Art News. Vasari Codex

trending_up market schedule May 15, 2026 visibility 17 link 28 artists, 3 galleries

Robert Mnuchin's $85.7m Rothko leads Sotheby's $407.5m auction in New York

Sotheby's evening auction in New York on May 13, 2025, realized $407.5 million ($433.1m with fees), led by Mark Rothko's "Brown and Blacks in Reds" (1957) from the collection of the late dealer Robert Mnuchin, which sold for $74m ($85.7m with fees). The sale opened with all eleven lots from Mnuchin's collection achieving a 'white glove' result, totaling $140.7m ($166.3m with fees), and continued with a mixed-vendor contemporary section that added $223m ($266.8m with fees), setting four new artist records.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 7, 2025 visibility 23 link 13 artists, 1 gallery

steve cohen consignor maurizio cattelan golden toilet sothebys 1234760545

Top 200 Collector Steven A. Cohen has been revealed as the consignor of Maurizio Cattelan's golden toilet sculpture, *America* (2016), which will be auctioned at Sotheby's on November 18. The work, made of 18-karat gold and weighing over 100 kilograms, was purchased from Marian Goodman Gallery in 2017. It will be displayed in a bathroom at Sotheby's Breuer Building before the sale, with a starting bid expected around $10 million based on the price of its weight in gold. The piece has a notable history: one version was exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum, offered to the Trump White House as a loan alternative to a van Gogh painting, and another was stolen from Blenheim Palace in 2019, making Cohen's the only extant version.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 31, 2025 visibility 18 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

maurizio cattelan golden toilet sothebys auction 1234759561

Sotheby's is auctioning Maurizio Cattelan's solid gold toilet, titled "America" (2016), during its November evening sale at the Breuer Building in New York. The 18-karat, 100-kilogram functional toilet will be on view from November 8, though visitors will not be allowed to use it. The starting bid will be determined by the work's weight in gold, estimated around $10 million. The piece was previously exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum in 2016, where over 100,000 visitors used it, and at Blenheim Palace in the UK, where it was infamously stolen in a smash-and-grab heist and never recovered. Sotheby's will accept cryptocurrency for the sale, following the precedent set by Cattelan's banana artwork last year.

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trending_up market schedule May 15, 2025 visibility 14 link 6 artists, 1 gallery

by the numbers christies 21st century sale edges out estimate aided by bounty of guarantees 2645323

Christie’s 21st-century art sale on Wednesday achieved $96.5 million in total sales, a 20 percent increase over the same sale last year. The auction featured 43 lots, with four withdrawn before the sale, and a sell-through rate of 83.7 percent (92.3 percent after withdrawals). The top lot was Jean-Michel Basquiat’s *Baby Boom* (1982), which sold for $23.4 million. The sale was heavily supported by guarantees—24 lots were guaranteed, including 18 with third-party guarantees—accounting for 75 percent of the total presale low estimate. Auctioneer Yü-ge Wang faced cautious bidding, prompting playful remarks as collectors tested lower increments.

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trending_up market schedule May 19, 2025 visibility 23 link 13 artists, 2 galleries

Basquiat's monumental work on paper sells for US$16.3m, leading Sotheby's contemporary sale in New York

On May 15, Sotheby's held The Now and Contemporary Evening Sale in New York, achieving a total of US$127.1 million. The top lot was an untitled 1981 work on paper by Jean-Michel Basquiat, which sold for US$16.3 million after a five-minute bidding battle. The sale included 41 lots with a 92.6% sell-through rate, and all nine works from the collection of Roy and Dorothy Leichtenstein were sold, contributing US$29 million to the total.

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trending_up market schedule May 16, 2025 visibility 23 link 22 artists, 2 galleries

Sotheby’s Closes Marquee Week With $186.1M in Contemporary Sales

Sotheby’s closed its May marquee auction week with $186.1 million in combined contemporary sales across three sessions on May 16. The evening began with a white-glove sale of 12 works from Barbara Gladstone’s personal collection, fetching $18.8 million, followed by a $40.4 million sale from Daniella Luxembourg’s collection, which signaled revived appetite for Italian postwar art. The main Contemporary Evening Auction saw strong bidding for emerging artists like Danielle Mckinney and Mohammed Sami, though some high-profile lots like Richard Prince’s Man Crazy Nurse fell short of estimates.

