Art News. Vasari Codex

trending_up market schedule Sep 15, 2025 visibility 19 link 13 artists

leonard lauder sothebys klimt matisse 1234751922

Sotheby's has secured a major consignment of approximately $400 million in art from the collection of the late Leonard Lauder, who died in July at age 92. The highlight is Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer" (1914–16), expected to fetch over $150 million, potentially shattering Klimt's auction record. The sale also includes two other Klimt landscapes, six bronzes by Henri Matisse, a $20 million Edvard Munch painting, and an Agnes Martin work, totaling 55 artworks. The auction will inaugurate Sotheby's new space in the former Whitney Museum building, designed by Marcel Breuer.

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museum exhibitions schedule Sep 8, 2025 visibility 15 link 4 artists

independent 20th century breuer sothebys 1234751137

Independent 20th Century art fair has announced that its 2026 edition will be hosted by Sotheby’s at the auction house’s new flagship headquarters in Manhattan’s historic Breuer building. The move, first reported by the New York Times, marks a significant expansion for the fair and an unprecedented collaboration between an art fair and an auction house in the modern art market. Founded in 2022, Independent 20th Century focuses on overlooked and celebrated artists of the last century, with curatorial programming that reframes movements from women in Surrealism to Arab Modernism. The Breuer—a landmark of Modernist architecture designed by Marcel Breuer and recently renovated by Herzog & de Meuron with PBDW Architects—will allow the fair to grow to more than 50 galleries, up from 31 at its most recent edition.

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trending_up market schedule Aug 15, 2025 visibility 20 link 6 artists

sothebys to open its new breuer building hq on november 8 with blockbuster exhibition 1234749349

Sotheby's has announced November 8 as the opening date for its new headquarters in the iconic Breuer Building at 945 Madison Avenue, New York. The auction house purchased the building from the Whitney Museum in 2023 and commissioned Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron, along with PBDW Architects, to renovate the landmarked structure. The opening will feature a blockbuster exhibition of modern and contemporary art, followed by major sales the week of November 17. The building, designed by Marcel Breuer and completed in 1966, previously housed the Whitney Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Frick Collection.

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trending_up market schedule Aug 4, 2025 visibility 20 link 18 artists

sothebys karpidas collection sale lots magritte surrealism 1234748729

Sotheby's has announced the headline lots for the upcoming sale of British socialite and arts patron Pauline Karpidas's collection, set to take place September 17–19 in London. The 250-item auction, described as the 'greatest collection of Surrealism to emerge in recent history,' is led by René Magritte's oil painting *La Statue volante* (1940-41), estimated at £9–12 million ($12–16 million). Other highlights include ten more Magritte works, four Andy Warhol pieces from his 'Art from Art' series, and works by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, and Leonora Carrington, along with furniture and design objects.

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trending_up market schedule Aug 4, 2025 visibility 20 link 13 artists

sothebys london to sell greatest collection of surrealism to emerge in recent history in september 1234744885

Sotheby's London will auction the collection of British socialite, collector, and arts patron Pauline Karpidas on September 17 and 18. Described as the 'greatest collection of Surrealism to emerge in recent history,' it includes masterpieces by René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Leonora Carrington, and Max Ernst, along with works by Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, and others. The sale is expected to fetch £60 million ($81 million), the highest estimate ever placed on a single collection at Sotheby's in Europe. Karpidas, who began collecting 50 years ago after meeting gallerist Alexander Iolas, views herself as a 'temporary custodian' for the artworks.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 26, 2025 visibility 14 link 5 artists

napoleon sale sothebys paris france famous antiques dealer 1234746214

On Wednesday in Paris, Sotheby's auctioned a collection of Napoleonic artifacts from the private collection of prominent French antiques dealer Pierre-Jean Chalençon, generating €8.7 million ($9.6 million) against a €6 million estimate. The 112-lot sale included imperial furniture, Old Master paintings, and personal relics such as Napoleon's worn stockings and a copy of his marriage certificate. Highlights included a portrait by Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse that sold for €863,600 (20 times its estimate) and the only surviving remnant of Napoleon's first will, which fetched €482,600. However, Napoleon's bicorne hat underperformed, selling for €355,600 against a €600,000 low estimate, amid provenance questions raised by French newspaper Le Figaro.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 25, 2025 visibility 17 link 16 artists, 1 gallery

