Vasari Art Codex

trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 1 link 3 artists, 2 galleries

maurizio cattelan america sothebys sale toilet 12 million 1234762122

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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trending_up market schedule Dec 22, 2025 visibility 4 link 6 artists, 2 galleries

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Sotheby's held its inaugural evening sale at the Breuer building, featuring the Contemporary and the Now sale. Auctioneer Oliver Barker achieved $527.5 million in sales, surpassing the pre-sale low estimate of $379 million. The highlight was Gustav Klimt's portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, which sold for $236.4 million, setting an auction record for Klimt and becoming the second most expensive work ever sold at auction. During the sale, auctioneer Phyllis Kao wore a David Webb necklace from the mid-1980s, featuring carved emeralds, rubies, and cabochon sapphires, which was on view and available for private sale at Sotheby's retail salon in the Breuer lobby.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 2 link 18 artists, 2 galleries

sothebys lauder now contemporary sales report klimt record 1234762267

Sotheby's held a marathon double sale at its new Breuer Building location, selling Gustav Klimt's portrait of Elisabeth Lederer for $236.4 million—the second highest price ever paid for an artwork at auction. The evening featured works from the collection of the late cosmetics heir Leonard Lauder, totaling $527.5 million, far exceeding its low estimate. The subsequent "Contemporary and the Now" sale brought in $178.5 million, with a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting selling for $48.3 million. Overall, the night generated $706 million, with multiple auction records set for artists including Cecily Brown, Antonio Obá, Yu Nishimura, Jess, and Noah Davis.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 13, 2025 visibility 2 link 6 artists, 4 galleries

The art world's most infamous toilet is heading to New York auction for US$10m – and the starting bid moves with gold

Maurizio Cattelan's solid-gold toilet sculpture, *America* (2016), will be auctioned at Sotheby's New York on 18 November 2025 as part of the Now & Contemporary Evening Auction. The work, weighing 223 pounds of 18-karat gold, has a raw material value of around US$10.2 million based on current gold prices. In a first for auction history, the starting bid will fluctuate with live gold prices until bidding begins. The sculpture was previously installed at the Guggenheim Museum, where over 100,000 visitors used it, and later made headlines when the Guggenheim offered it to the Trump White House as a loan alternative to a Van Gogh painting. One edition was stolen and never recovered, making this the only surviving example.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 31, 2025 visibility 1 link 7 artists, 5 galleries

Cattelan's famous gold toilet goes up for auction: America for sale at Sotheby's

Maurizio Cattelan's iconic 2016 gold toilet sculpture, 'America,' will be auctioned at Sotheby's on November 18, 2025, during The Now and Contemporary evening auction. The starting bid will be tied to the fluctuating gold market price, currently around $10 million based on its 101.2 kg weight, and Sotheby's will accept cryptocurrency as payment. The work, a fully functional toilet made of 18-karat gold, was famously installed at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2016, where over 100,000 visitors used it, and was later stolen from Blenheim Palace in 2019. This is the only surviving version of the two originally made.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 2 link 17 artists, 1 gallery

sothebys lauder now contemporary sales report klimt record 1234762267

Sotheby's held a marathon double sale at its new Breuer Building location, selling Gustav Klimt's portrait of Elisabeth Lederer for $236.4 million—the second highest price ever paid for an artwork at auction. The evening included works from the collection of the late cosmetics heir Leonard Lauder, totaling $527.5 million, far exceeding its low estimate. The subsequent 'Contemporary and the Now' sale added $178.5 million, bringing the overall total to $706 million. Other highlights included a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting selling for $48.3 million, auction records for Cecily Brown, Antonio Obá, Yu Nishimura, Jess, and Noah Davis, and the sale of Maurizio Cattelan's gold toilet 'America' for $12.1 million.

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museum exhibitions schedule Dec 12, 2025 visibility 3 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

william eggleston david zwirner books 2726165

David Zwirner Books has released a new monograph titled *William Eggleston: The Last Dyes* (2025), dedicated to the final major body of photographs by pioneering American color photographer William Eggleston using the now-discontinued dye-transfer printing process. A solo exhibition of these images will open at David Zwirner gallery in New York on January 15, 2026, following a presentation at the gallery’s Los Angeles location earlier this year. The book includes a newly commissioned essay by critic Jeffrey Kastner.

