Sotheby's Paris achieved record-breaking totals for surrealist and modern art auctions during Art Basel Paris week, with combined sales of €89.7 million ($104 million) across its Surrealism and Its Legacy and Modernités sales—a 50 percent increase over the same event last year. The top lot was Amedeo Modigliani's *Elvire en buste* (1918-1919), which sold for €27 million ($31.3 million), the highest auction price for a painting by the Italian artist in France and the most valuable work ever sold by Sotheby's Paris. Other highlights included Modigliani's *Raymond* (1915) at €10.6 million, René Magritte's *La Magie Noire* (1934) at €10.7 million, and a complete set of Pablo Picasso's *Séries 347* etchings, which set a French auction record for any print by the artist.
The results underscore Paris's growing stature as a global art market hub, with the city now attracting the same caliber of collectors, dealers, and advisors typically seen at New York evening sales. The strong performance—nearly 90 percent of lots sold, with American collectors buying a third of the surrealist works—signals robust demand for museum-quality masterpieces, particularly those with compelling provenance, such as the Magritte painting acquired directly from the artist by the family of World War II resistance heroine Suzanne Spaak. The sales also highlight the enduring appeal of surrealist and modern art, even amid broader market uncertainty.