Christie’s 21st-century evening sale in New York on Wednesday achieved $162.7 million, its highest total in the category since 2021. The sale featured eight works from the collection of the late dealer Marian Goodman by Gerhard Richter, which together sold for $78.8 million, nearly half the evening’s haul. Richter’s photorealistic candle painting *Kerze (Candle)* (1982) hammered at $30 million, below its $35 million low estimate, but still set a new auction record for the series. Other Richters performed strongly, with six of seven exceeding high estimates, including *Mohn (Poppy)* (1995) at $20.1 million. A modest Basquiat work on paper, *Asbestos*, sold for $6.54 million, and one lot by Ed Ruscha was bought in.
The sale matters because it signals a rebound in the high-end auction market for contemporary art, with a 68 percent increase in hammer total compared to a similar sale last year. The strong performance of the Goodman Richters, despite the candle painting falling short of its estimate, suggests sustained demand for the artist’s work even after a period of market plateau. The results also underscore the enduring influence of Marian Goodman’s legacy as a dealer who shaped Richter’s market in the U.S., and highlight Christie’s reliance on guarantees to ensure stable outcomes in a cautious bidding environment.