Christie’s Signals Market Confidence, Surpasses Expectations with $409.7M Across Two Evening Sales
Image © Christie's / Diamond Dust Shoes © Andy Warhol 1980
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Christie’s opened May auction week in New York with a decisive show of strength, leading with the Leonard and Louise Riggio Collection and its 20th Century Evening Sale. Both sales outperformed presale estimates, bringing in a combined $409.7 million at the hammer across 72 lots sold. The results set a confident tone for the week showing that consignments are still commanding attention - even in a more selective market.
These first two sales mark a strong and confident start to Christie’s May marquee week. While overall projections indicate that hundreds of millions of dollars in art are trading hands at a noticeably lower volume this season - down an estimated $250 million across all houses compared to last year, Christie’s performance in isolation is (so far) on par with last year.
In 2024, the 20th Century Evening Sale alone brought in $346.5 million at the hammer. This year’s sale totalled $181.1 million, a notable decrease. However, the difference is largely offset by the $228.5 million achieved by the Riggio Collection, which opened this year’s calendar. For comparison, last year’s single-owner Rosa de la Cruz Collection brought in just $28.1 million, showing that Christie’s (and the art market) significantly scaled up in this category.
As it stands, Christie’s has already achieved $409.7 million in total hammer across its first two sales - 93% of its entire 2024 May total for the 20th and 21st Century Evening Sales and single-owner offering combined. If the upcoming 21st Century sale performs in line with expectations, Christie’s will come out on top.
Image © Christie's / Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue © Piet Mondrian 1922Rothko and Monet Highlights, as Mondrian Falls Short of Record and Warhol’s Electric Chair Is a No-Show
This year’s 20th Century Evening Sale featured fewer eight-figure lots than its 2024 counterpart, but it wasn’t without commendable moments. A Mark Rothko, No. 4 (Two Dominants) (1951), from the Ann and Sid Bass collection, sold for $32.5 million at the hammer. Claude Monet’s Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, crépuscule (1891), a moody landscape portrait, hammered at $37 million, reaffirming the strength of the Impressionist market and it’s important inclusion in blockbuster evening sales. Gerhard Richter’s Korsike (Schiff) (1968) also brought in $12.9 million - a significant leap from its £800,000 sale in 2000.
One notable absentee from the evening’s top-tier bracket was Andy Warhol’s Electric Chair, which was expected to be a major highlight with an undisclosed estimate near $30 million - had it sold, it would have lifted the eight-figure count considerably.
Within the Riggio Collection, attention centreed on three key eight-figure works. Pablo Picasso’s vivid 1930 portrait of American photographer Lee Miller - one of only seven from the period - achieved $24 million at the hammer ($28 million with fees), meeting expectations. Piet Mondrian’s Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue (1922), the evening’s most anticipated lot, sold for $41 million ($47.6 million with fees) to a single bidder, likely the guarantor. While this fell short of the $51 million record set in 2022, it shouldn’t be ignored that the previous record was established during a post-pandemic market surge. The current result remains commendable, reflecting sustained interest in Mondrian’s work and the market. Meanwhile, René Magritte’s L’empire des lumières (1949) hammered at $30 million ($34.9 million with fees), consistent with past sales for works of similar size and subject.
Image © Christie's / The Last Supper © Andy Warhol 1986Warhol and Frankenthaler Lead Mid-Market Highlights as
Warhol sat firmly in the mid-range bracket for evening sales this season. In the 20th Century Evening Sale, a colourful depiction of Diamond Dust Shoes (1980) made its auction debut, selling for $2.4 million at the hammer ($2.94 million with fees) against a high estimate of $3 million. While this marked an underperformance to expectations, the result still ranks among the strongest for works from the Diamond Dust Shoes series at this scale. The current record stands with a pink version that sold for £2.7 million (hammer) in 2023.
From the Riggio Collection, Warhol’s The Last Supper (1986), rendered in cerulean blue, also came in below estimate at the hammer but delivered a positive return on its last public sale in 2010. It achieved $5.8 million at the hammer ($7 million with fees), compared to its previous sale result of $6.1 million (with fees), indicating a modest but notable appreciation over a 14-year holding period.
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Image © Christie's / Basin © Helen Frankenthaler 1979In terms of market momentum, women artists continued to perform well across categories. Agnes Martin saw strong results across both evening sales, but one of the standout moments came from Helen Frankenthaler, whose market is gaining increased attention. Her Basin (1979) reached $3.7 million at the hammer ($4.5 million with fees) against a $3 million high estimate. This places it among the most competitive hammer-to-estimate ratio performances of Christie’s first sales and exceeds the results of her top two sales earlier in 2024, reinforcing Frankenthaler as one of the most closely watched artists in the current market.
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Christie’s Eyes 21st Century Sale with Basquiat’s $30M Baby Boom
Looking ahead, Christie’s 21st Century Evening Sale launches tomorrow, headlined by Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Baby Boom, carrying an estimate of $30 million. The day sale follows, while attention now turns to Sotheby’s and Phillips to see how their offerings will shape the remainder of the week.
