News from auction houses worldwide — evening sales, white-glove results, leadership changes.
47 stories across Modern, Paris, Contemporary, and Old Masters. Latest: National Portrait Gallery Acquires Only Known Photographs of Ada Lovelace via Bonhams Private Treaty Sale.
The National Portrait Gallery in London has acquired three rare daguerreotypes of mathematician and computing pioneer Ada Lovelace from Bonhams.
Sotheby's concluded its Important Watches auction in Geneva on May 11, 2026, establishing new price records for the category. The sale featured a selection of vintage and modern timepieces from major horological brands.
Sotheby's has announced the discovery and upcoming sale of love letters written by the poet John Keats. The documents will go on public view in London this June prior to the auction.
Sotheby's has announced the upcoming sale of a significant collection of Benjamin Franklin memorabilia scheduled for June in New York. The collection will be revealed during a preview event in Philadelphia on May 5, 2026.
Christie's New York achieved a combined total of $1,121,126,500 during its May 18, 2026, evening auctions, marking only the second time a single night of sales has exceeded $1 billion. The Private Collection of S.I.
Christie's New York concluded its Impressionist and Modern Art Works on Paper and Day Sales on May 19, 2026, achieving a combined total of $63 million.
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Christie's International PLC has appointed François-Henri Pinault as Chairman and Non-Executive Director and Bryan Lourd as Non-Executive Director. Pinault, the Chairman of Artémis and Kering, succeeds his father François Pinault, who will remain as Honorary Chair.
Christie’s Hong Kong reported a total of HK$872 million ($111 million) for its Asian Art Spring live auctions. The result marks the highest spring sales total for the category in Hong Kong since 2018.
Christie's Magnificent Jewels auction in Geneva concluded with a total of CHF 51,859,550 ($66,501,674). The sale took place on May 13, 2026, as part of the spring auction season in Switzerland.
Christie's will offer a selection of approximately 20 pieces of jewelry formerly owned by Italian actress Claudia Cardinale during its Joaillerie Paris online sale from June 19 to 26, 2026.
Christie's will offer the Stream Family Collection across a live auction on June 10 and an online sale closing June 17 in New York.
Dorotheum has announced a live auction of Imperial Court Memorabilia and Historical Objects scheduled for June 1, 2026. The sale will take place at the Palais Dorotheum in Vienna and will feature live bidding for historical artifacts and court-related items. Dr.
Artcurial, in partnership with Lempertz, will auction the African and Oceanic art collection of the late Belgian collector Jean-Jacques Rotthier on September 8, 2026, in Paris.
Artcurial's series of auctions held from May 19 to 21, 2026, achieved a total of over €8.1 million. A rare work by François-Xavier Lalanne led the sales at €1,438,400, while a group of 20 lots by François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne realized more than €3.1 million.
Artcurial’s Asian Art department has announced a new curatorial cycle titled 'Dialogues — Echoes of the Classical and Contemporary Perspectives,' debuting in Paris on June 9, 2026.
Phillips' Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York totaled $115.2 million, representing a 122% increase over the previous year's equivalent auction. The sale was 100% sold by lot and established new auction records for artists Pat Passlof, P.S.
The Musée Maillol has announced the launch of an annual educational series titled 'Hypotheses and Demonstrations' dedicated to the study of sculpture.
Artcurial will participate in the 20th anniversary of 'Journées Marteau' from May 26 to May 31, 2026, an initiative by the French National Union of Voluntary Auction Houses (SYMEV).
Phillips will hold its flagship New York Watch Auction: X on June 13-14, featuring a selection of timepieces with the highest pre-sale estimate in the company's history for the region.
Artcurial will host the sale of the Werner Löffler collection on March 4, 2026, featuring approximately 160 chairs spanning the history of modern design. The auction includes historical pieces, prototypes, and experimental models with individual estimates ranging from €500 to €15,000.
Artcurial will host a two-day auction on May 11–12, 2026, featuring the second part of Christian Levett’s ancient arms and armor collection and the Egyptian antiquities of Jean-Jacques Rotthier.
Artcurial will offer a series of rare colour lithograph proofs by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec during its Prints & Multiples sale in Paris on May 20, 2026.
Artcurial will host an auction featuring 20th-century design works by Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne on May 21, 2026. The sale is led by a bronze sculpture of a monkey by François-Xavier Lalanne, estimated at €600,000–800,000, and a unique gilded bronze chandelier by Claude Lalanne.
Artcurial will host five luxury auctions in Monaco from July 4 to July 8, 2026, featuring jewelry, watches, luxury handbags, and sculpture. The series includes the 'Le Temps est Féminin' sale and a dedicated sculpture auction featuring works by Jean-Michel Folon and César.
