A 1922 painting by Piet Mondrian, *Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue*, sold at Christie’s New York for $47.6 million, falling short of its $50 million-plus estimate and the artist’s auction record of $51 million set in 2022. The work was the highlight of the “Leonard & Louise Riggio: Collected Works” sale, a 39-lot trove from the late Barnes & Noble founder and Dia Art Foundation chairman, estimated at up to $326 million. The painting sold to a single phone bidder, likely the guarantor, with no room action.
The sale matters because it tests the high-end art market’s appetite for blue-chip modern works amid economic uncertainty. The Mondrian’s failure to reset the record—despite being a prime example of Neo-Plasticism—signals that even masterpieces may struggle above $50 million. The Riggio collection, one of the season’s largest, also reveals how estates use guarantees and irrevocable bids to de-risk blockbuster auctions, a growing trend in the market.