Dorothea Tanning's Auction Record Jumps 83% With $6.26m Sale
3 min read · 05 Mar 2026
Children's Games. Image courtesy of Christie's
Dorothea Tanning, Children's Games (1942) sold for $6.26m (GBP4.69m), more than four and a half times the low estimate at Christie's in London on March 5. The oil on canvas work, which has been traded 3 times in the past, was originally owned by the entertainer and author Gypsy Rose Lee.
The sale beat the artist’s previous auction record by $2.86m, a 83% rise.
Interior with Sudden Joy (1951). Sold for $3.4m in 2025. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
The previous record was set by Interior with Sudden Joy (1951), which sold for $3.4m at Sotheby's on November 21, 2025. The work had been traded 3 times in the past.
Sale Date | Title | Price | Record Increase | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 05, 2026 | Children's Games | $6.26m | 84 % | Christie's | London |
November 20, 2025 | Interior with Sudden Joy | $3.4m | 45 % | Sotheby's | New York |
May 12, 2025 | Endgame | $2.35m | 63 % | Christie's | New York |
May 14, 2022 | Le mal oublié | $1.44m | 25 % | Christie's | New York |
May 16, 2018 | The Temptation of St. Anthony | $1.15m | 8 % | Christie's | New York |
November 06, 2015 | The Magic Flower Game | $1.07m | 151 % | Sotheby's | New York |
February 04, 2014 | A Mrs. Radcliffe Called Today | $424,500 | 23 % | Christie's | London |
February 07, 2012 | Le Miroir | $345,500 | 231 % | Christie's | London |
December 08, 2010 | Mêlées nocturnes | $104,500 | 47 % | Sotheby's | Paris |
June 19, 1990 | The philosophers | $71,300 | 138 % | Briest | Paris |
October 06, 1988 | The truth about comets and little girls | $30,000 | - | Christie's | New York |
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