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Phillips Modern & Contemporary Sale Nets $115.2 M., With Strong Results for Women Artists

Phillips’ modern and contemporary art evening sale on Tuesday achieved $115.2 million against a presale estimate of $84.2 million, its highest since 2022. All 40 lots sold, with standout results for works by living artists like Joseph Yaeger, whose painting fetched $477,300 against a $60,000 estimate, and Anna Weyant, whose work sold for $980,400. Works by 20th-century female artists including Lee Bontecou, Olga de Amaral, and Helen Frankenthaler also exceeded expectations, with Bontecou’s pastel setting a record for a two-dimensional work by the artist at $4.3 million.

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.

Rare ‘Ocean Dream’ Diamond Sells for Record $17.3 Million at Christie’s

A rare 5.5-carat blue-green diamond known as the 'Ocean Dream' sold for $17.3 million at Christie’s Geneva jewelry sale, setting a record for a fancy vivid blue-green diamond at auction. The sale far exceeded its presale estimate of $9 million to $13 million after a 20-minute bidding battle. In other auction news, Sotheby’s New York sold over $433 million worth of art in its contemporary art sales, including 11 pieces from the Robert Mnuchin collection. Meanwhile, London’s Wellcome Collection agreed to return around 2,000 sacred Jain manuscripts to the Jain religious community under a new restitution framework, acknowledging they were acquired unethically. Several art fairs were announced, including Zero 10 curated by Trevor Paglen at Art Basel in Switzerland, CAN Art Fair Ibiza’s fifth edition, and Art-o-rama’s 20th edition in Marseille. Notable gallery news includes the bankruptcy and closure of French gallery Air de Paris after 36 years, and Carine Karam becoming director of Opera Gallery’s New York outpost. Hong Kong’s M+ and Paris’s Centre Pompidou announced a multi-year strategic alliance, and New York’s Frick Collection entered a three-year partnership with Louis Vuitton.

Frieze New York Kicks Off with Seven-Figure Sales and High Energy: ‘It’s a Fiesta’

Frieze New York kicked off its preview day at the Shed in Manhattan with strong sales and high energy, as many attendees arrived fresh from the Venice Biennale. Galleries reported brisk presales and early placements, with White Cube selling major works by El Anatsui and Antony Gormley for seven-figure sums, and other dealers like James Cohan Gallery nearly selling out their booths. Collectors, advisors, and celebrities including Anderson Cooper, Michael Stipe, and Leonardo DiCaprio were spotted, while the Brooklyn Museum made acquisitions through the new Sherman Family Foundation Acquisition Fund.

Robert Therrien Estate Leaves Gagosian After Nearly Three Decades and Joins David Zwirner

The Robert Therrien estate has left Gagosian after nearly three decades and joined David Zwirner, a rival mega-gallery. The move follows a major survey of the late sculptor's work at the Broad museum in Los Angeles, which featured 120 works and was the largest exhibition of his career. Therrien, who died in 2019, is best known for monumental sculptures of domestic objects, such as Under the Table (1994), and his towering plate columns held by institutions including the Tate and Glenstone.

Artist Foundations’ Net Worth Has Nearly Tripled to $9 B., Led by Cy Twombly Foundation’s $1.5 B. in Art and Assets

New research from the Aspen Institute’s Artist-Endowed Foundation Initiative (AEFI) reveals that artist-endowed foundations in the U.S. now control roughly $9 billion in assets, nearly triple the $3.5 billion reported in 2011 and up 17% from $7.7 billion in 2018. The Cy Twombly Foundation leads with $1.5 billion in art and assets, followed by foundations for Alexander Calder, Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler, and Robert Rauschenberg, each holding over $500 million. The data, drawn from public tax forms, shows that just five of roughly 500 foundations account for more than half the total, with most established by postwar American artists born before 1931.

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.

Picasso Painting That Cost S. I. Newhouse a MoMA Board Position Heads to Christie’s for $55 M.

Christie’s New York will auction 16 masterpieces from the collection of late Condé Nast magnate S. I. Newhouse on May 18, with an estimated total of $450 million. The highlight is Pablo Picasso’s Cubist painting *Homme à la guitare* (1913), estimated at $35–55 million, which Newhouse acquired in 2000 for $10 million after MoMA sold it from its collection. Newhouse, then a MoMA board member, violated museum policy by buying the work and subsequently resigned from the board.

