Top Results from Sotheby’s Autumn Auctions of Modern and Contemporary Art

Sotheby’s kicked off The New York Sales with A Legacy of Beauty: The Collection of Sydell Miller Evening Auction on November 18, a white-glove sale that exceeded presale estimates to realize a stunning $216 million, becoming the most valuable single-owner collection sold at any auction house this year.

Sydell Miller, who died in March 2024 aged 86, assembled one of America’s finest collections of modern art, with significant pieces by René Magritte, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró, among others. It was that masterpiece of tranquil stillness, Monet’s Nymphéas (c. 1914-17), that sparked one of the most passionate bidding wars of the week in the saleroom, with 34 bids over 17 minutes, before it sold for $65.5 million.

Another show-stopper was a significant Picasso, La Statuaire (1925), the first known example of Picasso depicting a female artist. The painting, which has been held in The Collection of Sydell Miller for the last 25 years, fetched $24.8 million. Two further works by Picasso achieved standout sums that evening: Tête de femme (Françoise) (1951), from The Collection of Sydell Miller, brought in $6.9 million, and Buste de femme (1949) sold for $10 million in the Modern Evening Auction.

Reflecting the market’s recent passion for all things Surrealism in its centenary year, Leonora Carrington’s La Grande Dame (1951) saw five bidders compete before reaching a final price of $11.4 million – setting two new records to become the most valuable sculpture by the artist and the second-highest price ever achieved for the artist at auction. The sculpture’s new owner is collector Eduardo Constantini, who also purchased the record-setting Les Distractions de Dagobert for $28.5 million this May. Another Carrington, Temple of the Word from 1954, is a thrilling example of Carrington at the height of her formidable powers. This work sold for $4.6 million – the third all-time highest price for Carrington at auction.

The Modern Evening Auction returned a total of $92.9 million, reflecting a steadily growing interest in sculpture and design. Not only were new records set for Carrington, but also Remedios Varo’s Los Caminos tortuosos (1958) at $2 million – a record for a work on paper – and also for Tiffany Studios. One of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s greatest masterpieces and appearing at auction for the first time in more than two decades, The Danner Memorial Window achieved $12.5 million – over three times the previous auction record for a work by Tiffany Studios.

In The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction, Willem De Kooning’s Untitled XXV (1982) fetched $10.9 million, while Ed Ruscha’s Georges’ Flag (1999) led the night, exceeding presale estimates to find a new home at $13.6 million. Excitement was rife for Oval Office (Study), a 1992 study by Roy Lichtenstein created for his 1993 painting of the Oval Office at the White House. One of several works to come from the artist’s own collection, the study eclipsed its estimate to sell for $4.2 million.

Perhaps the most notorious lot of the night, attracting frenzied global interest in the run-up to the auction, was Comedian (2019) by Maurizo Cattelan. This banana peeled past its $1-1.5 million estimate to $6.2 million ($5.2 million before fees) in a seven-minute bidding battle that went to Justin Sun, collector and founder of the cryptocurrency platform TRON.

The following morning, the Contemporary Day Auction saw a thrillingly rare sequence of works by Keith Haring. Thirty-one Subway Drawings from the collection of Larry Warsh made their market debut. With 100% of the lots sold, the drawings achieved a combined $9.2 million.

The Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction on November 11 lit up Sotheby’s opulent new Maison in the heart of Hong Kong with a kaleidoscopic sale of works by artists around the world.

The evening’s mood was encapsulated by Mark Rothko’s Untitled (Yellow and Blue) (1964), a late-period masterpiece by the American Abstract Expressionist. The first work by the artist to be offered at auction in Asia, the painting passed its presale estimate to sell for HK$252.5 million ($32.5 million) to a private collector represented by Patti Wong & Associates. This spectacular result proved the vivid demand for landmark Western pieces in the Asian market and marked Rothko as the third most valuable Western artist to be sold in Asia.

Fresh to market, an incredibly rare Yayoi Kusama painting, Hat (1980) – the first and largest known canvas to feature Kusama’s iconic hat motif – achieved HK$43.8 million ($5.6 million), a record for the series. This piece generated a considerable presale buzz, having been in the collection of Kusama’s long-standing patron Dr. Ryutaro Takahashi and unseen in public for more than 25 years.

Also making its first appearance at auction was Yoshitomo Nara’s Little Bunny in the Box (1996) – only the third example from the iconic series ever to come to auction – which drew several bidders’ attention before settling at HK$10.8 million ($1.4 million). A testament to Nara’s unique ability to capture universal emotions, Little Bunny in the Box epitomizes the manifold ways in which Nara’s work can reconcile seemingly innocent imagery with the universal experiences that transcend boundaries.

A new record was achieved for the venerable Chinese artist Shi Hu, whose Heaven (2017) sold for HK$7.8 million ($1 million), nearly four times its high estimate. Reflecting the essence of Western Cubism and Expressionism in its figures via Shi Hu’s characteristic palette and mottled, thick brushstrokes, the work is a superb example of the artist’s practice that has entranced aficionados for over 50 years.

