art market

Sotheby’s sets London record with $520M sale of Lewis collection

The art collection of British billionaire Joe Lewis shattered expectations on Wednesday evening at Sotheby's London, fetching £296.3 million ($392.6 million) and setting a new European record for a single-owner sale. The result nearly doubled the pre-sale low estimate for…

Pace Gallery drops 50 artists, lays off 50 staff

Pace Gallery, one of the art world's most prominent institutions, announced Thursday that it is cutting approximately 50 artists from its roster and laying off around 50 staff members in what CEO Marc Glimcher called a rejection of the mega-gallery…

Art Basel Hong Kong 2026 opens this week with new Echoes sector

Art Basel Hong Kong returns to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from March 27 to 29, bringing together 240 galleries from 41 countries and territories as the city gears up for its busiest week on the international art…

Kahlo painting sells for $54.7M, breaking record for female artist

A 1940 self-portrait by Frida Kahlo sold for $54.7 million at Sotheby's in New York on Thursday, setting a new record as the most expensive artwork by a female artist ever sold at auction.

Artist David Shrigley selling piles of old rope for $1.3M

British artist David Shrigley opened "Exhibition of Old Rope" at Stephen Friedman Gallery in London on Thursday, featuring four enormous piles of discarded rope with a £1 million price tag—a literal interpretation of the idiom "money for old rope" that…

Sotheby’s notches record $104M in Paris sales

Sotheby's achieved unprecedented success in France during Art Basel Paris week, with combined surrealist and modern art auctions totaling €89.7 million ($104 million) on Friday. The result represents a remarkable 50% increase from the previous year's dual auction event and…

Yves Klein blue monochrome painting sells for $21M

A monumental 14-foot-wide blue monochrome painting by French artist Yves Klein sold for €18.4 million ($21.4 million) at Christie's Paris on Thursday, establishing a new auction record for the artist in France. The work, titled "California (IKB 71)," represents the…

Frieze London opens with strong sales and celebrity crowds

Frieze London 2025 opened its doors on October 15 with a robust VIP preview that attracted significant crowds and generated substantial early sales, signaling confidence in the contemporary art market as the world's leading galleries descended on Regent's Park.

Frieze to launch Abu Dhabi art fair in November 2026

Global art fair giant Frieze officially announced its expansion into the Middle East with the launch of Frieze Abu Dhabi in November 2026, marking a significant shift in the Gulf's increasingly competitive cultural landscape. The partnership with Abu Dhabi's Department…

Hauser & Wirth UK profits plunge 90% as art market slumps

Hauser & Wirth's UK operations suffered a devastating 90% drop in pre-tax profits for 2024, plummeting to just £1.6 million from £12.5 million the previous year, according to Financial Times reporting published Monday. The Swiss mega-gallery's UK revenue also collapsed…

Sotheby’s to showcase $150M art exhibition in Abu Dhabi

Sotheby's is set to showcase its most valuable exhibition ever in the Middle East, presenting masterpieces worth $150 million at Abu Dhabi's Bassam Freiha Art Foundation on October 1-2. The landmark two-day exhibition features works by Vincent van Gogh, Frida…

Frida Kahlo self-portrait could break female artist record

A rare self-portrait by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo could shatter auction records when it goes under the hammer at Sotheby's New York in November, with estimates reaching as high as $60 million. The 1940 painting "El Sueño (La Cama)" —…

Sotheby’s to auction Lauder’s $400M art collection

Sotheby's has secured one of the art market's most significant consignments in years, announcing Monday it will auction Leonard Lauder's $400 million collection in November. The sale, featuring 55 lots led by Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer" with an…

Sotheby’s losses more than double to $248M amid art slump

Sotheby's posted devastating financial results for 2024, with annual losses more than doubling to $248 million as the global art market continues its steep decline amid geopolitical uncertainty and weakening demand from wealthy collectors.

Christie’s lands $180M modern art collection for November sales

Christie's CHD announced in late August that it has secured the collection of American collectors Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis for its November sales in New York, marking one of the first major consignments ahead of the fall…

Jeff Koons returns to Gagosian after Pace split

Jeff Koons has returned to Gagosian Gallery after departing the mega-dealer four years ago for an exclusive partnership with Pace, marking a dramatic reversal for the world's most expensive living artist. Gagosian announced the reunion on August 27, confirming Koons…

Billionaire sues Christie’s over £14.5M Picasso’s hidden past

A London-based billionaire venture capitalist has filed a lawsuit against Christie's auction house, claiming the prestigious firm concealed the criminal background of the previous owner of a Pablo Picasso painting valued at £14.5 million ($19.6 million).

Sotheby’s sets opening date for restored Breuer Building as new global HQ

Sotheby's will welcome the art world to its restored Breuer Building headquarters on November 8, 2025, marking the end of a two-year restoration that has transformed the Brutalist landmark into the auction house's new global center while preserving its architectural…

Two prominent NYC art galleries close within days of each other

Two prominent New York art galleries announced their closures within days of each other this week, marking the latest chapter in a challenging period for the art world. Kasmin Gallery, a Manhattan institution for 35 years, and Clearing Gallery, which…

Auction sales drop 6-10% as art market correction deepens

Global auction sales slid again in the first six months of 2025, as the three dominant houses—Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips—rang up between $3.98 billion and $2.9 billion, a year-on-year decline of 6-10 percent, according to fresh tallies from market tracker…

US Senators target art market’s money laundering loopholes

A bipartisan group of US senators introduced legislation Wednesday targeting money laundering and sanctions evasion in America's $25 billion art market, seeking to close what lawmakers describe as one of the last major unregulated financial sectors vulnerable to criminal exploitation.

Phillips introduces fee discounts for early auction bidders

Phillips auction house is introducing a new "priority bidding" system this fall that will offer significantly reduced buyer's premium rates for collectors who place binding bids at or above the low estimate at least 48 hours before a live auction,…

ADAA cancels 2025 Art Show, calls decision a strategic pause

The Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) has announced the cancellation of its 2025 edition of The Art Show, describing the decision as a "strategic pause" amid an ongoing contraction in the art market that has recently seen prominent galleries…

ADAA cancels ‘The Art Show in New York’ 2025 amid market contraction

The Art Dealers Association of America has canceled its 2025 edition of The Art Show in New York, describing the decision as a "strategic pause" amid an ongoing contraction in the art market that has already led to gallery closures…

Tim Blum closes Los Angeles and Tokyo galleries after 30 years

Veteran art dealer Tim Blum has announced the closure of his eponymous galleries in Los Angeles and Tokyo, with the fate of a planned New York space still undecided, citing burnout from the relentless pace of the traditional gallery system…

New Perspectives Art Partners unites top art market leaders to manage ‘elite’ collections

Four of the art market's leading figures—Ed Dolman, Brett Gorvy, Patti Wong, and Phillip Hoffman—have joined forces to establish New Perspectives Art Partners, a consultancy firm offering "white glove service" to elite collectors during what they describe as unprecedented shifts…