Christie’s achieved a landmark result during its back-to-back evening auctions in New York, where the sale of the S.I. Newhouse collection and the 20th Century evening sale generated a combined $1.1 billion with fees. The total landed at the high end of pre-sale expectations and underscored continued demand for blue-chip modern and contemporary art despite broader market uncertainty.
The 16-lot Newhouse collection alone realised $630.8 million with fees. Meanwhile, the broader 20th-century evening auction contributed an additional $490.3 million. Collectors competed aggressively for museum-quality works by artists including Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Andy Warhol.
Importantly, the Newhouse sale achieved white-glove status, meaning every lot sold. However, all works carried third-party guarantees, reflecting the increasingly financialised structure of the high-end auction market.
Picasso, Brancusi, and Pollock Lead High-Stakes Collector Bidding
The evening opened strongly with several major Picasso works. Tête de femme sold for $14.4 million with fees, while the Cubist bronze sculpture Tête de femme (Fernande) reached $48.3 million. In addition, Homme à la guitare from 1913 realised $40.8 million after intense telephone bidding.
Yet the standout sculpture result came from Constantin Brancusi. His rare bronze Danaïde from 1913 soared to $107.5 million with fees, dramatically exceeding its 2002 purchase price of $18.1 million. The work, linked to Brancusi’s early New York exhibitions, drew exceptional interest from international buyers.
Strong momentum continued throughout the sale. Joan Miró’s Portrait de Madame K climbed to a record $53.5 million with fees, while Piet Mondrian’s geometric Composition with Large Red Plane, Blue, Gray, Black and Yellow achieved nearly $40 million.
However, the defining moment arrived when Pollock’s monumental Number 7 A (1948) ignited a dramatic bidding battle between two telephone clients. The painting eventually sold for a record-breaking $181.8 million with fees after applause erupted across the salesroom. Newhouse had acquired the work privately in 2000 from former Sotheby’s chairman A. Alfred Taubman.
The auction also highlighted sustained interest in postwar American art and Pop Art design language. Warhol’s hand-painted Do it Yourself (Violin) realised $25.9 million, while Jasper Johns’ monochromatic Gray Target sold for $28.8 million.
Rothko and Lichtenstein Strengthen Contemporary Market Confidence
Following a short intermission, the 20th Century evening sale maintained the pace with significant results from major private collections and estates. Most notably, Rothko’s No. 15 (Two Greens and Red Stripe) achieved a new auction record at $98.3 million with fees. The painting came from the collection of philanthropist and longtime Museum of Modern Art trustee Agnes Gund.
Meanwhile, Roy Lichtenstein’s comic-inspired Anxious Girl sold for $46 million with fees, reinforcing continued collector appetite for Pop Art imagery rooted in graphic design and mass media culture.
Several additional works generated strong results across Impressionist, Abstract Expressionist, and figurative categories. Alice Neel’s Mother and Child (Nancy and Olivia) set a new artist record at $5.6 million with fees. Furthermore, works by Joan Mitchell and Lee Krasner attracted steady institutional and private bidding.
Still, the evening included isolated setbacks. A portrait by Amedeo Modigliani was withdrawn before the sale, removing an estimated $30 million to $40 million from the auction’s projected total.
“It was a huge amount of money shared among a small number of bidders,” said Hugo Nathan of Beaumont Nathan shortly after the sale concluded.
Overall, the auctions demonstrated that top-tier artworks with strong provenance, institutional visibility, and historical significance continue to command extraordinary prices within the global art and design market.