Mark Rothko Painting Agnes Gund Hung in Her Living Room Sells for $98 M., Setting a Record

A Mark Rothko painting, *No. 15 (Two Greens and Red Stripe)* (1964), formerly owned by prominent art patron and Museum of Modern Art president emerita Agnes Gund, sold at Christie’s on Monday night for $98.4 million (including fees). The work, which Gund purchased directly from Rothko in 1967 and kept in her living room until her death last September, received about a dozen bids before hammering at $85 million to a buyer represented by Christie’s specialist Rachael White Young. The sale broke Rothko’s previous auction record of $86.9 million set in 2012 for *Orange, Red, Yellow* (1961), also at Christie’s New York.

5 Under-Recognized Artists Getting Their Due in New York This Season

The article highlights five under-recognized artists whose exhibitions are on view in New York this season, focusing on Domenico Gnoli at Lévy Gorvy Dayan and Raquel Rabinovich at Hutchinson Modern and Contemporary. Gnoli, an Italian painter who died in 1970, is known for his pallid, claustrophobic depictions of everyday subjects, while Rabinovich, who died at 102 in January 2026, created somber minimalist paintings exploring silence and withholding. The piece notes that New York galleries often use the pre-fair period to showcase less prominent artists of great promise.

Artist Trevor Paglen Will Curate the Swiss Edition of Art Basel’s Digital Art Sector

Artist Trevor Paglen will curate the third edition of "Zero 10," Art Basel's digital art sector, at the fair's Swiss edition from June 17–21. Major galleries including Marian Goodman, Hauser and Wirth, and Almine Rech will present works by artists such as John Gerrard, Agnieszka Kurant, Avery Singer, and Hito Steyerl. Paglen co-curates with digital art strategist Eli Scheinman, and the presentation, titled "The Condition," surveys seven decades of instruction-based and computational art, featuring pioneers like Vera Molnár, Mary Ellen Bute, Ted Nemeth, and Ben F. Laposky alongside contemporary stars.

The 21st Century’s Biggest Art Trend is Not a Style. But Once You See It, You’ll Notice It Everywhere.

The article traces the evolution of "systems art," a term coined by critic Jack Burnham in 1968 to describe art that uses rules, seriality, and repetition to mirror and reveal the growing protocols of the Cold War era. It highlights early practitioners like Kenneth Noland, Robert Morris, Dan Flavin, and notably Hans Haacke and Adrian Piper, who shifted from atmospheric systems (e.g., Haacke's *Condensation Cube*) to social systems (e.g., Haacke's *Shapolsky et al. Manhattan Real Estate Holdings*). The piece argues that systems thinking has become unavoidable in contemporary life—from algorithms to systemic racism—and that art remains a crucial tool for making these invisible systems legible.

Your Summer Guide: 20 Art World Highlights Not to Miss

ARTnews has published a summer guide highlighting 20 art world events and exhibitions not to miss in the coming months. Featured highlights include the opera 'El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego' at the Metropolitan Opera, the 'Costume Art' exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a Björk show titled 'echolalia' at the National Gallery of Iceland, a book on the Venice Biennale by Massimiliano Gioni, Raven Halfmoon's 'Flags of Our Mothers' at Ballroom Marfa, a Pierre Huyghe exhibition at Fondation Beyeler Basel, a James McNeill Whistler retrospective at Tate Britain, and the inaugural Medina Triennial in New York.

Yinka Shonibare Joins Mennour, a Fake Fake Monet, and More: Industry Moves for May 20, 2026

The article reports on several key moves in the art world as of May 20, 2026. Tina Kim Gallery will represent the estate of Singaporean British sculptor and printmaker Kim Lim, with a debut at Art Basel in June and a solo show in 2027. Yinka Shonibare has joined Paris gallery Mennour, which will host his first solo exhibition in October. Pace Gallery now represents the Brâncuși estate, planning a London exhibition this fall. Clarissa Morales has been named the first Chief Operating Officer of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, moving from the Carnegie Museum of Art. Additionally, Jackson Pollock's Number 7A, 1948 sold for $181.2 million at Christie's, setting a new artist record. A viral social media post featuring a fake Monet painting created by AI sparked debate online.

The 16 Most Expensive Artworks Ever Sold at Auction

ARTnews published an updated list of the 16 most expensive artworks ever sold at auction, highlighting recent record-breaking sales such as Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* (1914–16), which fetched over $236.4 million at Sotheby's, and Jackson Pollock's *Number 7A, 1948*, which sold for well above its $100 million estimate at Christie's in May 2026 from the S. I. Newhouse collection. The article traces the history of top auction prices, including Vincent van Gogh's *Orchard with Cypresses* (1888), which sold for $117 million during the Paul Allen sale at Christie's in November 2022, part of a record $1.5 billion single-evening auction.

