A cache of M.C. Escher drawings and prints, created during his time in Italy and later, fetched a stunning total of $7.8 million at Christie’s on July 22, quadrupling its low presale estimate. The auction, titled 'The Art of Infinity,' featured 65 lots, with nearly every work on paper surpassing the previous record for an Escher work in the medium. The top lot, *Reptiles* (ca. 1943), sold for $529,200—five times its low estimate—while *Relativity* (ca. 1953) achieved $504,000, ten times its low estimate. The sale largely came from the collection of Robert Owen Lehman Jr., a documentary filmmaker and member of the Lehman banking family.
The auction underscores the enduring market appeal of M.C. Escher, whose optical illusions and mathematical themes have made him a favorite among scientists and collectors alike, even as his work was long overlooked by the traditional art world. The strong results—far exceeding estimates—signal a continued reassessment of Escher’s place in art history, bridging mid-20th-century movements and contemporary fascination with geometry and perception. The sale also highlights the growing demand for works on paper by modern masters, with Christie’s leveraging Escher’s democratic legacy and pop-culture resonance to attract a broad base of bidders.