sothebys london contemporary evening summer sale report 1234746083

Sotheby's London contemporary evening sale on Tuesday brought in nearly £62.5 million ($84 million), within its pre-sale estimate of £55 million to £74 million. The 48-lot sale achieved an 83% sell-through rate, with five works selling for over £5 million each, led by Tamara de Lempicka's 'La Belle Rafaëla' (1927) at £7.4 million and Pablo Picasso's 'Nu assis dans un fauteuil' (1964–65). The auction saw strong bidding for a Basquiat work on paper, 'Untitled (Indian Head)', which sold for £5.4 million, and a standout result for Yu Nishimura's 'through the snow' (2023), which tripled its high estimate at £230,000.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 24, 2025 visibility 16 link 4 artists

sothebys offer 50m lichtensten 280071

Sotheby's has announced the consignment of Roy Lichtenstein's painting *The Ring (Engagement)* (1962) for its May 12 spring contemporary evening sale in New York, with an estimated price of around $50 million. The work, one of the largest from Lichtenstein's iconic 1961–1964 comic-book-inspired series, has had only two owners in its 53-year history, most recently from the collection of Chicago philanthropist Stefan Edlis, who acquired it at Sotheby's in 1997 for $2.2 million.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 6, 2025 visibility 14 link 6 artists

shakespeare folios sothebys london auction 2635796

Sotheby's London will auction a rare set of all four Shakespeare Folios—the First (1623), Second (1632), Third (1663), and Fourth (1685)—as a single lot on May 23, with a presale estimate of £3.5–4.5 million ($4.7–5.99 million). The set, assembled in 2016, is led by the First Folio, which preserved 18 of Shakespeare's plays that might otherwise have been lost. The sale marks the first time all four volumes have been offered together since a 1989 Sotheby's New York auction, which was canceled after a private offer was accepted.

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trending_up market schedule May 26, 2025 visibility 19 link 10 artists

sothebys saunders old masters sale results 1234743514

A Sotheby's single-owner sale of 55 Old Masters works from the collection of Jordan and Thomas A. Saunders III on May 21 achieved $64.7 million, falling well short of the $80–120 million estimate. The evening sale had a 58.5% sell-through rate, with 17 lots unsold and two withdrawn; a subsequent day sale on May 22 saw a similar 58.3% rate. Top lots included Francesco Guardi's Venetian views at $10.5 million, a record $8.8 million for Jan Davidsz. de Heem, and a record $7.37 million for Frans Post. Despite these highlights, the overall performance was dampened by high estimates, shifting collector tastes, and the prevalence of guarantees.

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trending_up market schedule May 23, 2025 visibility 20 link 12 artists

saunders collection old masters sothebys 2613872

The collection of Old Masters assembled by Thomas A. Saunders III and his wife Jordan sold for $64.7 million at Sotheby’s on May 21, falling below its low presale estimate but still becoming the most valuable trove of Old Masters ever sold in a single auction. Seven artist records were set, including Luis Meléndez’s *Still Life of a Cauliflower…* ($6.3 million) and Jan Davidsz. de Heem’s floral still life ($8.8 million). The top lot was Francesco Guardi’s twin landscapes of Venice ($10.5 million). A further 14 paintings sold the next day, bringing the collection’s total to $65.4 million.

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trending_up market schedule May 21, 2025 visibility 15 link 13 artists

lalanne ostrich bar sothebys paris 2641959

François-Xavier Lalanne's functional sculpture "Ostrich Bar" (1965) sold for €11.1 million ($12.5 million) at Sotheby's Paris on May 20, far exceeding its €3–4 million estimate after an 11-minute bidding war. The piece, one of only six ever produced, features two porcelain ostriches gripping a metal shelf with a central egg for ice cubes; it was the artist's personal favorite, kept in his bedroom for over four decades. The sale took place within Sotheby's Important Design sale curated by model Betty Catroux.

