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auction records

A Western painting of a mounted cowboy riding toward the viewer across an open plain, with a herd of horses and several distant riders behind him.

New Collectors Seeking Old Stories About America Are Reshaping the Market for Western Art

"For a lot of collectors, especially with the 250th anniversary of American independence, this is their vision of American history, of what American life was like," Stefany Morris, senior vice president and head of American art at Sotheby's, tells Observer.
By Daniel Grant
A close-up of an F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance wristwatch shows its polished silver case, salmon-colored dial, two separate time displays and brown leather strap against a black background.

Phillips Debuts Its Fall Auction Season with an Early F.P. Journe Résonance

Over the past decade, early F.P. Journe watches have moved from a relatively narrow collecting category to the top end of the market.
By Caleb Anderson
Fiat Jolly presented for Techno Classica

For Italian Automakers, Beauty Has Always Come Before Horsepower

From Ferrari's sexy racers to the iconic spiaggine of the Amalfi Coast, the country's relationship with the automobile has long been more romantic than practical.
By John Scott Lewinski
An auctioneer stands at Christie’s during a crowded sale as Jackson Pollock’s Number 7A, 1948 appears on large screens with a $157 million result displayed.

Trophy Collections and Luxury Spending Powered Christie’s and Sotheby’s Record Half-Year Results

By Elisa Carollo
Vintage E-Type Jaguar car parked outside Cartier on Bond Street, London, UK

The British Cars That Command the Most Reverence—and the Highest Prices

By John Scott Lewinski
An auctioneer stands at a Phillips podium during a crowded sale as a large screen displays Andy Warhol’s Sixteen Jackies alongside bidding figures in multiple currencies.

Phillips’s CEO Martin Wilson On What the House’s $507 Million Spring Reveals About the Market

By Elisa Carollo
A male tennis player in a black shirt and white shorts stretches across a blue hard court to hit a forehand as a yellow tennis ball approaches his racquet.

The Most Valuable Tennis Memorabilia Ever Sold at Auction

By Elisa Carollo
Day Fourteen: The Championships - Wimbledon 2025

Six Rare Rolexes That Explain the Top of the Brand’s Vintage Market

By Caleb Anderson
A Sotheby’s specialist takes bids by phone beneath a framed Old Master painting showing a crowded biblical scene with women, children and robed figures.

In London’s Classics Week Sales, Old Masters Were Back, But Only the Best of the Best

By Elisa Carollo

With the Semiquincentennial, Collectors Are Rethinking What American History Is Worth

By Elisa Carollo
1967 Chevrolet Corvette

The American Collector Cars That Hold Their Own Against Ferrari and Mercedes

By John Scott Lewinski
An auctioneer in a vivid pink-and-orange dress stands at Christie’s rostrum during a 20/21 evening sale, with Philip Guston’s Mirror Head projected on the screen beside currency conversions.

Christie’s and Phillips Kept London’s June Auctions Moving But Not Flying

By Elisa Carollo

Sotheby’s Lewis Collection Sale Powered a Record £393.4M Night in London

By Elisa Carollo
Paris apartment interior shows two François-Xavier Lalanne sheep sculptures beside a floor lamp, with a black vase on a plinth in the foreground

New York’s Design Sales Offered a Clearer Picture of What Serious Collectors Want

By Elisa Carollo
A photograph of an auction scene at Christie’s shows auctioneer Yü‑Ge Wang on the podium, mid‑gesture, selling Gerhard Richter’s Kerze (Candle). Two large screens flank her: the left displays the sale price in multiple currencies (USD 30,000,000; EUR 25,812,000; GBP 22,524,000; CHF 23,604,000; JPY 4,768,086,000; HKD 234,798,000; CNY 204,234,000), while the right shows the lot details, including the painting’s title, date (1982), dimensions, and a photograph of the candle. The room is filled with seated bidders, some capturing the moment on phones, conveying a tense and attentive atmosphere typical of high-stakes contemporary art sales.

Christie’s Wednesday Sales Achieved $162.7 Million as Bonhams’ 20th & 21st Century Evening Sale Topped $22 Million

By Elisa Carollo
An auctioneer leads Sotheby’s Modern Evening Auction as Henri Matisse’s La Séance du matin appears on the screen beside a $17.5 million bid.

Sotheby’s $304M Modern Evening Auction Confirms the Market Has Found Its Footing

By Elisa Carollo
A Phillips auctioneer takes bids in a packed saleroom as Andy Warhol’s Sixteen Jackies appears on the screen beside its estimate.

Phillips’ $115.2 Million Evening Sale Was a Testament to the Power of Pre-Planning and Priority Bidding

By Elisa Carollo
An auctioneer stands at Christie’s rostrum during the sale of Jackson Pollock’s Number 7A, 1948, displayed on a large screen beside a $157 million hammer price, with the auction room audience seated in the foreground.

Christie’s $1.1 Billion Night Confirms the Health of the Market’s Upper End

By Elisa Carollo
An auctioneer leads a Sotheby’s sale before a seated audience, with a Mark Rothko painting displayed on the wall and bidding information shown on a screen.

Sotheby’s $433 Million Contemporary Evening and Mnuchin Sales Kicked Off New York’s May Marquee Auctions

By Elisa Carollo

The Eight-Figure Auction Lots to Watch in New York Next Week

By Elisa Carollo
A large Kenneth Noland painting shows concentric circles in red, yellow, ocher, pale blue and black, framed by loose blue and red brushstrokes.

Collector Jennifer Gilbert Is Selling Masterpieces at Sotheby’s to Fund a New Arts Nonprofit in Detroit

By Elisa Carollo
A small orange abstract painting hangs beside a window overlooking Central Park and a tall beige tower in the distance.

The Top Collections Leading the May Marquee Auctions

By Elisa Carollo
A reclining nude figure with pale skin lies curled against a richly patterned, dark decorative background filled with gold tones and organic motifs, suggesting a sensual, dreamlike scene.

What to Watch in Sotheby’s Masterpieces From the Lewis Collection Sale

By Christa Terry
A black-and-white portrait of Enrico Donati wearing a beret and holding a pipe, with the shadow of a mechanical object cast on the wall behind him.

The Last Surrealist: Artist Enrico Donati’s Collection Heads to Auction

By Elisa Carollo
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