Artcurial Real Estate has announced the listing of a five-bedroom villa located on the heights of Corossol in Saint Barthélemy. The property features an infinity pool, a fitness room, and five en-suite bedrooms divided across two distinct living areas.
Sotheby’s has reaffirmed its commitment to identifying and resolving ownership claims for artworks displaced between 1933 and 1945. The auction house utilizes a dedicated Restitution Department, established in 1997, to conduct provenance research on all works offered for sale.
Artcurial's recent auction sessions in Paris achieved a total of €9,108,015, led by a 1949 work by Nicolas de Staël which sold for €1,085,680.
Artcurial will present the exhibition 'Frida Kahlo & Leo Matiz. One Gaze, Two Souls' at its Milan location from April 15 to April 24, 2026.
Artcurial will offer a rare preparatory drawing by Antoine-Jean Gros depicting General Bonaparte at the Bridge of Arcole during its Old Master & 19th Century Drawings auction on March 25, 2026.
Artcurial will hold a series of Modern and Contemporary Art auctions in Paris on April 16 and 17, 2026. The sales feature major works by Paul Gauguin, George Condo, and Rembrandt Bugatti, with high estimates reaching €850,000.
Artcurial has named Lucile Best as the new Head of its Fashion and Luxury Accessories department, where she will oversee biannual auctions in Paris and Monaco. Best previously held roles at Sotheby’s and specialized in luxury authentication and digital sales for e-commerce platforms.
Osman Hamdi Bey’s 'Cami Kapisinda (At the Mosque Door)' sold for £3,678,400 at Bonhams London on March 25, exceeding its high estimate of £3,000,000. The work, which had been held by the University of Pennsylvania since 1895, led a 72-lot auction that realized a total of £6,326,238.
Artcurial Motorcars concluded the 'Renault Icons' auction featuring over 1,000 registered bidders and several million-euro results for historic racing vehicles.
Artcurial’s recent Impressionist, Modern, Post-War, and Contemporary art auctions achieved a combined total of €11,245,009 including fees. Top lots included a Francis Bacon oil on canvas which sold for €1,475,355 and a rediscovered 1889 panel by Paul Gauguin that reached €1,006,240.
Artcurial achieved total sales of €208.5 million in 2025, a 12% increase over the previous year, with 19 lots exceeding the €1 million threshold.
Artcurial Motorcars realized a total of €15 million during its first 'Automobile Legends' sale held at The Peninsula Paris. A 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL ‘Gullwing’ led the auction, selling for a record €4,407,800, while a Ferrari F92A Formula 1 car driven by Jean Alesi fetched €2,912,800.
Artcurial will auction the third and final part of the Jean Bourdel library collection in Paris on April 14, 2026, featuring rare 16th-century literature and French Gothic prints.
Artcurial will auction a 2.75-meter section of the original 1889 spiral staircase from the Eiffel Tower on May 21, 2026. The piece, known as section no. 1, formerly connected the second and third floors and was dismantled during modernization work in 1983.
Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer's annual Basel auctions concluded with a combined total of CHF 4.9 million (€5.4 million) across Swiss Art, International Art, and Important Watches categories. A Patek Philippe Ref. 3940 'Beyer No.
Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr's Surrealist sale on March 26 in Paris achieved a total of €1,372,206, led by Salvador Dalí’s 1939 stage set 'Bacchanale' which sold for €254,400 to The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr will host two landmark fashion auctions in Paris, beginning with an online-only sale dedicated to footwear from April 2 to 15, followed by a live haute couture auction on April 14, 2026.
Bonhams will hold a live auction titled 'MORE THAN RED' on March 28, 2026, featuring six works by Yayoi Kusama from a Japanese private collection, including a red 'Pumpkin' (2000) estimated at HK$15,000,000-25,000,000.
Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr will host its Old Master and 19th Century Paintings sale in Paris on April 21, 2026, featuring Ivan Aivazovsky’s 'View of Capri' with an estimate of €250,000–350,000.
Bonhams concluded its March Asia Week in New York with a total of $12.5 million across six live sales at its new headquarters in the Steinway Building.
Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr will hold its Classics auction in Paris on April 22, featuring a private Asian collection of early Meissen porcelain and imperial silver masterworks.
Bonhams Fine Jewellery auction in London on March 25, 2026, achieved an 87% sell-through rate by lot and 98% by value across 273 lots. A Cartier 'C de Cartier' diamond necklace was the top lot, selling for £40,960 against an estimate of £18,000-25,000.
Bonhams will offer the Cannon Collection in two parts, featuring Egyptian and Roman antiquities, early English glass, and Modern British painting. Part I will be a live auction at New Bond Street on April 15, 2026, while Part II will be held online from April 6–16, 2026.
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