The Wild Nine-Month Journey that Led to Nathaniel Mary Quinn Designing the Rolling Stones’ New Album Cover

Nathaniel Mary Quinn was commissioned to create the cover art for the Rolling Stones' new album *Foreign Tongues*, due July 10, after a three-way call with Mick Jagger and producer Andrew Watt. Over nine months, Quinn developed a composite portrait merging the faces of Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood, and also redesigned the band's iconic tongue-and-lips logo. The process involved regular conversations with Jagger and Richards, a private rehearsal session, and a lunch at the Baccarat Hotel, culminating in the band choosing Quinn's original composite over a second option featuring a vintage sports car.

Pace Gallery Takes Representation of Brâncuși Estate Ahead of $100 M. Sculpture Coming to Auction

Pace Gallery has taken global representation of Constantin Brâncuși's estate, announced hours before a $100 million Brâncuși sculpture, Danaïde (1913), goes to auction at Christie's. The sculpture comes from the collection of S. I. Newhouse and is among the most expensive works in New York's marquee sales. The announcement coincides with a major retrospective of the artist, organized by the Centre Pompidou, currently at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin and heading to the Museum of Modern Art in New York later this year.

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.

The Most Expensive Works by Mark Rothko Sold at Auction

Mark Rothko's paintings continue to command top prices at auction, with a list of his most expensive works updated in May 2026. The article details sales including 'Orange, Red, Yellow' (1956), 'Untitled' (1952) for $66.2 million, 'White center (Yellow, pink and lavender on rose)' (1950) for $72.8 million, 'No. 1 (Royal Red and Blue)' (1954) for $75 million, and 'No. 10' (1958) for $81.9 million. It also notes that in May 2026, Rothko's 'Brown and Blacks in Reds' (1957) sold for $85.8 million at Sotheby's from dealer Robert Mnuchin's collection, narrowly missing the artist's record.

Bruno Bischofberger, Art Dealer of Stars Like Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Dies at 86

Bruno Bischofberger, the legendary Swiss art dealer who championed American artists like Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat in Europe, has died at age 86. His Zurich-based gallery announced his death on Saturday. Bischofberger founded his eponymous gallery in 1963, which became one of Switzerland's most important blue-chip art spaces. He forged deep personal and professional relationships with artists, including acquiring a stake in Warhol's Interview magazine, producing Warhol's film L'amour, and famously proposing the collaborative paintings between Warhol and Basquiat in 1984. Bischofberger also maintained a decades-long tradition of placing advertisements on the back page of every Artforum issue.

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.

Ceramics Are Everywhere, in Museums, Galleries, and Fairs—Has the Market Caught Up?

Ceramics are experiencing a surge in visibility across museums, galleries, and art fairs in major US cities. The article catalogs numerous recent and upcoming exhibitions, including Kathy Butterly's sold-out show at James Cohan with pieces at $45,000 each, Nicole Cherubini's nearly sold-out show at Friedman Benda with prices up to $65,000, and Ruby Neri's work at Salon 94 peaking at $75,000. Other highlights include Ron Nagle at Matthew Marks, Theaster Gates' Gagosian show celebrating David Drake, NADA Ceramics in Tribeca, and ceramic presentations at Frieze Los Angeles, Post-Fair, Expo Chicago, and David Zwirner. Institutional shows include Toshiko Takaezu at Princeton University Art Museum and a ceramic collection at RISD Museum.

10 Shows Around Venice Not to Miss During the Biennale

ARTnews has published a guide to 10 exhibitions in Venice worth seeing during the 2026 Biennale, beyond the central show "In Minor Keys" curated by the late Koyo Kouoh and the national pavilions. Highlights include a major survey of Lee Ufan at the San Marco Art Centre (SMAC Venice), organized by the Dia Art Foundation and curated by Jessica Morgan; "Helter Skelter: Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince" at Fondazione Prada, curated by Nancy Spector; and "Strange Rules" at Palazzo Diedo, conceived by Hans Ulrich Obrist with Mat Dryhurst and Holly Herndon, introducing the concept of "Protocol Art." Other venues include the Gallerie dell'Accademia, Pinault Collection, Berggruen Arts & Culture, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, and a three-night-only performance at Teatro Goldoni.

