Sotheby’s closed its May marquee auction week with $186.1 million in combined contemporary sales across three sessions on May 16. The evening began with a white-glove sale of 12 works from Barbara Gladstone’s personal collection, fetching $18.8 million, followed by a $40.4 million sale from Daniella Luxembourg’s collection, which signaled revived appetite for Italian postwar art. The main Contemporary Evening Auction saw strong bidding for emerging artists like Danielle Mckinney and Mohammed Sami, though some high-profile lots like Richard Prince’s Man Crazy Nurse fell short of estimates.
The results mark a rebound after Tuesday’s disappointment when a star Giacometti went unsold, suggesting renewed energy in the contemporary and ultra-contemporary segments. The strong performance of dealer collections—particularly the white-glove sales—highlights the enduring influence of top gallerists in shaping market confidence. The evening also underscored shifting collector interest toward Italian postwar works and emerging artists, even as established names like Warhol and Prince showed mixed results.