黑料不打烊

Sotheby’s concluded its marquee spring auctions in New York with a combined total of $372.5 million with fees across its Modern and Contemporary evening sales. While the house achieved several notable results, the failure of a $70 million Giacometti to sell weighed on the week’s overall narrative.

Uneven Results Amid High-Profile Miss

Sotheby’s Modern Evening Sale in New York on May 13 brought in a total of $186.4 million which depended on fees to get within its presale expectation of $170 million to $248 million. Of the 60 lots offered, 50 sold, producing a sell-through rate of 83.3%. Approximately half the works were fresh to market, and 26 lots were guaranteed, 24 of which involved third-party backing. Around 40% of sold works exceeded their high estimates. Nevertheless, the night’s outcome marked a decline from the equivalent sale in 2024, which had totaled $235.1 million (all totals include fees). The absence of a financial guarantee on the sale’s leading lot, coupled with a thinning of high-end bidding, contributed to a subdued atmosphere that offset some of the evening’s stronger individual results.

Alberto Giacometti, Grande tête mince, conceived in 1954 and cast in 1955. Painted bronze. Sculpture. Photo: Sotheby’s.

The headline lot, Alberto Giacometti’s Grande tête mince, 1955, failed to find a buyer. Estimated at over $70 million, the bronze bust of the artist’s brother Diego had been consigned by the Soloviev Foundation and opened bidding at $59 million. Interest plateaued at $64.25 million – well short of expectations – and the work was ultimately passed. The bust had been widely promoted as the most significant lot of the spring season and is believed to be the only painted cast from the edition.

Auctioneer Oliver Barker extended bidding for over three minutes before declaring the work unsold. The decision to forgo a guarantee, reportedly at the seller’s insistence, left the work exposed in an increasingly price-sensitive market. The result drew audible gasps and prompted speculation about its potential impact on future estate sales at the top of the market. While Sotheby’s cited strong collector interest in advance of the auction, the failure underscored the limitations of prestige and rarity as stand-alone value propositions in the current climate.

Pablo Picasso, Homme assis, dated 10.12.69. Oil and Ripolin on canvas. Photo: Sotheby’s.

Despite the disappointing Giacometti outcome, several works met or exceeded expectations. Pablo picasso’s Homme assis, 1969, sold for $15.1 million, within its $12–18 million estimate. Georgia O’Keeffe’s Leaves of a Plant drew nearly 30 bids to achieve $13 million, surpassing its $8–12 million estimate. Paul Signac’s Saint-Georges. Couchant (Venise), held privately for over 70 years, reached $8.1 million, setting a new auction record for a Venetian subject by the artist. Alexander Calder’s Four Big Dots, 1966, sold for $8.3 million, nudging above its high estimate of $8 million flat thanks to deep bidding in the room.

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. An Important Double-Pedestal Lamp for the Susan Lawrence Dana House, Springfield, Illinois Designed circa 1903. Pedestal.

A Frank Lloyd wright double-pedestal lamp, presented as a highlight of early American design, fetched $7.5 million, more than doubling its low estimate of $3 million, and setting a new auction record for the architect. Works from the estate of Rolf and Margit Weinberg by Edvard Munch, Egon Schiele, and Paul Cézanne performed within expectations, with Cézanne’s Portrait de Madame Cézanne, circa 1877, realizing $7.4 million.

Contemporary Sale Finishes Spring Season on Firm Footing

Sotheby’s continued its spring auction series on May 15 with a three-part Contemporary art evening sale that achieved a combined total of $186.1 million with fees ($154.2 million hammer), aligning with its presale estimate of $141.5 million to $204.9 million. After three withdrawals, the marquee Contemporary and Now segment’s 41 lots achieved a sell-through rate of 93%. Bidding was dominated by U.S.-based collectors, a pattern attributed to shifting trade policies and an increasingly domestic buyer base amid uncertainty around tariffs.

Andy Warhol, Flowers, dated 1964, acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas. Photo: Sotheby’s.

The 12-lot offering from Barbara Gladstone’s estate, all unguaranteed and all sold, reflected the dealer’s personal collecting ethos developed over five decades in the art world. A former art history professor who opened her first gallery in Manhattan in 1980, Gladstone was known for introducing artists like Jenny Holzer and Matthew Barney to American audiences and for her long-term representation of key figures such as Richard Prince and Carroll Dunham. The selections from her collection brought in a total of $18.5 million.

A rare black and green version of Warhol’s Flowers, 1964, more than doubles its high estimate to achieve $3.8 million. Dunham’s Bathers Seventeen (Black Hole) reached $762,000, setting a new secondary market record for artist and father of Lena Dunham. Prince’s Man Crazy Nurse, 2002–03, was the top lot at just under $4 million. While it fell short of its estimate, the piece, drawn from Prince’s 2003 “Nurse” exhibition at Gladstone Gallery, reflected the collection’s emphasis on personally resonant works.

Michelangelo Pistoletto. Maria nuda, dated 1969. painted tissue paper on polished stainless steel.

The subsequent 15-lot grouping from Daniella Luxembourg, entirely guaranteed and heavily weighted toward postwar Italian art, brought $40.4 million with fees. Lucio Fontana’s Concetto spaziale, La fine di Dio, 1963, led the selection at $14.5 million. Michelangelo pistoletto’s Maria nuda, 1969, was the subject of eight competing bids before selling for $3.4 million against a high estimate of $1.5 million, and Pino Pascali’s Tappeto, 1968, achieved $1.6 million, coming in well above its high estimate of $600,000. Alberto Burri, Claes Oldenburg, and Salvatore Scarpitta were also represented. The collection reaffirmed Luxembourg’s longstanding role in shaping international interest in Arte Povera.

The final segment – the Contemporary and Now Evening Auction – produced mixed but overall solid results, good for $126 million over across 41 lots. Jean-Michel Basquiat’s untitled 1981 work on paper led the evening at $16.3 million, while all nine Roy Lichtenstein lots sold, totaling $29 million – Reflections: Art, 1988, achieved $5.4 million. Standout results also came from newer artists: Yu Nishimura’s Across the Place, 2023, set a new artist record at $406,000, and Danielle McKinney’s Stand Still, 2023, realized $280,000, well surpassing its high estimate of $60,000. In contrast, high-value works by Frank Stella and Cecily Brown failed to meet expectations, with Brown’s Burkini Kill, 2016, going unsold. The sale closed on a subdued note with Jacob Lawrence’s 1958 tempera work bought in.

Despite strong bidding in select segments and a handful of artist records, Sotheby’s full-week total of $492 million trailed Christie’s $693 million across its day and evening sales. Well-curated offerings from the Gladstone and Luxembourg collections provided critical support, with provenance-rich works helping to anchor results in an otherwise cautious market.

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