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trending_up market schedule May 9, 2025 visibility 17 link 8 artists

sothebys sets new world record for photography auction 199945

Sotheby's New York held a single-owner auction titled "175 Masterworks To Celebrate 175 Years of Photography: Property from Joy of Giving Something Foundation" on December 11 and 12, achieving a world record for a photography auction. The sale grossed $21,325,063, surpassing its presale estimate of $13–20 million and beating the previous record of $15 million set by a Sotheby's sale in 2006. The collection came from the late American financier Howard Stein, who founded the Joy of Giving Something Foundation in 1999. The auction had a strong sell-through rate of 90.3 percent by lot and 94.9 percent by value, with top lots including Alvin Langdon Coburn's "Shadows and Reflections, Venice" (1905) at $965,000 and August Sander's "Handlanger" at $749,000. Several female photographers set new records, including Tina Modotti, Julia Margaret Cameron, and Lee Miller.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 30, 2025 visibility 15 link 7 artists

emily fisher landau picasso sothebys 2384885

Pablo Picasso's 1932 painting *Femme à la montre*, depicting his lover Marie-Thérèse Walter, sold for $139.4 million (including fees) at Sotheby's New York during the highly anticipated Emily Fisher Landau sale. The work, estimated at $120 million, was the centerpiece of the auction, with bidding starting at $95 million and concluding after a two-minute standoff among three phone bidders, including one from Asia. Brooke Lampley, Sotheby's head of global fine art, secured the winning bid on behalf of a client. The sale was handled by Sotheby's, which won the right to auction the estate of Landau, a longtime Whitney Museum board member and private collector.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 26, 2025 visibility 20 link 12 artists

rare basquiat sothebys contemporary auctions in new york 1234739897

Sotheby's will auction a rediscovered early Jean-Michel Basquiat painting from 1981, unseen for 36 years, with a $10–15 million estimate at its Contemporary Evening Auction in New York this May. The sale also features major works from three tightly held private collections: the estate of Barbara Gladstone, the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, and Daniella Luxembourg's 'Im Spazio' group, alongside top lots by Lucio Fontana, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, and Ed Ruscha. The Modern Evening Auction includes a Pablo Picasso musketeer portrait and a Georgia O'Keeffe painting, with combined estimates for both sales reaching up to $525.2 million.

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trending_up market schedule Sep 22, 2025 visibility 15 link 8 artists, 2 galleries

les lalanne mania drives big results at sothebys karpidas sale 1234752622

Sotheby's London sale of British socialite and arts patron Pauline Karpidas's collection shattered its $53 million high estimate, totaling $100 million on Wednesday evening. Nine works by artist-designer couple François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne (known as Les Lalanne) achieved $18.5 million, more than five times their combined high estimate of $3.5 million, contributing nearly 20% of the total. The top result was Claude Lalanne's Structure végétale mirror and wall light, which sold for $4.8 million against a $615,000 high estimate. Additional Lalanne works in a day sale and online auction also performed strongly, with jewelry and furniture pieces far exceeding expectations.

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trending_up market schedule Sep 3, 2025 visibility 20 link 9 artists, 1 gallery

sothebys barbara gladstones personal collection may sales 1234739879

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 Jun 11, 2025 visibility 11 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

bronze rhinoceros desk francois xavier lalanne sothebys 1234744810

A life-size bronze rhinoceros desk by François-Xavier Lalanne, titled *Grand Rhinocéros II* (2003), sold for $16.422 million at Sotheby’s Important Design day sale in New York on June 11. The piece, which measures over four feet wide and 8.5 feet long, had a pre-sale estimate of $3–5 million. After 45 bids over 13 minutes, it hammered at $13.75 million, with the final price including buyer’s premium. The sculpture was the first of eight editions and had been acquired from Galerie Mitterand in Paris in 2003.

