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Warhol, Basquiat & A $1.4 Billion Question

Exactly how rich are the rich feeling these days? Data from the May sales suggest some reasons to be cheerful—$35 million for Warhol, $28 million for Leonora Carrington, $22 million for Joan Mitchell—despite a 50 percent drop in auction house sales.

Christies Global Head of Private Sales Adrien Meyer sells the top lot of the evening Andy Warhol's Flowers
A reason to be optimistic lies in the performance of the top 10 lots, which made $312 million and accounted for 23 percent of the week’s sales. Photo: Courtesy of Christie's Images Ltd.
Marion Maneker
May 21, 2024

First, the bad news: There are many good reasons to fear that the U.S. elections in November will constrain what is already a frigid art market. Two years ago, of course, New York’s May sales cycle totaled $2.74 billion, with an average price per lot of $1.8 million. But by 2023, after the Covid-era orgy had subsided, the art market began a relentless contraction. This week, the May sales at Bonhams, Christie’s, Phillips, and Sotheby’s totaled $1.39 billion, down around 50 percent in two years. The average lot value was $925k. An additional 47 lots with an estimated value of $74.4 million were withdrawn to protect the lots for future sales.