Sotheby’s contemporary evening auction and the “Now” sales in New York last night reached a combined total of $267.3 million. The figure represents a year-over-year increase of 30% compared to the equivalent sales last year: The contemporary evening sale totaled $234.6 million, and the “Now” sale totaled $32.7 million, achieving a 92% sell-through rate across both auctions. (All prices include fees).
The evening set four new auction records, led by a painting made by Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (1984) which sold for $19.4 million. The sale marks the highest price achieved at auction for a joint work by the duo.
The evening was also marked by significant totals for women artists, which represented 42% of all lots offered, up from 17.8% of lots five years ago. Several works by women artists exceeded their estimates, including Toyin Ojih Odutola’s Representatives of State (2016–17), which sold for $1.96 million, almost double its low estimate of $1 million.
The top five lots across the contemporary evening sales were as follows:
The top five lots across the “Now” sale were as follows:
Other than Basquiat and Warhol, the artists who set new auction records were:
- Lucy Bull, for 16:10 (2020), which sold for $1.8 million.
- Faith Ringgold, for The French Collection Part II, #10 (1991), which sold for $1.6 million.
- Justin Caguiat, for The saint is never busy (2019), which sold for $1.1 million
