At its contemporary art evening sale in New York last night, 14 November, Sotheby’s rebounded after a patchy Impressionist and Modern sale earlier in the week when several top lots went unsold. Boasting a 97% sell-through rate and a total of $362.6m (with fees)—squarely in the middle of its $278.4m-$375.9m pre-sale estimate—the sale yielded several unexpectedly strong prices for artists who have been relative market underdogs until now. Of the night’s four records, all were achieved by women or artists of colour.
Thirty-five of the 65 lots were guaranteed, but the sale was largely bolstered by consistent and considered bidding, not just on the phones but also in the room. It made for a long night, but also kept buyers on their toes. “I haven’t seen a sale with that much activity in ages, both in the room and on the phones—but especially in the room,” says Morgan Long, the head of art investment at the Fine Art Group.
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