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trending_up market schedule May 19, 2025 visibility 21 link 19 artists, 1 gallery

sothebys contemporary art auction report 2645705

Sotheby's held a three-part marathon of contemporary art auctions in New York on Thursday evening, totaling $186.1 million with fees across 68 lots. The evening included white-glove sales for the collections of legendary dealer Barbara Gladstone and veteran dealer Daniella Luxembourg, with the Gladstone offering exceeding its presale estimate. Top lots included Richard Prince's "Man Crazy Nurse" (2002–03), which sold for $3.96 million, and Lucio Fontana's "Concetto spaziale, La fine di Dio" (1963), which achieved $14.5 million. The main contemporary evening sale took in $127 million, while the overall result fell short of last May's equivalent sale of $234.6 million.

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trending_up market schedule May 16, 2025 visibility 24 link 12 artists, 1 gallery

70 million giacometti flops at sothebys as demand for trophy art softens 2644144

The top lot of Sotheby's May auction season in New York, Alberto Giacometti's bronze sculpture *Grande tête mince (Grande tête de Diego)* (1955), estimated at $70 million, failed to sell on Tuesday night. The work was consigned by the Soloviev Foundation, set up by Stefan Soloviev, son of late mega-collector Sheldon Solow, and was offered without a financial guarantee, a risky strategy that backfired when no bidders emerged. Auctioneer Oliver Barker made several chandelier bids before declaring the lot unsold at $64.2 million, shocking the packed salesroom.

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trending_up market schedule May 2, 2025 visibility 15 link 11 artists, 1 gallery

sothebys to sell highlights of gallerist barbara gladstones collection 2634742

Sotheby's has been selected by the trustees of Barbara Gladstone's estate to auction twelve major works from the legendary gallerist's personal collection. The single-owner sale, estimated at over $12 million, will take place on May 15 as part of the New York marquee sales. Highlights include Richard Prince's "Man Crazy Nurse" (2003, est. $4–6 million), Andy Warhol's black "Flowers" (1964, est. $1–1.5 million), and works by Mike Kelley, Rudolf Stingel, Carroll Dunham, Elizabeth Peyton, and Alighiero e Boetti. None of the artists are currently affiliated with Gladstone Gallery, though some were previously represented by her.

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gavel restitution schedule Feb 17, 2026 visibility 14 link 3 artists

antonello da messina ecce homo 2746233

The Italian Ministry of Culture has acquired a rare double-sided Renaissance painting by Antonello da Messina, 'Ecce Homo; Saint Jerome in Penitence,' for $14.9 million in a private sale with Sotheby's New York. The work was withdrawn from a planned public auction, and its final institutional home is now the subject of a heated debate among major Italian museums and the artist's hometown.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 24, 2025 visibility 18 link 2 artists

sothebys hong kong sells 125 works from japans okada museum for 88 m so founder can settle 50 m legal bill 1234763159

Sotheby's Hong Kong sold 125 works from Japan's Okada Museum of Art in a white-glove auction on Saturday, netting $88 million (plus fees). The sale set auction records for Japanese artists Kitagawa Utamaro and Hokusai, with Utamaro's *Fukagawa in Snow* fetching $7.1 million and Hokusai's *The Great Wave Off the Coast of Kanagawa* selling for $2.8 million. The collection was sold by museum founder Kazuo Okada, an 83-year-old billionaire, to settle a $50 million legal bill stemming from a long-running feud with casino magnate Steve Wynn. Okada's law firm, Bartlit Beck, successfully pursued the fee in binding arbitration after Okada contested the amount.

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article policy schedule May 21, 2025 visibility 17 link 2 artists

whitney museum breuer building landmarked sothebys 1234743179

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has designated the former Whitney Museum building at 945 Madison Avenue as both an individual and interior landmark. Designed by Marcel Breuer and completed in 1966, the inverted ziggurat structure with raw concrete interior served as the Whitney's home until 2015, later housing the Metropolitan Museum of Art's contemporary art annex and the Frick Collection during its renovation. Sotheby's acquired the building in 2023 and plans to relocate its global headquarters there, with renovations led by Herzog & de Meuron. Preservationist groups pushed for landmark status amid concerns about commercial alterations, and the designation now legally protects the exterior and key interior elements like the lobby and main staircase.