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trending_up market schedule Dec 17, 2025 visibility 16 link 8 artists, 1 gallery

The Art Market Year in Review

The art market experienced a turbulent 2025, beginning with a 12% decline in sales from 2024, following a 3% drop in 2023, as reported by the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report. Major auction houses Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips saw average sales fall 6% in the first half of the year. However, the market rebounded by autumn, with strong sales at London and Paris art fairs and a 15% year-on-year increase in auction sales at the three main houses by December, according to Pi-eX. Key events included Sotheby’s failed sale of Alberto Giacometti’s *Grand tête mince* in May, followed by a record-breaking $236 million sale of Gustav Klimt’s *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* in November, and a $31.4 million record for François-Xavier Lalanne’s *Hippopotame Bar*.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 31, 2025 visibility 18 link 7 artists

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 Sep 28, 2021 visibility 16 link 39 artists

Auction record

A new auction record has been set, with a significant artwork selling for a high price at a major auction house. The sale took place recently, drawing attention from collectors and the art market.

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trending_up market schedule May 19, 2025 visibility 22 link 16 artists

at christies 13 6 million marlene dumas painting sets new record for living female artist at auction 2644908

Christie's 21st-century evening sale in New York on Wednesday night totaled $96.5 million, surpassing last year's $80.3 million, though the auction was characterized by caution, few fireworks, and a reduced number of lots. The headline event was Marlene Dumas's painting *Miss January* (1997) selling for $13.6 million with premium, setting a new auction record for a living female artist. The work, estimated at $12–18 million, was guaranteed and sold to a client bidding through Christie's deputy chairman Sara Friedlander; Miami collectors Don and Mera Rubell were the consignors. Other notable results included new records for Simone Leigh, Emma McIntyre, and Louis Fratino, while the top lot was Jean-Michel Basquiat's *Baby Boom* (1982) at $23.4 million. Four of 43 lots were withdrawn, and several works failed to sell, including an Ellsworth Kelly canvas with a $2 million low estimate.

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

‘Halo effect’ of powerful art dealers’ collections boosts Sotheby’s sale

Sotheby's held a successful three-part evening auction in New York on May 15, 2025, achieving a total of $154.2 million in hammer sales ($186.1 million with fees), within its pre-sale estimate. The sale included 12 lots from the estate of late dealer Barbara Gladstone, which sold 100% for $15.1 million, and 15 works from the collection of Daniella Luxembourg, which brought $33.6 million. The main event, Sotheby's The Now and Contemporary evening auction, featured 41 lots—including works from the Dorothy and Roy Lichtenstein collection and three deaccessioned by US museums—and achieved a 93% sell-through rate, hammering $105.4 million. A standout was Andy Warhol's 'Flowers' (1964) from the Gladstone estate, which sold for $3.1 million hammer, more than double its high estimate.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 13, 2025 visibility 12 link 1 artist

Why former Sotheby's chief executive Tad Smith is bullish on blockchain art

Former Sotheby's CEO Tad Smith, who led the auction house from 2015 to 2019, has emerged as a prominent supporter of blockchain art. The article traces his connection to artist Robert Alice, who first encountered Smith while working as a porter at Sotheby's. Alice, a pioneer in NFT art, sold the first NFT through a major auction house at Christie's in 2020. Now, his blockchain-based painting BLOCK 1 (24.9472° N, 118.5979° E) from the Portraits of a Mind series is being offered at Sotheby's with an estimate of $600,000 to $800,000. Smith, who owns another work from the series, is not the consignor or guarantor but expresses hope the sale will promote Alice's work, Bitcoin, and Sotheby's, particularly among younger generations.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 22, 2026 visibility 13 link 3 artists

Jennifer Gilbert selling art worth millions to aid Detroit nonprofit

Detroit philanthropist and entrepreneur Jennifer Gilbert is selling major artworks from her personal collection at Sotheby’s this spring, with proceeds going to Lumana, a new Detroit-based arts nonprofit she founded. The collection will be offered across multiple sales, including The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction and Contemporary Day Auction in May, followed by Important Design in June. Highlights include Kenneth Noland’s 1958 painting “Circle” (estimated $4–6 million, a record for the artist) and Joan Mitchell’s 1976 painting “Loom II” (estimated $5–7 million).

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