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.
The Basquiat sale underscores the enduring strength of the contemporary art market, particularly for blue-chip artists like Basquiat, whose early works command premium prices. The piece, created during a pivotal year when Basquiat transitioned from street art to studio practice, exemplifies the market's appetite for works tied to an artist's transformative periods. The strong sell-through rate and performance of the Leichtenstein collection also signal sustained collector confidence in high-value contemporary art.