Phillips New York's modern and contemporary evening sale on Tuesday night generated $52 million, a 40 percent drop from the $86 million achieved in the same sale last year. The auction exactly met its pre-sale estimate, but five lots failed to sell and four were withdrawn. Despite the overall downturn, five new records were set for women artists, including Kiki Kogelnik, Ilana Savdie, Olga de Amaral, and Grace Hartigan. The top lot was Jean-Michel Basquiat's *Untitled* (1984) at $6.6 million, followed by works by Ed Ruscha and Donald Judd. Bidding was active for several works, with many going to US buyers, and a painting by Yu Nishimura, newly represented by David Zwirner, sold for more than double its estimate.
The results underscore a cooling art market, with total sales falling sharply year-over-year and several high-value lots failing to sell or being withdrawn. However, the strong performance of works by women artists and the continued demand for blue-chip names like Basquiat and Calder suggest a market in transition, where collectors are seeking both safe bets and emerging talent. The sale's mixed outcomes reflect broader uncertainty, with advisers noting a shift toward historically established artists as safer investments.