Fall auctions in New York next week are expected to top $1.4 billion, a 50% increase from last year and a potential rebound for the art market after three years of decline, art experts say.
A star-studded selection of famous works – ranging from a $150 million Gustav Klimt portrait to a multi-million dollar gold toilet – will lead auctions at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips next week. Often the most important week of the year for the art market, these sales follow stronger than expected results from recent sales in Paris and London and could restore confidence in the art market.
Dealers and auction officials said the improvement was due to stronger demand as well as better supply. Falling interest rates, soaring stock prices and billions of dollars of wealth creation in public and private markets in recent months are fueling greater confidence among wealthy buyers.
At the same time, a parade of ultra-rare masterpieces is beginning to arrive at auction as sellers become more confident in pricing and bidding.
“Throughout the year, we have seen very strong demand in the art market,” said Charles Stewart, CEO of Sotheby’s. “Our demand levels have set records, from the number of bidders per lot to our hammer. [prices] compared to our low estimate or sales rates. What we have seen more recently, however, is that supply is catching up with demand. Something has definitely changed in the last two months. »
This week’s big headliners come from the estates of Leonard Lauder – the billionaire heir to the Estée Lauder companies – and Jay and Cindy Pritzker, of the Pritzker real estate dynasty. Sotheby’s sells 55 works from the Lauder collection for a total amount of more than $400 million. The works include Klimt’s colorful “Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer,” estimated at more than $150 million, as well as two Klimt landscapes, one estimated at more than $70 million and the other at more than $80 million. It also features six bronze sculptures by Matisse and one of Edvard Munch’s famous “Midsummer Night” paintings.
This work by David Hockney at Christie’s, “Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy”, is estimated between 40 and 60 million dollars.
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The Pritzker Collection includes 37 works valued at more than $120 million, including a Van Gogh still life estimated at more than $40 million.
Christie‘s owns several sought-after works estimated at $40 million to $60 million, including Monet’s water lily painting “Water Lilies” and David Hockney’s “Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy.” She is also offering Mark Rothko’s “No. 31 (Yellow Stripe)” for more than $50 million.
“I think next week will be a huge sigh of relief that we’ve gotten through the worst,” said veteran arts advisor Andrew Fabricant. “The vibe is better and, given the quality of what they have, I think they will do well. You don’t need 20 years of art history to understand the appeal of these Klimt paintings.”
Sotheby’s will benefit in part from the opening last week of its new global headquarters at the famous Breuer Building in Manhattan. The building – considered a masterpiece of Brutalist architecture, strategically located in the luxury shopping corridor of Madison Avenue – is already packed with crowds, with more than 10,000 people visiting the exhibit on Wednesday. Buzz and visibility are central to Sotheby’s strategy to attract new collectors and educate the next generation of bidders about art and culture.
“This is a hugely important moment for us,” Stewart said of the building’s opening. “I think a number of our consignees [sellers] were also excited about this opportunity.
Yet after three years of declining auction sales, some dealers and art experts are wondering whether next week’s rebound will be sustainable. As older collectors fade from the auction scene, the next generation of buyers and collectors are showing different priorities and tastes.
While older collectors often seek status trophies and “wall power” from established artists, younger collectors look to emerging artists and less expensive works. The generational divide has led to two different art markets: a declining multimillion-dollar high-end market and a vibrant lower-priced market that attracts younger collectors.
Sales of works priced above $10 million fell 44% in the first half compared to 2024 and 72% compared to the post-pandemic peak of 2022, according to Bank of America Private Bank’s “Art Market Update.” No works sold at auction for more than $50 million in the first half of this year, compared to 13 sales at that price during the same period in 2022.
In 2024, dealers with sales under $250,000 reported a 17% increase in sales, compared to a 9% decline for those in the $10 million-plus segment.
“The more mature collectors are getting older, and the next cohort might have different motivations or tastes,” said Drew Watson, head of art services at Bank of America. “A lot of this older generation of collectors over the last 30 years — hedge fund executives, private equity investors — are getting to the point where they’re not focusing as much on accumulation and more on succession and transition.”
Watson said falling auction market totals, driven largely by weakness at the very high end, have obscured an increasingly thriving gallery and art fair scene filled with young collectors buying and discovering new artists. Younger collectors are also more interested in making direct connections with artists rather than buying on the secondary market or at auction.
“Collecting as a lifestyle seems to be on the rise,” he said. “The art fairs are full.”
Sotheby’s will auction Maurizio Cattelan’s solid gold toilet, called “America” as part of its fall auction.
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Next week’s sales will also feature a work that has already sparked a global debate about wealth and art. Sotheby’s will auction “America”, a solid gold toilet made by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, who also created the famous taped banana (titled “Comedian”) sold at Sotheby’s for $6.2 million.
“America” is one of two toilets made by Cattelan from 100 kilograms (about 220 pounds) of solid 18-karat gold. A version was exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2016, where it was installed in a bathroom and attracted long lines of visitors.
It was later displayed at Blenheim Palace in England, where it was stolen and believed to have been melted down for gold.
The second, which is the work sold, went to a private collector. The New York Times reported that hedge fund billionaire and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen was the seller.
Although Sotheby’s did not give a sales estimate for “America,” the gold itself would be worth about $13 million at current prices, which have skyrocketed over the past year.
Stewart said that “America,” like “The Comedian,” is a true cultural phenomenon.
“What I loved about the banana last year was how it sparked discussion,” he said. “Everywhere I went in the world, people had a point of view on this subject, whatever it was, and it sparked a lot of lively debate. I think ‘America’ will be pretty much the same thing, because there are so many different threads in the work that are fascinating – whether it’s the object itself, whether it’s the title, whether it’s the gold, whether it’s the art historical references. When you put it all together, it’s just something extremely exciting.”
Many dealers and art experts take a different view, arguing that “America” is pure spectacle rather than art, and says little about serious collectors or artists.
“It’s a headline-grabbing topic that has nothing to do with art,” Fabricant said.