Sotheby's Modern evening sale in New York on May 13 brought in $152 million ($186.4 million with fees), falling short of its presale estimate of $170 million to $248 million. Four lots were withdrawn before bidding began, including works by Winslow Homer, Wassily Kandinsky, Candido Portinari, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The sale's star lot, Alberto Giacometti's bronze bust 'Grande tête mince' (1954/55), estimated at over $70 million, failed to sell when bidding stalled around $64 million. Other notable results included strong sales for Jean Arp, František Kupka, and Robert Delaunay, but several high-profile works by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas, Pierre Soulages, and David Smith also failed to find buyers.
The disappointing results underscore the fragility of the high-end art market during an economic downturn, even for blue-chip artists. The failure of the Giacometti sculpture—a work with prestigious provenance, having been exhibited at the 1956 Venice Biennale and owned by billionaire collector Sheldon Solow—signals that even trophy assets are not immune to market volatility. The sale's patchy performance, with multiple withdrawals and passed lots, reflects broader challenges facing auction houses as they navigate declining buyer confidence and shifting collector priorities.