Sotheby’s CEO expects strong demand ahead of $1.4 billion art auctions

Fall auction sales in New York next week are expected to reach $1.4 billion, representing a 50% increase from last year and a potential rebound for the art market after three years of decline, according to art experts.

A star-studded lineup of famous memorabilia — from a $150 million Gustav Klimt painting to a multimillion-dollar gold toilet — will headline auctions at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips next week. This is often the most important week of the year for the art market, and the sales come on the heels of stronger than expected results for recent sales in Paris and London, and could restore confidence in the art market.

Dealers and auction executives said the improvement was driven by strong demand as well as improved supply. Low interest rates, rising stock prices, and trillions of dollars in wealth creation in both public and private markets in recent months are increasing the confidence of wealthy buyers.

Meanwhile, a display of extremely rare masterpieces began to pass through the auction building as sellers became more confident in their prices and bidding.

“Throughout the year we have seen very strong demand in the art market,” said Charles Stewart, Sotheby’s chief executive. “Our demand levels have been at record highs, whether it’s for bidders per lot or our hammers [prices] versus our low estimates or sell-through rates. But what we’ve seen recently is that supply is catching up with demand. “Something has definitely changed in the last couple of months.”

This week’s headlines come from the estates of Leonard Lauder — the billionaire heir to the Estée Lauder Companies — and Jay and Cindy Pritzker, of the Pritzker real estate dynasty. Sotheby’s is selling 55 works of art from the Lauder Collection for a total value of more than $400 million. The works include Klimt’s color painting “Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer,” which is valued at more than $150 million, as well as two Klimt landscapes, one estimated at more than $70 million and the other at more than $80 million. It also includes six bronze sculptures by Matisse and one of Edvard Munch’s famous “Midsummer Night” paintings.

The Pritzker Collection includes 37 works valued at more than $120 million, including a Van Gogh painting valued at more than $40 million.

Christy‘s has several coveted works estimated to be worth between $40 million and $60 million, including Monet’s “Nymphéas” and David Hockney’s “Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy.” It is also offering Mark Rothko’s “No. 31 (Yellow Ribbon)” for more than $50 million.

“I think next week will be a sigh of relief that the worst is behind us,” said Andrew Fabricant, a veteran technical consultant. “The mood is better, and given the quality of what they have, I think they will do well. You don’t need 20 years of art history to understand the appeal of those Klimt paintings.”

Sotheby’s will benefit in part from the opening of its new global headquarters last week in Manhattan’s iconic Brewer Building. The building — considered a masterpiece of Brutalist architecture, strategically located in Madison Avenue’s luxury shopping arcade — is already packed with crowds, with more than 10,000 people visiting the gallery as of Wednesday. This hype and exposure is core to Sotheby’s strategy to attract new collectors and educate the next generation of bidders about art and culture.

“This is a very important moment for us,” Stewart said of the building’s opening. “I think a number of our missionaries [sellers] “They were also excited about the opportunity.”

However, after three years of declines in auction sales, some dealers and art experts wonder whether next week’s rebound will have staying power. As vintage collectors disappear from the auction scene, the next generation of art buyers and collectors exhibits different priorities and tastes.

While older collectors often sought prestigious awards and “wall power” by established artists, younger collectors tended toward emerging artists and lower-priced works. The generational divide has created two distinct markets for art – a high-end, multi-million-dollar market that is declining, and a vibrant, lower-priced market that is attracting younger collectors.

Sales of works worth more than $10 million fell 44% in the first half of the year compared with 2024, and were down 72% from the post-pandemic peak in 2022, according to Bank of America Private Bank’s “Art Market Update.” No works were sold at auction for more than $50 million in the first half of this year, compared to 13 sales at that price point in the same period in 2022.

In 2024, merchants with sales under $250,000 reported a 17% increase in sales, compared to a 9% decline for those in the $10 million-plus bracket.

“More mature art collectors are getting older, and the next group may come with different motivations or tastes,” said Drew Watson, head of art services at Bank of America. “A lot of this older generation of collectors over the last 30 years — hedge fund managers, private equity investors — got to the point where they were no longer focused on accumulation and became more focused on succession and transition.”

The decline in the overall auction market, largely due to weakness at the very high end, has overshadowed an increasingly thriving gallery and art scene full of younger collectors buying and learning about new artists, Watson said. Younger collectors are also interested in establishing direct relationships with artists rather than purchasing on the secondary market or auctions.

“Collecting as a lifestyle seems to be on the rise,” he said. “The art galleries are crowded.”

Next week’s sales will also include a work that has already sparked a global debate about wealth and art. Sotheby’s will auction “America,” a solid gold toilet created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, who also created the infamous banana (titled “The Comedian”) that sold at Sotheby’s for $6.2 million.

“America” is one of the toilets that Cattelan made from 100 kilograms (about 220 pounds) of solid 18-karat gold. One version was displayed at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2016, where it was installed in a bathroom and attracted long lines of visitors.

It was later put on display at Blenheim Palace in England, where it was stolen and presumably melted down for gold.

The second, the work being sold, went to a private collector. The New York Times reported that Steve Cohen, the hedge fund billionaire and owner of the New York Mets, is the seller.

While Sotheby’s did not provide an estimate for the “America” ​​sale, the gold itself would be worth about $13 million at today’s prices, which have risen over the past year.

“America,” like “The Comedian,” is a real cultural phenomenon, Stewart said.

“What I loved about Bananas last year was how it sparked debate,” he said. “Everywhere I went around the world, people had a view about this work, whatever it was, and it sparked a lot of lively debate. I think ‘America’ will be very much the same, because there are so many different themes in the work that are fascinating — whether it’s the piece itself, whether it’s the title, whether it’s the gold, whether it’s the art historical references. When you put it all together, it’s just a very interesting thing.”

Many dealers and art experts take a different view, saying that “America” ​​is pure spectacle, not art, and does not say much about collectors or serious artists.

“It grabs the headlines and has nothing to do with art at all,” Fabricant said.