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article local schedule Nov 12, 2025 visibility 2 link 10 artists, 1 gallery

mr wash community center compton book fundraiser 1234761270

Artist Fulton Leroy Washington, known as Mr. Wash, is establishing the Art By Wash Studio & Community Center, a 13,000-square-foot campus in Compton, California, to serve recently incarcerated individuals and local youth. Released in 2016 after President Barack Obama commuted his life sentence for nonviolent drug offenses, Mr. Wash taught art in prison for 18 years and later gained recognition in the art world, including a breakout appearance at the 2020 Made in L.A. biennial. The center, designed pro bono by Morphosis Architects and The NOW Institute, will offer art-making instruction, studio space, materials, and exhibition opportunities, with the goal of connecting emerging artists to curators and galleries. The project is currently fundraising $100,000 for its first phase, with completion targeted for 2028.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 31, 2025 visibility 1 link 5 artists, 2 galleries

Maurizio Cattelan’s Gold Toilet Returns to Market at Sotheby’s This November

Sotheby's has announced that an edition of Maurizio Cattelan's gold toilet sculpture "America" (2016) will be auctioned in its The Now & Contemporary Evening Auction on November 18, 2025, with a starting bid of approximately $10 million based on its 101.2-kilogram weight in gold. The work first gained fame at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2009, where over 100,000 visitors used it, and later made headlines when it was stolen from Blenheim Palace in a raid that caused structural damage and flooding. The stolen piece was never recovered and is presumed melted down, making this edition the only one in existence.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 2 link 4 artists

christies 20th century art november new york by the numbers 2715393

Christie’s fall auction season in New York opened with a robust evening sale of 20th-century art on Monday night at Rockefeller Center, achieving a total of $690 million after fees. The sale featured an 18-lot offering from the private collection of Robert and Patricia Weis, followed by the main 20th-century auction. The top lot was Mark Rothko’s *No. 31 (Yellow Stripe)* (1958), which sold for $62 million, while Claude Monet’s *Nymphéas* (1907) brought $45.5 million. The sale had a 95 percent sell-through rate, with 55 of 80 lots guaranteed, and strong in-person bidding provided a boost of market confidence after months of art fair cancellations and gallery closures.

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rate_review review schedule Apr 13, 2026 visibility 6 link 1 artist

Biennale Jogja 18 Review: Occasional Moments of Brilliance

The 18th edition of Biennale Jogja, titled 'KAWRUH: Land of Rooted Practices,' explores Javanese concepts of lived knowledge and alternative epistemologies to challenge Western, human-centric frameworks. The exhibition is split into two phases: a process-driven residency in Boro Hamlet and a larger presentation featuring 60 artists across 11 venues in Yogyakarta. While the show features standout works like Faisal Kamadobat’s mythological illustrations and Yuta Niwa’s cross-cultural mandalas, the physical experience is marred by unfinished venues and logistical hurdles.

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trending_up market schedule Dec 5, 2025 visibility 3 link 9 artists

Strauss & Co offers accessible works in year-end auctions

Strauss & Co has launched its year-end auctions, featuring five concurrent timed online sessions from 20 November to 8 December 2025, plus a separate contemporary sale titled 'In the Now' running until 9 December. The auctions offer a wide range of modern and contemporary works at accessible price points, including pieces by major South African artists such as Irma Stern, William Kentridge, Sam Nhlengethwa, Norman Catherine, and Alexis Preller. Sessions include 'Re/View' with works from previous auctions, focused sessions on paintings, sculpture, and works on paper, and an 'Art Club' session curated by Strauss & Co specialists.

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museum exhibitions schedule Dec 2, 2025 visibility 1 link 1 artist

BGSU’s cultural connections to Italy inspire student-curated exhibition: ‘Italy in the Artist’s Imagination’

Bowling Green State University (BGSU) art history students have curated the exhibition 'Italy in the Artist's Imagination,' now on view at the Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery until December 10. The show draws from the university's permanent collection and submissions from faculty, students, and alumni, all inspired by Italy. It highlights BGSU's long-standing study-abroad programs in Florence, including the now-closed Studio Art Centers International (SACI) and the International Studies Institute of Florence. During the curation process, students encountered authenticity questions regarding a set of Salvador Dalí prints, which led them to reframe the display as an interactive lesson on forgery detection.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 8, 2026 visibility 2

Kanitha Tith’s “Cycle of Life” at SNA Arts Management

Cambodian artist Kanitha Tith presents "Cycle of Life" at SNA Arts Management in Phnom Penh, a solo exhibition reflecting on nearly two decades of abstract practice. The show features her signature woven steel-wire sculptures, ink paintings created using metal strings as tools, and an oneiric video work titled "Boding" that explores the memory of the now-demolished White Building.

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