Auctions

SummarySotheby’s revenue dropped nearly 20 percent in 2024, posting a $248 million USD pre-tax loss as the art market slowedThe auction house secured a $909 million investment from Abu Dhabi’s ADQ to pay down debt and buy a new Madison Avenue buildingThe art world’s blue-chip auction house just had a rough year. Sotheby’s, the 280-year-old giant that sells everything from Picassos to Patek Philippes, saw its revenues tumble nearly 20% in 2024 which means that fewer collectors purchased luxury goods and fine art and the house took a major hit.According to filings in Luxembourg, Sotheby’s brought in $1.13 billion USD in 2024, down from $1.36 billion USD the year before. The losses stacked up fast, with the company posting a pre-tax loss of about $248 million USD, more than double its $106 mi...

SummaryHorror maestro Guillermo del Toro is teaming up with Heritage Auctions for a three-part sale of relics from his infamous 10,000-piece cabinet of curiositiesThe first installment of the Bleak House auction will start on September 26 with hundreds of concept artworks, memorabilia and artifacts up for grabsFrom his early Cronos to his most recent Frankenstein - which earned a near 15-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival - Guillermo del Toro has secured the title as the "godfather of modern Gothic." Offscreen, his love for the occult, monstrous and macabre manifests as a two-story residence in suburban Los Angeles, with over 10,000 artworks, books and artifacts collected over a lifetime. Sure, tons of creative big shots have skeletons in the closet, but del Toro's infamou...

SummaryElizabeth Peyton's Liam + Noel (Gallagher) (1996) is heading to Sotheby's contemporary art sale in London on June 24Created in the apex of the band's fame, the "prescient" portrait highlights the quiet tension that shaped the duo's public relationship and their break-up in 2009.After a reunion last year, the piece draws art world excitement for the upcoming Live '25 tour, set to start in Cardiff on July 4.With the Live '25 tour kicking off next month, it's safe to say: Oasis Fever is back in full swing. Britpop nostalgia is back in the air and the Elizabeth Peyton double-portrait of the Gallagher brothers couldn't have arrived at Sotheby's in better timing. The 1996 painting is among the headlining works at the house's contemporary art auction in London on June 24, expecting to fetc...

SummaryPharrell Williams expands his auction platform with JOOPITER MarketplaceCapitalizing on the instant purchase feature, he partners with his A-list circle to release pre-owned collectiblesPharrell Williams' auction platform JOOPITER expands with its own marketplace in an attempt to adjust to the art market downturn with a new instant purchase feature of luxurious and pre-owned collectibles.In a new report from WWD, the publication confirms that Joopiter Marketplace is launching with items from some of Pharrell's closest A-list circle including collectors like himself, artist Tom Sachs, jeweler Lorraine Schwartz, entrepreneur and gallerist Easy Otabor and music executive Steven Victor. John Auerbach, chief executive officer of Joopiter told WWD in a statement, "Over the past three-and-...

SummaryThe earliest known example of Basquiat’s iconic "Head" motifOffered on Sotheby's with an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000 USDAcquired directly from Basquiat and remained in same private collectionThere's no shortage of Basquiats making a big market splash with one of the late artist's paintings, "Saturday Night," having nabbed a mighty healthy $14.5 million USD during Christie's Hong Kong auction in March. But now, a much more rare and never-before-auctioned drawing by Jean-Michel Basquiat will soon be up for auction at Sotheby’s. Titled "Untitled (1978)," the work is described to be the earliest known example of Basquiat’s iconic "Head" motif which he created at 18 years old. Basquiat's "Head" figuration is considered to be a cornerstone of his visual language that would later spur...

A cache of ancient jewels linked to the remains of Buddha is set to go up for auction at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on May 7, with estimates reaching $100 million HK (roughly $12.9 million USD).The 334-piece collection, known as the Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha, includes an array of pearls, rubies, topaz, sapphires and patterned gold sheets dating back to the Mauryan Empire (240-200 BCE). Unearthed in 1898 by British engineer William Claxton Peppé at a stupa near present-day Uttar Pradesh, India — near the Buddha’s birthplace — the relics were found alongside bone fragments believed to be the Buddha’s remains.For over a century, the jewels remained largely hidden in the private collection of Peppé and his descendants — until now. The upcoming sale has sparked major criticism from Buddhi...

