London's Marquee Auction Sales Down 31% on 2024
3 min read · 07 Mar 2025
Rene Magritte's La reconnaissance infinie was the top selling lot at auction in London this week. Christie's.
Sales in London's March auction week fell by almost $150 million this year compared to the same week in 2024.
Data compiled by HENI News showed sales this week for Sotheby's, Christie's and Phillips totalling $327.8 million - down from $473.8 million in the comparable sales in 2024.
Christie's suffered a 31% fall with its 2025 sales amounting to $199.8 million down from $291.2 million the year before.
There was a 36% drop in sales for Sotheby's whose 2025 sales pulled in $100.4 million compared to $156.7 million for the same period in 2024.
Phillips actually saw its sales rise, albeit from a much lower level, with 2024's total for the week - $25.9 million - climbing to $27.5 million this year.
There was some better news for Christie's which had the week's top-selling lot La reconnaissance infinie by Rene Magritte which fetched $13.22 million. Magritte was the highest-selling artist of the week with several works going for a combined $25.3 million.
There were several record-breaking sales in the week including Lisa Brice's After Embah which sold for $6.87 million beating her previous auction record by $3.7 million, a 100% rise.
Michael Andrews also set a new record with School IV: Barracuda under Skipjack Tuna selling for $7.77 million beating his previous auction record by $3.79 million, a 95% rise.