Currently, all eyes are on the November auctions in New York, where the art world is hoping to decipher the broader market’s next moves. With looming post-election shifts in financial and monetary policies coupled with a sluggish period of declining prices—especially on the secondary market—the stakes are high. Christie's Evening Sales last night (Nov. 19) proved to be another litmus test for the selective buyer, who seems interested only in top-quality lots, particularly those making their first appearance on the rostrum. The evening also highlighted how careful orchestration of guarantees and irrevocable bids can stave off those awkward moments of empty chandelier bidding—something Christie’s nonetheless encountered toward the end of the night.
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Thanks to a combination of high-caliber consignments and shrewd strategizing, Christie’s wrapped up the evening with a successful combined total of $486 million. The house sold 83 percent by lot, 92 percent by value, and achieved a hammer-and-premium result of 120 percent against the low estimate. But even with these impressive stats, the evening didn’t unfold entirely as planned, so a closer look at the sale’s highlights—and stumbles—is warranted.
The night started on a high note with the auction of the eagerly awaited collection of designer, philanthropist and collector Mica Ertegun achieving a white-glove result. The sale totaled $184 million, selling 100 percent by value, and was headlined by Magritte’s Empire of Lights. The record-breaking painting was introduced with a dramatic light show and a starting price of $75 million—lower than the $95 million low estimate—but eventually sold on the phone through Alex Rotter for $121,160,000 after a ten-minute bidding duel with Xin Lee. This sale obliterated the previous record of $79 million, set at Sotheby’s London in March 2022 for another version of the iconic work, and is expected to top the charts as the highest price of the entire November auction season. Later that evening, Christie’s offered a smaller gouache-on-paper version of the same subject, which fetched an impressive $18,100,000, far surpassing its $6-8 million estimate in the 20th Century Evening Sale.
Over the past year, auction houses have seen a steady parade of high-priced Magritte works, cementing his status as one of the most in-demand artists of the Surrealist movement. This year, marking the 100th anniversary of Surrealism, demand for the movement’s key figures has remained robust, with prices continuing to climb across the board. Magritte, it seems, is leading the charge, a fitting position for a painter whose enigmatic visions continue to capture the market’s imagination.
Another notable highlight from the successful Mica Ertegun Collection Sale was Ed Ruscha’s Marble Shatters Drinking Glass. Fresh to the market and offered with a third-party guarantee, the piece, originally acquired by Ertegun from the Leo Castelli Gallery, exceeded its high estimate, selling for $2,712,000. Similarly, László Moholy-Nagy’s rare geometrical abstraction Konstruktion B VI, also backed by a third-party guarantee, landed above estimate with a final sale price of $1,381,000. Meanwhile, David Hockney’s monumental and whimsically minimalist Still Life on a Glass Table (1971), making its first-ever auction appearance and covered by a third-party guarantee, sold close to its high estimate, achieving $19,040,000.
Most other lots, however, stayed within their estimates. This included two additional Magritte pieces: La cour d’amour (1960), which brought in $10,530,000, and La Mémoire (1945), which sold for $3,680,000. Of the nineteen lots offered, only three lacked a third-party guarantee—though all came with minimum price guarantees—underscoring the critical role these strategic tools play in securing major consignments and effectively “guaranteeing” the success of such high-stakes sales.
As the evening transitioned to the 20th Century Sale, the atmosphere shifted. Early in the sale, Ed Ruscha’s Standard Station, Ten-Cent Western Being Torn in Half (1964) kept the energy in the room alive. Introduced with another dramatic light show, the piece achieved a record-setting result, selling over the phone to a U.S.-based buyer for a $59 million hammer, or $68.3 million with fees. This result eclipsed Ruscha’s previous record of $52 million, set by Hurting the Word Radio #2 (1964) at Christie’s in 2019. The record was undoubtedly bolstered by the artist’s major retrospective at MoMA, which has fueled sustained growth in the market for Ruscha’s works.
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After the fireworks of the Mica Ertegun auction, the sale shifted gears, adopting a more subdued tone as very few lots managed to exceed their estimates. Among the exceptions were the highly anticipated Important Pair of Chameaux (1974), two camel sofas by François-Xavier Lalanne from the art collection of Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson of 21c Museum Hotels, which sold for $7,770,000—remarkably, without any guarantee. Magritte’s La recherche de l’absolu (1963) also outperformed expectations, achieving $8,460,000 against a presale estimate of $3-5 million. Another standout was Christian Schad’s haunting Portrait of a Woman, which, backed by a third-party guarantee, soared to $3,196,000, well above its $6-9 million estimate.
Most of the remaining lots, however, landed squarely within their estimates, including several initially promoted as sale highlights that fell short of lofty expectations. Alberto Giacometti’s ethereal Femme qui marche (II) sold for $26,630,000, mid-estimate, with the support of a third-party guarantee. Similarly, two spectacular Joan Mitchell paintings, fresh to market from the esteemed collection of The Rockefeller University (which acquired them directly from the Stable Gallery in the 1950s), fetched $17,085,000 and $9,380,000 respectively—solid results, though not the blockbuster numbers many had anticipated.
More concerning for Christie’s was the fate of several lots that failed to find buyers. Out of the seventy-five total lots offered, a significant number went unsold, including works by such marquee names as Henri Rousseau, Georgia O’Keeffe, Wayne Thiebaud and Jasper Johns. This underscored a sobering reality: even work by in-demand artists can struggle to sell if the pieces offered are not among their most significant or compelling.
While Christie’s closed the night with an impressive combined total of $486 million across the two sales, boasting an 83 percent sell-through rate, 92 percent by value and 120 percent hammer and premium against the low estimate, the breakdown reveals a more nuanced story. The second part of the evening posted a less successful sell-through rate of 77 percent, with 88 percent by value and 114 percent hammer and premium against the low estimate. Despite achieving record-breaking results earlier in the night, Christie’s performance in terms of sell-through fell short compared to Sotheby’s the previous evening in the same category. Meanwhile, Phillips, operating at a lower value tier, managed a $54,144,400 total the same night but matched Christie’s earlier sell-through rate at 83 percent, signaling a more stable performance relative to expectations.
Nevertheless, the November art auctions continue, and Christie’s pushes forward with a packed schedule. The week continues with MICA: THE COLLECTION OF MICA ERTEGUN Part II, Impressionist and Modern Works on Paper and Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale today (Nov. 20). The action then shifts to the 21st Century Evening Sale on November 21, followed by Friday’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale, with hopes of regaining momentum in the days ahead.