Another exemplary demonstration of expressive composition, immense mystical power and imagination was Maria Kreyn’s auction debut Gravity (2023). Vigorously contested by four bidders, this mesmerizing painting emerged triumphant at almost three times its high estimate when it fetched HK$4.1 million ($524,770). An expansive and riveting work, Gravity was inspired by the artist’s profound feeling of loss and emotional challenges during the pandemic in 2020.

The Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction reflected a surging energy in the market, shaped by a refined demand and connoisseurship of Asian and global art alike. Notably, Gen X collectors made up the largest buying pool of both the evening and day sales.

This October, Sotheby’s London and Paris linked up to celebrate the annual highlights of the cities’ cultural calendars: Frieze London and Art Basel Paris. Marking the moment was Lon → Par, a selling exhibition featuring modern and contemporary auction previews during Frieze London, and then in Paris to coincide with Paris+ par Art Basel and the city’s marquee auctions.

Sotheby’s new Paris flagship building at 83 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré presented its first marquee sales with Modernités and Surrealism and Its Legacy, both of which saw vibrant bidding and strong results, exceeding presale estimates. Combined, the two auctions realized almost €60 million ($65 million).

Taking place in the city where the movement was established in 1924, Surrealism and Its Legacy marked the movement’s centenary with a €23.1 million ($25.1 million) white-glove result. Setting new benchmarks for the artists at auction in Paris, Salvador Dalí’s Meditative Rose (1958) achieved €3.9 million ($4.2 million), nearly four times presale estimates, while Kay Sage’s Other Answers (1945) and Jane Graverol’s La Frôleuse (1969) tripled their estimates to realize €1 million (US$1.1 million) and €576,000 ($625,651), respectively. The landmark auction also featured outstanding works by other Surrealism heavyweights, including Man Ray (€1.7 million / $1.9 million), Joan Miró (€2 million / $2.2 million) and René Magritte (€3.8 million / $4.2 million).

In a sale that emphasized the oft-understated role of female artists in Surrealism, several works by women performed especially strongly. Beyond the spectacular results achieved for Sage and Graverol, Dorothea Tanning’s My beautiful haunted house (1961) eclipsed estimates to fetch €132,000 ($143,378) and Leonor Fini’s La Prima ballerina assoluta / La leçon de regard (Les leçons) (1969) sold for an impressive €360,000 ($391,032).

Modernités achieved estimate-busting results for Lucio Fontana (€2.2 million / $2.3 million), Pierre-Auguste Renoir (€1.9 million / $2 million) and Alighiero Boetti (€1.9 / $2 million). All told, the auction achieved an astonishing €36.1 million ($39.2 million).

Rich with highlights, an especially memorable peak came in the form of Jean Dubuffet’s Le Visiteur au Chapeau Bleu, which surpassed its high estimate to sell for €6.9 million ($7.5 million) – the highest price ever achieved at auction in Paris for a Dubuffet and the most valuable work sold at Sotheby’s Paris that day. A second work by Dubuffet, Francis Ponge Jubilation, was close behind at €6 million ($6.5 million).

Over in London, the Contemporary Evening Auction on October 9 saw smashing success for British living legend David Hockney. Painted after Hockney’s arrival in London from a magical sojourn to the South of France, L’ Arbois, Sainte-Maxime (1968) sold for £13.2 million ($17.2 million) – more than 10 times its previous auction price at Sotheby’s in 2011. Epitomizing Bridget Riley’s Zig series, Gaillard 2 (1989) sold to a collector in Asia for £1.9 million ($2.5 million), an astonishing 55 times the price it made at auction in New York in May 1999. Meanwhile, British icon Barbara Hepworth’s Reclining Figure II (1955-56) brought in £1.2 million ($1.6 million), more than seven times the £162,050 it achieved at auction in London in 2003.

A new artist’s record was set for Martha Jungwirth, whose The Big Chinese (2020) sold for £240,000 ($314,016), a 30% rise in the artist’s previous auction record, while Banksy’s Vest (2019) made its auction debut, smashing its £200,000-300,000 estimate when it sold for £780,000 ($1 million). One of five editions of Banksy’s bulletproof vest works, this was the first to come to auction after British rapper Stormzy wore a companion piece at this year’s Glastonbury Festival.

Clients worldwide responded enthusiastically to the tightly curated sale. Blue-chip artists Christopher Wool (£2.9 million / $3.8 million), Alexander Calder (£2.7 million / $3.5 million), Lucian Freud (£2 million / $2.6 million) and Anselm Keifer (£1 million / $1.3 million) helped fill out the sale, which echoed the verve and special character that only a Sotheby’s London auction can provide.

Totaling £37.6 million ($49.2 million), the auction confirmed the undeniable energy in the market today, and was a resounding vote of confidence for even greater achievements to come in 2025.