Sotheby's London contemporary evening sale on Tuesday brought in nearly £62.5 million ($84 million), within its pre-sale estimate of £55 million to £74 million. The 48-lot sale achieved an 83% sell-through rate, with five works selling for over £5 million each, led by Tamara de Lempicka's 'La Belle Rafaëla' (1927) at £7.4 million and Pablo Picasso's 'Nu assis dans un fauteuil' (1964–65). The auction saw strong bidding for a Basquiat work on paper, 'Untitled (Indian Head)', which sold for £5.4 million, and a standout result for Yu Nishimura's 'through the snow' (2023), which tripled its high estimate at £230,000.
The sale matters because it provides a key temperature check on the art market amid a broader slowdown. Christie's scrapped its June evening sales last year, and recent New York auctions did little to restore confidence. However, the London results suggest that while the auction market remains cautious, high-quality works can still attract competitive bidding. The article also highlights a growing trend of private sales for major artworks, with advisors noting that 'subterranean deals for Grade-A works are happening' even as public auction totals decline. The sale's mostly European attendance, with fewer American and Asian collectors than usual, reflects ongoing shifts in global collector mobility.