Christie’s Wednesday Sales Achieved 2.7 Million as Bonhams’ 20th & 21st Century Evening Sale Topped Million

Christie’s Wednesday Sales Achieved $162.7 Million as Bonhams’ 20th & 21st Century Evening Sale Topped $22 Million

May 21, 2026 / Sophie Clearwater /

Christie’s May 20 evening sales achieved a combined total of $162,698,350. Photo: Alan Padilla

There is very little room for error left among the major auction houses: increasingly, every consignment and sale must be executed with perfection, so that, at worst, a lot will go underestimated but still sell, particularly in the main evening sales and for headline-generating consignments. Last night, Christie’s delivered another solid but less dynamic performance with its 21st-century segment compared to the eye-popping $1.1 billion result two nights prior. The evening started with Defined Space, the sale of the Minimalist art collection of Hank McNeil, followed by Marian’s Richters and the 21st Century Evening Sale, which featured a group of seminal Gerhard Richter works from the personal collection of legendary gallerist Marian Goodman. The combined total came to $162.7 million, just shy of pre-sale estimates but with a satisfying 98 percent sell-through rate. The $136.8 million total for the 21st Century Evening Sale was already 42 percent higher than last May’s sale, marking the highest total for the signature sale in five years. Together with Monday’s evening sales and Tuesday’s day sales, the running total for the week stands at $1.35 billion, nearly double last May’s marquee week total, with more to come.

Defined Space featured 12 masterpieces of Minimal art long displayed in McNeil’s five-story residence and realized $25.9 million, closing white glove despite three lots selling below their low estimates. Two of four Donald Judd pieces failed to meet their lows, with the horizontal gold stack Untitled (1972) selling (covered by guarantees) for $4.5 million (est. $5-7 million) and the blue structure Untitled (1964) selling for $1.4 million (est. $2-3 million). Carl Andre’s Steel-Zinc Alloy Square also fell short of its $1 million low, hammering at $700,000 ($889,000 with fees).

Leading the group was one of the most coveted Judd stacks to appear at auction: a copper and red Plexiglas work from 1969 that anchored McNeil’s living room. It hammered just around its low estimate at $10.6 million ($12.8 million with fees), setting a new record for a work by Judd and ranking as the third most expensive lot of the evening. More competitive bidding followed for Fred Sandback’s Untitled (LLR of A Series of Eight Sculptures, Open Series) (1969), which sold for $139,700 against a $60,000-80,000 estimate, and Richard Artschwager’s Two-Part Invention (1967), which triggered a bidding battle in the room and over the phone, ultimately hammering at $635,000 against a $60,000-80,000 estimate. Neither lot carried a guarantee or irrevocable bids.

The opening lot, Sol LeWitt’s Wall Drawing #1112, Square with broken bands of color, exceeded its high estimate, selling with fees for $444,500, as did Carl Andre’s 66 Copper-Carbon Corner, which surpassed its $300,000-500,000 estimate to sell for $1.1 million with fees. Later in the sale, Richard Tuttle’s 10th Cloth Octagonal (1967) also sold at its high estimate, achieving $228,600 with fees, while most other lots landed safely within estimates, mostly handled by specialists on the phone.

Dynamic auctioneer Yü-Ge Wang, with her effortless command of multiple languages and natural charisma, maintained the rhythm throughout the night as the sale moved to the highly anticipated trove of eight seminal Gerhard Richter works from the personal collection of Marian Goodman, following her passing last January. All acquired directly from the artist, the group closed white glove, totaling $78.8 million.

All the works from Richter’s highly sought-after Abstraktes Bild series exceeded expectations, with two lots generating nearly six minutes of bidding each. The sale began with Dez. 99 [Firenze], opening at $75,000 and selling to the room against its $50,000-70,000 estimate for $241,300 after fees, more than three times the high estimate. Richter’s Second Abstraktes Bild (1995) quickly surpassed its $3-5 million estimate before a five-minute phone battle closed at $7.1 million ($8.7 million with fees), with Nick Cique managing the American interest. Mohn (Poppy) (1995) opened at $11 million and endured a seven-minute duel across phones and languages with $100,000 increments, ultimately hammering at $16.9 million, comfortably within its $14-18 million estimate.

