Christie's London Classic Week generated a combined total of £60,844,240 ($83,660,830) between its Old Masters Evening Sale and The Exceptional Sale, led by a record-setting £31.9 million sale of a Canaletto masterpiece. The painting, once part of Sir Robert Walpole's collection, attracted five bidders from Asia, Europe, and North America. Sotheby's also saw strong results, with the two houses together achieving £58 million (excluding buyer's premium) in Old Masters evening auctions, a notable increase from 2024. Other highlights included Titian's Portrait of a nobleman, seated before a window selling for £3,428,000 and Jan Davidsz de Heem's still life achieving £3,670,000.
This resurgence matters because it signals a shift in the art market away from oversaturated contemporary and ultra-contemporary segments toward Old Masters, driven by an expanding and more diverse collector base amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Christie's achieved its highest sell-through rate by value (99%) and by lot (87%) in 13 years, with 93% of Old Masters lots sold in 2024 priced under $50,000, indicating a broader but more modest buyer pool. The Canaletto buyer collects across categories, suggesting Old Masters are generating fresh interest from different types of collectors, potentially reshaping market dynamics.