Contemporary art brought in nearly $99 million. Low estimates for younger artists propelled prices, while Simone Leigh, a star of the Biennale, reached a benchmark $2.7 million.
A Francis Bacon goes big, but there were few fireworks at the sale of paintings from Condé Nast’s former chairman, who built one of the major art collections in the country.
The gems in Christie’s huge sale next week come from the estate of a woman whose husband bought businesses from Jews pressured to sell because of Nazi persecution.
Paintings from before 1850, once a bedrock of the market, now account for just a tiny percentage of auction sales. Instead, buyers want works by living artists with a strong Instagram presence.
Fossils are fetching millions at auction, inspiring legal disputes and introducing intellectual property rights, trademarks and nondisclosure agreements to the world of paleontology.