A focused evening of postwar and contemporary art delivers steady results, new records and renewed buyer confidence
Christie’s 21st-Century Evening Sale achieved $ 123.6 million, delivering a steady but strategically curated result for the season. Compared with the explosive momentum seen earlier in the week, this auction moved with more restraint, yet still reaffirmed collector appetite for high-quality works across postwar and contemporary categories.
A confident but measured opening
The sale achieved a hammer total of $ 99.7 million across 44 lots, comfortably within the presale estimate. Only one work did not place, and the evening opened with a significant group from the collection of Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson. Their commitment to conceptual, Pop and postwar art shaped the tone of the opening sequence, and several pieces drew clear competitive interest.
Cindy Sherman’s 1978 Untitled Film Still #13 produced the first applause of the evening, finishing at $ 2.3 million. Diego Giacometti’s presence in the collection added fuel to the bidding, with six Christie’s specialists competing across two editions of Bibliothèque au Mexique. A later Giacometti piece from the same collection sparked one of the night’s longest exchanges, eventually selling for $4.53 million after nearly 40 bids.
Records reshaped the middle of the sale
Once the Edlis and Neeson works were concluded, new artist records emerged. Firelei Báez achieved $ 1.1 million for a 2021 canvas. Olga de Amaral followed up with a new benchmark of $ 3.1 million for a gold-leaf textile from 2011. Joan Brown’s record also moved upward with a result of $ 596,500 for a 1975 figurative work.
Kerry James Marshall continued to command strong attention. Portrait of John Punch reached 7.15 million dollars, marking one of the strongest individual results of the night.
Selective bidding defined the market mood
Not every lot met its estimate, although there were no major disappointments. Several works by George Condo, Richard Prince, John Currin, Jeff Koons, Christopher Wool, Julie Mehretu and others landed below their low estimates on the hammer but moved into range with fees included. Wool’s 1990 text painting Untitled (RIOT) nonetheless set the evening’s top price at $ 19.8 million.
One unexpected moment came when Cecily Brown’s recent painting, It’s not yesterday anymore, was withdrawn after minimal bidding activity, despite the artist achieving a major result the previous night at Sotheby’s with High Society reaching $ 9.8 million. The contrast highlighted a familiar dynamic in the contemporary market: enthusiasm remains high, but selectivity has returned.
Confidence reinforced by cautious strategy
Advisers observing the sales noted a cautious but deliberate approach from the major houses this season. Estimates were conservative and guarantees were widely used, with three-quarters of the evening’s lots secured in advance. The Edlis and Neeson works were fully guaranteed, including Warhol’s The Last Supper, which sold for $ 8.13 million.
This strategy appeared to restore confidence at a moment when collectors are prioritising quality and provenance. The feeling among advisers was that the material felt more tightly curated, the estimates more grounded, and the buying energy more responsive as a result.
A season that blended high performance and art-world theatre
Outside Rockefeller Plaza, the season took an unexpected twist with the U-Haul Art Fair, which parked two trucks outside the building, one of which was transformed into a pachinko installation by artist Ben Nuñez. As the temperature dropped, Christie’s senior team handed out tea and coffee to visitors, closing an evening that balanced high-level market choreography with a sense of communal, almost playful, art-world energy.
If you are interested in acquiring works by the artists featured in this sale or wish to explore opportunities in the wider postwar and contemporary market, contact Zurani at +971 58 593 5523 or email contact@zurani.com.