The top lot, the highly anticipated Kerze (Candle)—the first painting of this subject at auction in a decade—initially struggled to reach its low estimate, hammering on the phone with Katlyn Laster at $30 million against a $35-50 million estimate, but ultimately reaching a final price of $35.1 million with fees. Abstraktes Bild (2009) exceeded its $3.5-5.5 million estimate, hammering at $5.3 million with Max Carter, while the 2008 version saw spirited competition between Asian specialists, hammering with Eric Chang’s phone for $4.1 million (est. $4-6 million). White Abstraktes Bild (1999) hammered at $2.3 million with Mia Zhang ($2.9 million with fees), while a more personal oil on a photograph, 18. Juni 2009, was contested between the U.A.E. and Germany, hammering at $65,000 ($82,550 with fees), above its $30,000-50,000 estimate. The Richter segment sold 100 percent by lot within estimates, except for the Candle, totaling $101 million.

The evening then moved to the 21st-century segment with an additional 21 works, after a Kerry James Marshall was withdrawn, beginning with Noah Davis’ Blue House (2008), hammering at $1 million ($1.3 million with fees against an estimate of $900,000-1.2 million). Basquiat’s Asbestos (1982) exceeded its $3-5 million estimate to hammer at $5.3 million ($6.5 million with fees) after over five minutes of competitive bidding. Elizabeth Peyton’s Jarvis after Jail (1996) barely cleared its low at $1.3 million, as did Keith Haring’s pink Milan-period work Untitled (June 1st a Milano) (1984), which sold for $5 million with fees. Christopher Wool’s Untitled (1998) met its estimate, hammering at $2.6 million and surpassing it to $3.2 million with fees, while Richard Prince’s Sexual Behavior of American Nurses (2009-2011) fell short of its $4-6 million estimate, closing at $4.6 million. Warhol’s The Last Supper (1986) hammered just above its low at $3.7 million ($4.6 million with fees). Peter Doig’s Target (2000) also hammered below its low estimate at $5.8 million, selling for $7.2 million with fees, a fraction of the artist’s record of $39.9 million. Cecily Brown’s Bedlam Vacation hammered at $4.8 million, and John Baldessari’s Three Active Persons (With Standing Person) (1990) extended into a longer phone battle before selling for $800,000.

Another highlight, Diego Giacometti’s Hommage à Böcklin console (c. 1978), hammered around its low estimate at $3.6 million despite the current strong demand for both Giacometti brothers. The only casualty of the night was Ed Ruscha’s Career Sportswear, which failed to reach its $3.5 million low estimate and was bought in. At her auction debut, Somaya Critchlow’s Count Me Out (2022) landed within estimate at $70,000 ($88,900 with fees), setting a new record for the artist, while Firelei Báez’s 2019 work exceeded the high estimate, reaching $431,800 with fees, coinciding with her New York debut solo at Hauser & Wirth. Barkley L. Hendricks’ Jules sold within estimate at $4.6 million, while Mark Bradford’s Blind Necks Voting (B. 1961) sold for $1.8 million. The sale closed with Jeff Koons’ Silver Shoes: Cicciolina, hammering under estimate at $254,000, covered by guarantees. The work was shown at the 1990 Venice Biennale and at Koons’ 2014 Whitney Museum retrospective.

A man in a dark suit and tie is auctioneering at Bonhams New York, holding a gavel in his right hand and gesturing with his left. Behind him, artworks hang on the wall, including a textile piece with gold accents. — Bonhams saw record-breaking results totaling $22 million. Courtesy Bonhams

A $22 million evening at Bonhams

The same night, Bonhams held its first 20th & 21st Century Art Evening Sale at its new U.S. headquarters at 111 West 57th Street, closing with a record-breaking result for the auction house in New York of $22 million. “Last night’s results truly reflect the growing momentum of Bonhams 20th & 21st Century Art department and the enthusiasm we’re seeing from collectors across the board,” said Ralph Taylor, Bonhams global head of 20th and 21st-century art. “It’s an exciting start to the week here at our new flagship, and we look forward to carrying this energy through the remainder of our sales.”

