Christie’s S. I. Newhouse Sale Totals $630.8 M., Bringing Cumulative Total to $1 B.
Christie’s held a 16-lot evening sale in May of works from the collection of media magnate S. I. Newhouse, totaling $630.8 million with fees and pushing cumulative Newhouse sales at Christie’s to more than $1 billion (following sales in 2018, 2019, and 2023). The top lot was Jackson Pollock’s Number 7A, 1948, described by Christie’s as the largest Pollock drip painting still in private hands; after more than 60 bids over about 10 minutes, it sold for $181.2 million to a buyer represented by Christie’s global president Alex Rotter. The Pollock result more than doubled the artist’s prior auction record of $61 million set at Sotheby’s New York in 2021, making it among the most expensive artworks ever sold at auction. Constantin Brâncuși’s Danaïde (ca. 1913) also set a record, while other strong results included Pablo Picasso’s Tête de femme at $14.4 million, Joan Miró’s Portrait de Madame K. at $53.5 million, and Jasper Johns’s Gray Target at $28.8 million (all with fees).
From This Briefing
This story was covered in Billion-Dollar Museums, Billion-Dollar Bids