Grégoire Billault emphasized the rarity and importance of these works, noting that the Magritte is the only oil version of its subject and the Dubuffet is one of just three paintings of the iconic Paris restaurant.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 1, 2025 visibility 15 link 3 artists

bacon rodin works sothebys frieze week sale

Four works by Francis Bacon and Auguste Rodin will headline Sotheby’s Frieze Week contemporary evening auction in London on October 16. The lots include Bacon’s paintings *Portrait of a Dwarf* (estimated up to £9 million) and *Study for Self-Portrait* (up to £6 million), alongside Rodin’s final bronze iterations of *Pierre de Wissant* and *Jean de Fiennes* (each estimated at £600,000–£900,000). The works come from an important private collection, with the Bacons acquired directly from the artist and held for over 40 years, and the Rodins purchased from the Musée Rodin. Sotheby’s shared previously unpublished audio featuring art historian Eddy Batache, a close friend of Bacon, who noted that *Portrait of a Dwarf* is the only painting Bacon ever kept for himself.

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trending_up market schedule May 30, 2025 visibility 13 link 12 artists

georges lemmen record auction

Belgian Neo-Impressionist Georges Lemmen's painting *Jeune femme faisant du crochet (Julie Lemmen)* (1890) sold for $698,500 at Sotheby's New York on May 14, shattering its $50,000–$70,000 estimate and more than doubling the artist's previous auction record. The Pointillist portrait of the artist's sister, Julie Fréderique Lemmen, had been in a private Florida collection since 1960 and was consigned through Sotheby's online portal. The sale drew over a dozen bidders, including a museum, two dealers, and five private collectors, and was backed by an irrevocable bid.

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trending_up market schedule Sep 3, 2025 visibility 21 link 9 artists, 1 gallery

sothebys barbara gladstones personal collection may sales

Sotheby's will auction 12 works from the personal collection of the late art dealer Barbara Gladstone this May, with a combined estimate exceeding $12 million. Highlights include Richard Prince's *Man Crazy Nurse* (2002–03) estimated at $4–6 million and a black *Flowers* painting by Andy Warhol estimated at $1–1.5 million. The stand-alone sale precedes the May 15 evening contemporary auction and marks the first public offering from Gladstone's estate.

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trending_up market schedule Dec 18, 2025 visibility 40 link 13 artists, 20 galleries

Five forces that reshaped the art market in 2025

In 2025, the art market faced significant challenges, including gallery closures and unfavorable auction results in the first three quarters, driven by geopolitical pressures such as US President Donald Trump's tariffs. However, a rebound occurred in autumn, with buoyant fairs like Frieze London and Art Basel Paris, and strong November auctions in New York totaling over USD 2 billion, carrying momentum to Art Basel Miami Beach. Key events included Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* selling for USD 236.4 million at Sotheby's, a record for a Modern work, and a Frida Kahlo self-portrait setting a new record for a work by a woman. Meanwhile, several galleries closed, including Blum, Venus Over Manhattan, Clearing, Kasmin Gallery, Tilton Gallery, and Perrotin and Pace's Hong Kong outposts, while others expanded, such as Thaddaeus Ropac in Milan and Hauser & Wirth in Sicily.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 17, 2025 source 4 sources visibility 38 link 60 artists, 1 gallery

London 20th/21st Century Frieze Week sales achieve a running total of £141.8m / $189.7m / €162.75m

Christie’s 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale during Frieze Week 2025 achieved £106.9 million, up 30% year-on-year, with a 90% sell-through rate by value. The top lot was Peter Doig’s *Ski Jacket* (1994), sold for £14.27 million after intense bidding, part of the Ole Faarup Collection, which raised £27.3 million total for the Ole Faarup Art Foundation. Other notable sales included works by Lucian Freud, Paula Rego, Gerhard Richter, Pablo Picasso, and Suzanne Valadon, with more than half of all lots selling above high estimate.

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