Marian Goodman’s $35.1 M. Richter Leads Christie’s $162.7 M. Trio of Sales

Led by a Gerhard Richter painting worth $35.1 million, Christie’s New York raked in $162.7 million in three evening sales of postwar and contemporary art, barely meeting expectations in a packed Rockefeller Center auction room on Wednesday night.

The 42-lot sale was expected to bring in between $129 million and $191 million (after Kerry James Marshall withdrew the lot); the total price, before auction house fees, was $133.6 million, just a few million dollars above the low estimate. Wednesday night’s equivalent sales total was the highest in five years; last year’s equivalent sale revenue was $96.4 million, including fees for 39 lots.

Only one work – a canvas by Ed Ruscha estimated at $5.5 million – failed to sell. Auctioneer Wang Yuge effortlessly switched from English to Mandarin, German and French as he accepted bids, which came mainly from Christie’s staff who bid by phone on behalf of clients.

Eight Richter paintings from the collection of respected art dealer Marian Goodman are estimated to be worth approximately $65 million; all are guaranteed for sale, whether through the auction house or a third-party bid. The group closed the sale for $66 million, and with the cost of the home, the total was $78.8 million. Friedrich Petzel described Goodman, who died in January new yorker In 2004 she was hailed as “the queen of us all”, with dealers as diverse as Jeffrey Deitch and David Zwirner describing her as a model.

The eight Richter works attracted great attention at the auction, where bidding was fierce and the price was $35.1 million. kuz (candle) painting. Number two on the night was the artist’s 1995 painting Morne (Poppy)The work, which is 6 feet tall, has been exhibited only twice, in 1996 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Nîmes and at the Goodman Gallery. It was estimated at $14 to $18 million and sold for $16.9 million, including commissions of $20.1 million.

These works form the first half of the “Marianne Richters and the 21st Century Evening Sale,” which also includes such market stalwarts as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cecily Brown, Peter Doig, Keith Haring, Richard Prince, Ed Ruscha and Andy Warhol.

The auction, which begins at 7 p.m., features 12 works by the classic Minimalist artist from the estate of Henry S. McNeil. art news Philadelphia’s top 200 collector, died in 2025. The group of paintings is estimated to sell for between $21 million and $31 million, with a total realized price of $21 million; all are guaranteed to be sold, whether by the auction house or a third-party bid.

Among them, a 1969 set by Donald Judd sold for $12.8 million, becoming the third highest-priced lot of the night. The sale came at the end of an auction season that saw results at the New York offices of the three major auction houses range from respectable to sensational, confirming that at least the top end of the art market has emerged from the doldrums, even as broader economic indicators remain shaky amid global strife, inflation fears and rising energy prices.

The season kicked off last Thursday with $433.1 million in Sotheby’s modern and contemporary art auctions, including what was at the time the second most expensive work of art ever sold by Mark Rothko. Next up is Monday’s $1.1 billion auction at Christie’s, which includes three record-breaking works: a Jackson Pollock worth $181.2 million, a Constantin Brancuşi worth $107.6 million and a Rothko worth $98.4 million. On Tuesday night, Phillips’ modern and contemporary art auction exceeded expectations, reaching $115.2 million, while Sotheby’s’ modern art auction turned in a “solid but subdued” $303.9 million.

“One of the notable changes this season compared to a few years ago is that most of the excitement and bidding wars are focused on the blue-chip classics sector rather than 21st century contemporary [works],” New York dealer Evan Beard told art news following Wednesday night’s sale. “There wasn’t a lot of speculative capital in the room tonight. That’s a sign of a healthy, rational art market.” Beard called the sale “well-managed.”

New York dealer and consultant Cristin Tierney weighs in art news”, “Looking at the Goodman’s collection of Minimalist works by Richters and McNeil, the key words are provenance, provenance, provenance – the auction market can never get enough of them. “

Rounding out the top ten are four more works by Richter, as well as works by Doig, Basquiat, Brown and Haring. Doig’s landscape paintings Target (2000) estimated $6 million to $10 million. The unnamed seller bought the work for $1.8 million at Christie’s in London in 2007. Target The work sold for $5.8 million below its pre-sale estimate and $7.2 million after commission, well below his record of $39.9 million set at Christie’s New York in 2021.

Another Richter work from the Goodman collection, abstract image (2008), with an estimate of $4 million to $6 million, was ultimately priced at $4.1 million and sold for $5.1 million including commission.

Brown’s seven-foot-wide semi-abstract painting Madhouse Vacation (2005) is estimated to cost $5 million to $7 million and is guaranteed by a third party. It sold for $4.8 million, fully in line with expectations, for a fee of $5.9 million, more than half the previous record of $9.8 million set last November. Unnamed consignor Madhouse Vacation In 2018, he purchased it for $2.1 million at the same auction room.

Haring’s 1984 canvas Untitled (June 1, Milan) The price tag is $4 million to $6 million. It has a low estimate of just under $5 million, including fees.

Wang concluded with the last lot of the night, a work by Jeff Koons silver shoes (1990), a photograph showing the artist and his ex-wife having sex. The work was estimated at US$400,000 to US$600,000 and sold for only US$254,000 including commission, but that was enough for Wang to thank the bidders for bringing a “happy ending” to the evening, and the crowd in the auction room gradually dwindled, triggering bursts of laughter.