The sale was led by Yoshitomo Nara’s monumental …Words Mean Nothing at All, which fetched $5 million from its $4-6 million estimate, setting a new auction record for a work on wood by the artist. Painted in 2012, the work marked a pivotal turn toward introspection in Nara’s practice following the Great East Japan Earthquake and remained in the same private collection since its inclusion in the artist’s 2013 New York exhibition at Pace Gallery. Another highly anticipated lot, Constantin Brancusi’s La Muse endormie II, an exceptionally rare sculpture from the artist’s estate, conceived in 1917, just passed its low estimate, selling for $3.9 million—well below the Danaïde from the Newhouse collection, which sold at Christie’s on Tuesday for $107.6 million with fees. Bonhams’ edition was posthumous, cast by Susse Fondeur from the original three Istrati-Dumitresco plasters in an additional numbered edition of eight. The fresh-to-market René Magritte Le Miroir vivant sold for $2.1 million, with deep competitive bidding pushing it to double its $1-1.5 million estimate. Made at a pivotal moment in the artist’s career, the work had been included in Magritte’s first solo exhibition in New York.

Opening the sale was what was likely the best gold tapestry by Olga de Amaral on offer this season, more than doubling its low estimate to sell for $787,900 (est. $300,000-500,000), followed by a painting by Jadé Fadojutimi, Ribbon of Thought, which sold for $279,900, well below recent auction prices for the artist but significantly more than the consignor had paid acquiring it from her 2020 show at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery in London. Meanwhile, Ed Ruscha’s The Streaks of Oil (1972) surpassed its $300,000-500,000 estimate to sell for $635,500. A green version of the coveted pool series by Roni Horn, Untitled (2012-13), also exceeded expectations, selling for $826,000 (est. $500,000-700,000). Also offered as part of the sale was a group of fans designed by Impressionist masters, including Camille Pissarro, Paul Gauguin and Pierre Bonnard. The Pissarro ended up being the most expensive, selling for $394,200, while the others were acquired at prices between $25,600 and $163,060.

Preceding the 20th & 21st Century Art Evening Sale, Bonhams also hosted A Lasting Impression: The Renoir Collection of Gabrielle Renard, an online single-owner sale comprising 21 fresh-to-market works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, all gifted directly to his muse Gabrielle Renard, exceeding expectations and realizing a combined $4.1 million. Leading the sale was Fleurs (1887), an iconic floral still life, which achieved $559,300. Also drawing strong competition was Gabrielle à la blouse blanche (1907), a radiant portrait of Renard, which sold for $381,500. Additional standouts included Étude de roses, de têtes et de nus (c. 1905), which more than tripled its estimate to $356,100, and Paysage nuageux (1885), which doubled its high estimate to $279,900.

Sotheby’s Weekly Total Climbs to $908.6 Million

Christie’s Spring Marquee Week live auctions will conclude today (May 21) with the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale, but Sotheby’s completed a busy week earlier in the day with robust results in the Modern Day Auction and David and Shoshanna Wingate Collection sale, bringing the house’s total for the week to $908.6 million, up 82.5 percent from last May. Together, the sales realized $69 million over an estimate of $41.8-62 million with a combined sell-through rate of 92 percent and strong institutional participation.

The Modern Day sale alone achieved $62.5 million (est. $37.4-56 million)—one of the highest totals ever for a sale of its kind and the strongest sell-through rate for any auction of that type at Sotheby’s New York, at 91 percent, with 63 percent of works exceeding their high estimates. The single-owner Wingate sale realized $6.5 million (est. $4.4-6 million), selling 96 percent by lot, with more than half of the works surpassing high estimates and bringing the collection’s total to $47.1 million (est. $32.7-46.2 million). Standout results included Edward Hopper’s Monhegan Lighthouse, more than doubling its estimate to $4.1 million; Pablo Picasso’s Buste d’homme barbu at $2.2 million; Joan Miró’s Sans titre and Milton Avery’s Pink Meadow, each achieving $1.9 million; René Magritte’s Le Compotier at $1.6 million; Donald Judd’s Untitled from the Wingate collection at $1.2 million; Piet Mondrian’s Isolated Tree on the Gein with Yellow-Orange Sky, selling over five times its estimate at $512,000; and Leonora Carrington’s rare masks at $486,400, with her Character Studies for The Tempest: A Group of Five Works setting a new record for the artist on paper at $793,000, following the strong result for Carrington’s El retorno de la osa mayor in the Modern Evening Auction, where it realized $1.7 million.