Zoe Leonard Departs Hauser & Wirth for New York’s Maxwell Graham Gallery

Zoe Leonard, a celebrated conceptual artist whose work will appear at the Venice Biennale next week, has left Hauser & Wirth—a global gallery with 14 locations—to join Maxwell Graham, a smaller New York-based gallery known for spare conceptual presentations. Leonard will continue to be represented by her longtime galleries, Cologne’s Galeria Gisela Capitain and Milan’s Raffaella Cortese. Maxwell Graham staged its first Leonard exhibition last year with “Display,” featuring photographs of historical objects in museums. Leonard is the second artist to depart Hauser & Wirth in the past year, following George Condo’s exit in November.

46 Museum Shows and Biennials to See This Summer

ARTnews has published a guide to 46 museum shows and biennials to see this summer, highlighting major exhibitions across the globe. Featured artists include Laure Prouvost at Paris's Grand Palais with a quantum physics-themed show, Carsten Höller at Beijing's UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Tomás Saraceno at Munich's Haus der Kunst, and a retrospective of Ana Mendieta at Tate Modern. The article also covers biennials such as the Venice Biennale and Manifesta in Germany's Ruhr region, as well as new biennial-style launches in the Northeastern US. Specific exhibitions detailed include Akinsanya Kambon's survey at SculptureCenter and CARA in New York, Cao Fei's European survey at Kunstmuseum Basel, and the group show "Youth Palace" at Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai.

15 Van Gogh Masterpieces that Set Auction Records

ARTnews published a listicle on May 19, 2026, detailing 15 Van Gogh masterpieces that set auction records, from *Landscape with Rising Sun* (1985) to *Portrait of Dr. Gachet* (1990). The article recounts landmark sales including *Sunflowers* ($39.9 million in 1987), *Irises* ($53.9 million in 1987), and *Portrait of Dr. Gachet* ($82.5 million in 1990), highlighting the buyers, provenance, and institutional homes such as the Sompo Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Valie Export, Groundbreaking Feminist Artist Who Questioned the Nature of Art, Dies at 85

Valie Export, the pioneering Austrian feminist artist known for challenging the conventions of art and cinema through body-centered, tactile works, died on May 14 at age 85, three days before her birthday. Her death was confirmed by Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery, which represents her. Over six decades, Export created influential works such as "TAP and TOUCH CINEMA" (1968) and "Action Pants: Genital Panic" (1968), using her own body to question gender norms and the nature of film. Born Waltraud Lehner in Linz, she reinvented herself as VALIE EXPORT in 1967, a name symbolizing her exportation of personal ideas. She was associated with the Viennese Actionists but developed her own expanded cinema practice, producing works like "Abstract Film No. 1" (1967–68) that redefined the medium.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Announces 314 New Acquisitions During 50th Anniversary Year

The Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden announced 314 new acquisitions in 2025, its 50th anniversary year. The additions span photography, mixed-media works, and contemporary American artists, including pieces by Lorna Simpson, Sarah Sze, Mickalene Thomas, Danny Lyon, Graciela Iturbide, Adam Pendleton, and Mark Bradford. Major gifts include a multi-year donation from collectors Doug and Toni Gordon of 176 works forming an archive of Pendleton's works on paper, as well as 13 contemporary Chinese works tied to a 2022 exhibition. The museum also acquired nine architectural photographs by Ezra Stoller documenting its 1974 opening and 19 prints by Joel-Peter Witkin.

Bodies, Bodies, Bodies: Artists Revisit the Nude in Shows Across New York

This spring in New York, multiple exhibitions are revisiting the nude as an artistic genre, with artists exploring themes of flesh, harm, aging, and political oppression. Notable shows include Seung Ah Paik's "Self Configuration" series at Bortolami, where she paints distorted self-portraits that recall Surrealist and feminist traditions, and Joan Semmel's self-portraits at Alexander Gray Associates, which continue her decades-long focus on the nude body. These shows are part of a broader trend that also includes the New Museum's "New Humans: Memories of the Future."

At a Powerful Carnegie International, Solidarity Is a Means of Survival

The 2026 Carnegie International, titled “If the word we,” opened at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, featuring 61 artists from around the world. Curated by Ryan Inouye, Liz Park, and Danielle A. Jackson, the exhibition emphasizes collective survival and interdependence, with works including Khalil Rabah’s video about Palestinian resilience, Shala Miller’s abstraction inspired by Toni Morrison, and a performance by Brooke O’Harra and collaborators celebrating teamwork through a historic basketball dunk by Julius Erving. The show extends to three other venues, including the Mattress Factory, where married artists Claudia Martinez Garay and Artur Kameya present a sprawling installation.