Christie’s sold more than $1.1 billion worth of artworks in a single evening in New York, in a record-breaking auction that saw major paintings and sculptures sell for extremely high prices within hours.
The auction began strongly on Monday, with over $630 million in sales recorded in just 40 minutes. It later closed the night with an additional $490 million, bringing the total to about $1.1 billion.
The sale featured works from the collection of the late media owner S.I. Newhouse, whose art holdings have been auctioned in several stages over the years. His collection included major modern and contemporary artists such as Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol.
One of the biggest highlights of the night was a painting by Jackson Pollock, which sold for $181.2 million, setting a new record for the artist at auction. Another record was broken by a sculpture from Constantin Brancusi, which sold for $107.6 million.
Ahead of the auction, Christie’s used a promotional campaign featuring Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman, who appeared in a short video highlighting one of the key artworks. The campaign was part of the auction house’s effort to attract global attention to the sale.
The artworks came from a collection once owned by media businessman S.I. Newhouse, who built one of the most valuable private art collections in the world. His works have previously helped set major auction records.
The strong results come as major auction houses, including Christie’s and Sotheby’s, try to recover momentum in the high-end art market by selling rare, high-value collections owned by wealthy individuals.
Experts say the presence of very wealthy buyers continues to drive record-breaking sales, even as the wider global economy faces uncertainty.
Before the auction, thousands of visitors viewed the artworks on display at Christie’s, showing strong public interest in the collection before it returned to private ownership.
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