Andy Warhol’s “Big Electric Chair” (1967-68) is set to headline Christie’s 20th Century Evening Sale during New York's Marquee Week, with a pre-estimated cost of at least $30m USD, marking its first appearance at an auction.The painting first appeared at the artist’s 1968 presentation at Stockholm's Modern Museet, his first major retrospective outside of the U.S. Just one year later, it was acquired by Belgian collectors Roger Matthys and Hilda Colle, where it has remained for the last half-century.“Big Electric Chair” depicts a tightly-cropped version of a 1953 press photograph taken in the execution chamber of the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York, an image that served as the basis of Warhol's renowned Death and Disaster series. Unlike other works where doors, pipes and additio...

The contemporary art market is bouncing back, but big-money sales are slowing down. According to Artprice's latest report, more people are buying affordable pieces, while expensive artworks are struggling to sell. In 2024, contemporary art sales hit $1.89 billion USD, with most pieces going for under $5,000 USD. Sales of high-end works over $50,000 USD dropped by 21 percent, showing that collectors are being more careful with their spending.Hong Kong, once a top player alongside New York, took a hit with a 32 percent drop in sales as per Artnews. Some major auctions flopped, like Christie’s No Regrets sale in March, while Phillips’ May auction did well, pulling in $26.8 million USD. Even with setbacks, Hong Kong still beat London in total contemporary art sales at $282 million USD.India is...

Yesterday, Christie’s closed out Augmented Intelligence, its highly-contested auction dedicated to artificial intelligence-generated art. The first of its kind, the sale brought in around $729,000 USD, surpassing its initial estimate by over 20%.The sale also welcomed a wave of fresh collectors to the scene, with Gen Z and Millennials making up just under half of the bidding crowd and over a third of the registrants identified as "completely new to Christie's."At $277,2000 USD, Refik Anadol’s Machine Hallucinations - ISS Dreams - A came in as the highest selling piece, exceeding its estimate of $200,00 USD. In second place, Holly Herndon & Mat Dryhurst’s Embedding Study 1 & 2 diptych, fetched $94,500 USD, also above its estimated range.In a recent statement, Nicole Sales Giles, Chr...

Heritage Auctions is hosting a special auction in celebration of Studio Ghibli's 40th anniversary. The sixth volume of The Art of Anime will offer a selection of anime treasures from Hayao Miyazaki's studio that brought cult-classics like My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky and more.Among the over 60 Ghibli-related lots are production cels, backgrounds and limited-edition pieces featuring the film's titular characters, alongside fan-favorites like Catbus, Lady Eboshi and Haku in dragon form.In addition to the Ghibli collection, the auction will see notable lots from other cornerstone Japanese animations, such as hand-painted production backgrounds from Katsuhiro Otomo’s 1988 tech-noir Akira, animation drawings from Pokémon and Sa...

Project Angel Food's latest charity auction with Bonhams, ANGEL ART 2025, marks its 22nd edition and the first since 2019. Originally launched in 1993 with David Hockney as Honorary Chair, the event has raised over $11 million USD to date. This year, the goal is to raise $400,000 USD to support those affected by the recent devastating fires in Los Angeles. The organization has seen a 10% surge in clients served, many of whom are elderly or dealing with respiratory conditions worsened by poor air quality.Among the highlights of ANGEL ART 2025 are contributions from artists who lost their homes or were displaced by the fires, demonstrating the resilience of the creative community. Moreover, Hypeart featured select works from the charity auction in their 'THRESHOLD' exhibition at Bonhams LA d...

A hand-painted Banksy painting from the collection of Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus is heading to Sotheby's London. Estimated to fetch £3 million to £5 million ($3.8 to $6.3 million USD), "Crude Oil (Vettriano)" will headline the house's modern and contemporary evening auction on March 4, alongside works by Pablo Picasso, Yoshitomo Nara, Anthony Gormley and Roy Lichtenstein.The piece debuted in Banksy’s landmark show Crude Oils: A gallery of Remixed Masterpieces, Vandalism and Vermin in 2005. Through his signature style of irony and humor, the artist critiques contemporary issues, like environmental destruction and capitalism, reimagining Scottish painter Jack Vettriano’s iconic "The Singing Butler" with dystopian overtones. Just beyond the dancing couple, the painting trades the original’s butl...