The May Art Auctions Will Feature Fewer Works, Bigger Price Tags
After November’s record-setting sales, it was natural there’d be a little respite.
Henri Rousseau’s Les Flamants from 1910, which carries an estimate of $20 million to $30 million.
Source: Christie’s
After November’s unprecedented New York auctions, which included the standalone Paul Allen estate sale ($1.5 billion spent on art in about three hours), almost everyone agreed the market needed a break. “It was the biggest season ever,” says Alex Rotter, chairman of Christie’s 20th and 21st century art department. “After spending $3 billion in two weeks, it’s legitimate to be a little exhausted from it.”
As a result, the coming May evening sales—widely considered the companion to the November sales in scope, price and quality—will be a comparatively subdued affair, auction house specialists predict. “The overall volume of auctions together, across all the houses, will be smaller,” says Brooke Lampley, Sotheby’s chairman and worldwide head of sales for global fine art.