Christie’s and Sotheby’s 2026 half year results: trophy lots and luxury goods fuel rebound

Christie’s and Sotheby’s reported sharply higher global sales in the first half of 2026, driven by high-value art and strong luxury categories. Christie’s posted $4.5bn in H1 revenue, with public auction sales up 71% year-on-year to $3.5bn and a 91% sell-through rate by lot, plus just over $1bn in private sales. Sotheby’s reported $3.4bn in public auction sales (up 59%) with a 90% sell-through rate, and total turnover of $4.4bn (up 58%) including a record $826m in private sales. Major results included Christie’s $630.8m S.I. Newhouse collection sale in New York in May—led by Jackson Pollock’s “Number 7A” (1948) at $181.2m and Constantin Brancusi’s “Danaïde” at $107.6m—and Sotheby’s $173m Robert Mnuchin collection and London’s $406.2m Lewis collection sale, described as Europe’s highest-value Impressionist, Modern, and contemporary art sale; luxury highlights cited included a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider at €16.7m and a Cartier Tutti Frutti pendant necklace at $2.8m.

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