Phillips’s Modern and contemporary art evening sale in New York totaled $52 million, a sharp decline from $86.3 million last year. Four lots were withdrawn before the sale, including works by Pablo Picasso and Jasper Johns, and five lots failed to sell, yielding an 86% sell-through rate (78% including withdrawals). The hammer total of $41.8 million fell below the pre-sale low estimate of $52.3 million. Notable sales included a Basquiat piece once owned by David Bowie, which sold for $6.59 million (Bowie bought it in 1995 for $93,400), and a Kiki Kogelnik painting that set a new artist record at $356,000. Five auction records were set overall, including for Ilana Savdie, Olga de Amaral, Grace Hartigan, and James Turrell.
The results underscore a challenging market for contemporary art, with Phillips struggling to match last year’s totals and multiple high-value lots withdrawn or unsold. The sale’s reliance on blue-chip names like Basquiat and Richter, alongside rediscovered artists such as Kogelnik, reflects a shift away from the ultra-contemporary works that were Phillips’s specialty. The evening’s modest performance, contrasted with Sotheby’s concurrent Modern art auction headlined by a $70 million Giacometti that flopped, signals broader market caution and a preference for established, proven works over speculative contemporary pieces.