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The Morning Signal

November 11, 2026

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THE LEAD

Phillips Releases Full Catalogue for $25M+ New York Watch Auction, Highest Ever in U.S.

via Phillips

Phillips will hold The New York Watch Auction: XV on December 5-6, 2026, in New York, with a total low estimate exceeding $25 million, making it the highest-value watch auction ever hosted in the United States. The sale features historically important timepieces including an F.P.Journe Tourbillon Souverain Souscription, a Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 perpetual calendar chronograph, and a Rolex 'Paul Newman' Daytona. It also includes the third installment of TimeForArt, with 26 unique timepieces offered without reserve, with proceeds benefiting the Swiss Institute.

A $25 million low estimate puts watches in the same breath as contemporary evening sales — Phillips is testing whether the category's ceiling is a New York number, not a Geneva one.

Other

The Signal

“Forty-one shows opened in seven days and London took 27 of them — the fall calendar is a British pileup.”

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The pattern this week

Ninety-seven stories in seven days and 41 of them are exhibitions — London alone accounts for 27, with New York a distant 16. The market side is thin: four auctions, €109 million aggregate, and the biggest money story is a watch catalogue, not a sale result.

The Market

€109.0M across 4 auctions this week

This week · 97 stories · 41 exhibitions opening · busiest city: London

MoMA Acquires Alex Katz's 'Black Roses 11', Thaddaeus Ropac Says

MoMA keeps buying Katz late work directly from Ropac, which tightens primary-market pricing for a 99-year-old painter whose market has been steady but rarely scorching.

Thaddaeus Ropac

CHF8,069,595 Phillips' Geneva Jewels Auction VII Totals CHF8.07M, Led by Kashmir Sapphire Ring at CHF1.94M

Seventy-three percent sold by lot at CHF8.07 million is a middling result — the CHF1.94 million Kashmir sapphire carried the room, and Phillips' Geneva jewels still trail the big houses' totals.

Phillips

Erwin Wurm Donates Monumental Sculpture 'Gate' to Düsseldorf, Unveiled at Schauspielhaus Thaddaeus Ropac

Featured

Tate Britain to Present First Major Exhibition on Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant's Creative Partnership

Tate Britain will present 'Vanessa Bell & Duncan Grant: Inside Bloomsbury', the first major exhibition to chart the five-decade creative partnership between Vanessa Bell (1879-1961) and Duncan Grant…

Why it matters
The first institutional survey of the Bell–Grant partnership should lift a Bloomsbury market that has long leaned on decorative works and small oils rather than the pair's ambitious canvases.

via Tate · Exhibition

V&A Announces 'Punk to Pop' Exhibition Covering Music and Style Revolution, 1972–1985

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) announced details of its major upcoming exhibition "Punk to Pop", opening on 13 March 2027 and running through 2 January 2028. The exhibition will trace the music…

Why it matters
The V&A is programming 1972–85 as design history rather than nostalgia, which tends to move the associated photography and record-sleeve material well before the show opens in March.

via Victoria and Albert Museum · Exhibition

The Wire

1.

Sharjah Art Foundation Announces Winners of Sharjah Film Platform 9 Awards — Sharjah Art Foundation

2.

Getty Launches Multi-Year Conservation of Peru's Church of Rondocan and Bitti Paintings — Getty

3.

Matthew Barney and Jonathan Bepler's 'River of Fundament' Screens in New York on November 14, 2026 — Sadie Coles HQ

4.

Tate Partners with Counter Editions on 'Women in Print' Portfolio Featuring Eight Female Artists — Tate

5.

Arthur Jafa's 'Love Is The Message' to Debut at Chrysler Museum of Art in Virginia — Sadie Coles HQ

6.

Thaddaeus Ropac's 'FEAR' Exhibition in Pantin Features Ron Mueck, Joseph Beuys, and Niki de Saint Phalle — Thaddaeus Ropac

7.

Hauser & Wirth Adds Two Camille Henrot Bronzes to Somerset Outdoor Sculpture Show — Hauser & Wirth

8.

Eddie Martinez to Discuss New Monograph at Drawing Center, New York — Galerie Max Hetzler

9.

James Turrell's Restored Skyspace 'Light Reign' Reopens at Henry Art Gallery — Almine Rech

10.

Xiaolu Guo Delivers 2026 New Statesman/Goldsmiths Prize Lecture on AI and Fiction at Southbank Centre — Southbank Centre

Earlier this week

1.

Turner Contemporary to Present Nicole Eisenman's 'Perpetual Motion Machine' in Margate — Sadie Coles HQ

2.

Sadie Coles HQ Announces Alvaro Barrington's 'Western Beef-High Line' on High Line — Sadie Coles HQ

3.

Julie Curtiss Selected for Site-Specific Mosaic at JFK's New Terminal One — Gagosian

4.

Art-World Lawyer Michael Ward Stout, Who Led Mapplethorpe Foundation, Dies at 83 — Thaddaeus Ropac

The Week Ahead

Today

PhillipsX Presents Alexander James 'Dissecting the Square. Continuum.' Selling Exhibition in London Phillips

Today

Gagosian: Ron Howard's 'Avedon' Documentary to Premiere on Netflix Nov. 11 Gagosian

Today

White Cube Announces US Premiere of Sara Flores Documentary at DOC NYC White Cube

Today

Christine Ay Tjoe Solo Exhibition 'The First Capriole for Tomorrow' Opens at Longlati Foundation White Cube

Tomorrow

Aguttes to Sell Silver-Gilt Tea Service of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaïevna, Estimated €40,000–€80,000 Aguttes

Tomorrow

Phillips and The Hour Glass Present George Daniels Centenary Exhibition with 22 Watches at IAMWATCH 2026 Phillips

Full calendar →

On the Rise

Charlotte Perriand — Charlotte Perriand was a pioneering French architect and designer known for her modernist furniture and her belief that functional design could improve society. Profile →

Opportunities 32 new jobs · 13 new grants Browse careers →

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