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trending_up market schedule Mar 25, 2026 visibility 39 link 18 artists

sothebys spring modern contemporary evening sale london result 1234775783

Sotheby’s London achieved a rare "white-glove" result during its spring modern and contemporary evening sale, with every lot finding a buyer. The auction totaled £131 million ($175 million), representing a 110 percent increase over the previous year's equivalent sale. High-profile successes included a record-breaking £5.2 million sale for Leon Kossoff’s "Children’s Swimming Pool" and strong performances for works by Andy Warhol and Josef Albers, largely driven by prestigious consignments like the Lewis Collection.

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trending_up market schedule Feb 13, 2026 visibility 26 link 8 artists

four major works by bacon freud and kossoff from lewis collection to hit auction block at sothebys london in march 1234773387

Sotheby's London will auction four major works from the Lewis Collection in its March 4 Modern and Contemporary evening sale. The highlights include a 1972 self-portrait by Francis Bacon, two portraits by Lucian Freud, and a rare swimming pool scene by Leon Kossoff, all representing the School of London movement.

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article news schedule Feb 10, 2026 visibility 14 link 6 artists

jeff koons stella mccartney capsule 2026 2744142

Jeff Koons and Stella McCartney have launched a limited-edition capsule collection for Spring 2026. The collection features ready-to-wear items like hoodies, t-shirts, tote bags, and keychains, adorned with prints of Koons's artworks such as "Untitled (Girl with Dolphin and Monkey)" (2006) and sculptures from his "Made in Heaven" series, paired with McCartney's playful slogans like "Slippery When Wet" and "Doggy Style." The release also includes a reimagined pendant based on Koons's iconic "Rabbit" (1986) sculpture.

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trending_up market schedule Jan 28, 2026 visibility 16 link 7 artists

sothebys modern contemporary art singapore pacita abad 1234771232

Sotheby’s held its annual modern and contemporary art sale in Singapore on Sunday, achieving $13.1 million across 62 lots with a 94% sell-through rate. The top lot was Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merpres’s *Weavers* (1953) at $1.2 million, followed by Takashi Murakami’s *Blue Signals* (2017) at $1.06 million. New artist records were set for Pacita Abad, whose *Assaulting the eye with Ecstasy* (1984) sold for $389,400, and Singaporean artist Anthony Poon, whose *Colour Waves* (1986) fetched $129,800. Bidders came from Southeast Asia, the US, the UAE, Europe, South Korea, Japan, India, and China.

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trending_up market schedule Jan 4, 2026 visibility 15 link 2 artists

art fairs luxury collaborations 2025 market 1234768449

In 2025, art fairs and auction houses have deepened their integration with luxury brands, with Sotheby's and Christie's reporting that luxury items like handbags, jewels, and watches now account for a significant share of revenue—roughly a third at Sotheby's, with private luxury sales surging 350% year-on-year. Art fairs such as Frieze London and Art Basel's global editions have moved beyond traditional sponsorship, embedding luxury partners like Tiffany & Co., Ray-Ban, Stone Island, and De Beers into curated sections, mentorship programs, and immersive installations. Industry figures like Marc Spiegler and Emily Glazebrook emphasize that the most successful collaborations prioritize artists over brands, with initiatives like UBS's Unlimited sector and the Chanel Culture Fund serving as models.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 22, 2025 visibility 14 link 10 artists

kerry james marshall jean michel basquiat sothebys 1234758126

Sotheby's has announced two major consignments for its November marquee auctions in New York: Jean-Michel Basquiat's "Crowns (Peso Neto)" (1981), estimated at $45 million, and an untitled Kerry James Marshall painting from 2008, estimated at $10–15 million. The Basquiat, painted on Christmas night 1981, debuted at Annina Nosei Gallery and Documenta 7, and was previously owned by collectors Thomas Worrell and José Mugrabi before being consigned by French actor Francis Lombrail. The Marshall, depicting a couple embracing at sunset, was purchased on the primary market and has remained in the same collection, recently appearing at the Church in Sag Harbor with lender Neda Young.

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