Dorothea Tanning's Auction Record Jumps 44% With $3.4m Sale
3 min read · 21 Nov 2025
Interior with Sudden Joy. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
Dorothea Tanning, Interior with Sudden Joy (1951) sold for $3.4m, more than one and a half times the low estimate at Sotheby's in New York on November 20. The oil on canvas work has been traded 3 times in the past.
The sale beat the artist’s previous auction record by $1.06m, a 44% rise.
Endgame. Image courtesy of Christie's
The previous record was set by Endgame (1944), which sold for $2.35m at Christie's on May 12, 2025. The work had been traded twice in the past.
Sale Date | Title | Price | Record Increase | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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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