Christie's 21st century evening sale in New York on May 14 achieved $96.4 million, with strong performances by women artists. Marlene Dumas's *Miss January* (1997) set a new auction record for a living woman artist at $13.6 million, while Simone Leigh's bronze sculpture *Sentinel* (2020) sold for $5.7 million, breaking her previous record. Other highlights included Jean-Michel Basquiat's *Baby Boom* (1982) at $23.4 million. Separately, a painting by Henry Scott Tuke long held by the National Trust was identified as a portrait of Lawrence of Arabia, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art received a major gift of over 6,500 photographs from collector Artur Walther and the Walther Family Foundation.
These developments underscore shifting dynamics in the art market, where women artists are achieving record prices and gaining institutional recognition. The Met's massive photography donation enriches its holdings of postwar and contemporary work, particularly from African photographers, while the identification of the Tuke painting resolves a long-standing art-historical mystery. Meanwhile, the Gaîté Lyrique art center in Paris faces financial shortfalls after a migrant occupation, highlighting tensions between cultural institutions and social crises. The Art Basel Awards also recognized the Jameel Arts Center in Dubai for its role in supporting emerging artistry.