Christie’s held a doubleheader evening sale on May 12, 2025, featuring its regular 20th-century art auction and the Riggio collection. The various-owners sale achieved $216.9 million in total sales after fees, a 52% decline from the $413 million equivalent sale the previous year. The top lot was Claude Monet’s *Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, crépuscule* (1891), which sold for $42.9 million with fees. The sale had a 94% sell-through rate, with 34 of 36 lots sold and none bought in. Notable moments included a new auction record for Dorothea Tanning at $2.3 million and a strong result for Remedios Varo’s *Revelación* (1955) at $6.22 million.
The results matter because they signal a cooling art market compared to the post-pandemic boom, with total sales dropping by more than half year-over-year. However, the high sell-through rate and strong bidding for certain works—especially by female Surrealists—show that demand remains selective and that certain segments are still gaining value. The evening also highlighted the role of guarantees, with 21 lots guaranteed by Christie’s, most of which were later backed by third parties, underscoring how auction houses manage risk in a shifting market.