Sotheby’s wrapped up a major three-part evening auction in New York on Thursday, bringing in $186.1 million from 68 contemporary art lots. The total landed toward the upper end of its projected range of $141 million to $204.9 million, signaling stability in a market still showing signs of selective enthusiasm. While the figure came in stronger than last November’s event, it marked an 18 percent decline from the same sale last May, which had totaled $227.9 million.
The results reflected a clear appetite for established artists and works with solid pedigree, while buyers remained selective with emerging names. Over the course of two single-owner collections and a wider contemporary sale, the evening displayed fierce competition for pieces backed by name recognition and provenance, though more recent work received a mixed reception. (All sales include buyer’s premiums unless stated otherwise.)
The auction kicked off with 12 works from the estate of legendary dealer Barbara Gladstone. Offered without guarantees, all pieces sold, and eight surpassed their high estimates. The collection raised $18.5 million, narrowly topping the $17.2 million upper estimate.
Two Richard Prince paintings drove the value of that session, generating $7.5 million combined. One piece from his Nurse series fetched just under $4 million—well below the record of $12.1 million achieved in 2021 in Sotheby’s Hong Kong.
Next came a 15-lot offering from Daniella Luxembourg’s private holdings, spotlighting postwar Italian masters. This section proved the night’s most electric, with spirited bidding and several works soaring past estimates.
Lucio Fontana’s Concetto spaziale (1962–63) launched the Luxembourg portion, leaping past its $180,000 high estimate to sell for $764,000 after a five-way bidding battle. Just two lots later, Michelangelo Pistoletto’s 1969 mirror painting Maria Nuda ignited a bidding war involving eight contenders. After five minutes, it sold for $2.7 million—nearly doubling its estimate.
Auctioneer Oliver Barker leaned into the excitement, remarking from the podium, “That deserves a round of applause, doesn’t it?” as the room responded.
Fontana’s Concetto spaziale, La fine di Dio (1963) ultimately led the Luxembourg group, closing at $14.5 million—well within its estimated $12 million to $18 million range.
For gallerist Mattia De Luca, based in Rome, the Luxembourg material offered a rare opportunity. “The sale showed that quality still triumphs,” he told *ARTnews*. “Great work, priced correctly, will continue to perform.”
Other strong sales in this group included a $3.1 million result for an Alberto Burri canvas and Claes Oldenburg’s 1969 soft sculpture, which hit $1.94 million. A 1959 Salvatore Scarpitta piece brought in $1.08 million, slightly below its high estimate. Joseph Kosuth’s 1965 light installation sold for $190,000, beating a $150,000 projection. A rare sculpture by Pino Pascali brought $1.64 million—nearly triple its estimate—and two Alexander Calder mobiles exceeded their respective goals: Armada (1946) sold for $5.4 million, while The Beetle (1948) earned $4.2 million.
Lucius Elliot, Sotheby’s head of contemporary marquee sales, attributed much of the success to provenance. “People see a trusted name or collection and take it as a mark of quality,” he said. “There’s a confidence that comes with knowing a work passed through such careful hands.”
The evening’s top seller came in the Now sale, where a Jean-Michel Basquiat oil stick drawing from 1981, held privately for 30 years, was estimated at $10 million. It hammered for $13.7 million and reached $16.4 million with fees.
Roy Lichtenstein also saw strong results. Bonsai Tree (1993) sold for $4.2 million, more than double its $1.5 million low estimate. Two other Lichtenstein works from 1988 and 1996 fetched $5.5 million and $4.9 million, respectively.
Blue-chip names like Ed Ruscha and Gerhard Richter met expectations. Ruscha’s 1989 text painting That was then this is now sold for $8 million (hammering at its $7 million estimate), while Richter’s 1990 abstract piece hit $6.9 million, just under its high mark.
Andy Warhol’s Flowers (1964) doubled its estimate, closing at $4.1 million after a burst of fast bidding. Lee Krasner’s August Petals landed squarely in its range at $5.2 million, far below her $11.6 million record but still solid.
The contemporary section featured newer artists with varied outcomes. Danielle McKinney’s Stand Still (2023) surged to $220,000—over five times its estimate—before reaching $280,000 with fees. Yu Nishimura’s Across the Place (2023) soared to $406,000, beating both its $50,000 estimate and the artist’s previous record. Ernst Yohji Jäger’s untitled work more than doubled his last auction high, bringing in $190,500.
Art advisor Andrea Hazen wasn’t surprised. “People are very drawn to McKinney’s work,” she told ARTnews. “The estimate was modest relative to her primary market.”
Rashid Johnson’s ceramic-and-oyster-shell sculpture Two Standing Broken Men exceeded expectations at $1.8 million. Mohammed Samedi’s interior painting from 2023 climbed from a $300,000 estimate to $571,000 with fees.
But the momentum wasn’t universal. Michael Armitage’s 2015 painting sold for $2.4 million, within estimate. Barbara Kruger’s 1989 text work brought in $787,400, close to its $800,000 high. Frank Stella’s Adelante, deaccessioned by SFMOMA, hammered at $6.5 million—well under its $10 million estimate.
“There were a couple of Stellas this season and none of them caught fire,” Elliot noted. “They’re intellectually rich paintings, and this one was quite large.”
The final lot, a 1958 tempera by Jacob Lawrence, failed to sell, closing the evening on an uncertain note. Of the 41 works in the Now sale, 23 came with financial guarantees. Still, two prominent names—Urs Fischer and Cecily Brown—saw their works go unsold.
Elliot remained upbeat. “The depth of bidding was strong, especially from American buyers,” he said. “In fact, two-thirds of our registrants were based in the U.S., even for the Luxembourg works. That tells us confidence is returning.”
