In July, we took a core sample of the market with our Hot 50 list of artists whose work dominated the top of the market in the first six months of the year. That list provided solid evidence of a turn toward historical work—one that seemed to accelerate in the second half of 2025. Now we have the data to prove that a healthy rotation is taking place. While the artists with the highest auction volume are still the most familiar names, the Hot 50 contains a number of meaningful differences from last season, let alone a decade or two ago. Notably, the list of maximum prices by artist includes many more eight-figure sales and a substantially different cast of characters than those who appeared in the first half of 2025. The list of artists with the most lots sold also looks quite different.