New York’s Spring Auctions Could See a 26% Fall, in Line with Hong Kong and London

An estimated $1 billion worth of Modern and contemporary art is due to be sold this spring in New York at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips, starting on May 12.

The marquee sales, which immediately follow a cluster of art fairs in Manhattan, could see a 26% fall on comparable results in 2024, according to data compiled by HENI News, which is in line with the slowdown seen in Hong Kong and London’s auctions in March.

Last year, New York’s Day and Evening auctions in May totaled $1.4 billion, when around 1,700 works were on offer. This year, 1,500 works head to auction with a total estimate of $1.02 billion.

Just how much the art market has slowed since the pandemic is underscored by New York’s comparable spring auctions in 2023, which totaled nearly $1.8 billion, and in 2022, which totaled nearly $2.8 billion. The 50% drop over three years will have been only partially offset by collectors opting for private sales for major works.

In Hong Kong in late March, the major auction houses saw their sales fall by 33% on comparable sales in 2024, totaling $150m compared to $225m the year before. Conditions were as tough in London when the city’s spring auctions that month were down 31%, totaling $328m compared to $474m in 2024.

This May, Christie’s bluest of blue-chip evening sale features works collected by the late Barnes & Noble billionaire, Leonard Riggio and his widow Louise. Due to take place on May 12, it is led by their Picasso, a 1937 Cubist portrait of the model turned photographer Lee Miller, which is estimated to sell for between $20m and $30m and is backed by a guarantee. All of the Riggios’ 39 works of offer are backed by a Christie’s guarantee, an indication of the importance of the collection to the auction house.

Sotheby’s prize lot this May is Alberto Giacometti’s bronze, Grande tête mince, 1954, the highest-value work consigned in the spring auctions. It is due to be sold in Sotheby's Evening Sale on May 13. The sculpture, which has a reported $70m estimate, does not have a guarantee, so far.

Other eye-catching works on offer at Sotheby’s include works owned by the late dealer Barbara Gladstone. They include her Richard Prince, Man Crazy Nurse, which has a $4m-$6m estimate.

Sotheby’s will also have high hopes for works in another single-collection sale, such as Claes Oldenburg's sculpture Soft Light Switches, estimate $1m-$1.5m. It has been consigned by Daniella Luxembourg along with 14 other pieces from the dealer’s collection. Her Lucio Fontana oil-on-glitter canvas, which is backed by a guarantee, is the top lot with a $12m-$18m estimate.

Phillips' Evening Sale on May 13 is led by a Jean-Michel Basquiat work, Untitled (1984), which is estimated to sell for between $4.5m and $6.5m. The spray paint-and-paper collage on canvas, which is backed by a guarantee, comes with a starry provenance: it was once owned by David Bowie.

Auction houses saw their sales drop globally by 20% to $23.4 billion last year, according to the Art Basel and UBS annual art market report. It confired a contraction that began in 2023 and which shows little sign of reversing with so much economic uncertainty ahead.