Auctions Top Auction Houses Saw Total Sales Drop in 2020—But Sotheby’s Outpaced Rival Christie’s With $5 Billion in Revenue Private sales, online sales, and demand from Asia are driving growth. By Eileen Kinsella, Dec 18, 2020
Law & Politics Phillips Has the Right to Cancel a $5 Million Agreement With Art Dealer Joseph Nahmad Amid Pandemic Upheaval, Judge Rules The judge said the situation unequivocally qualifies as "force majeure." By Eileen Kinsella, Dec 17, 2020
Galleries Perrotin Is Launching a Secondary-Market Business in Paris to Offer Collectors a Bespoke ‘Alternative to Auction Houses’ The venture will be housed in a townhouse near the Grand Palais and Sotheby's and Christie's salesrooms. By Eileen Kinsella, Dec 15, 2020
Auctions Here Are the 10 Most Expensive Works of Art Sold at Auction in 2020—and Why They Fetched the Prices They Did Plus, who bought and sold them (when we could figure it out). By Eileen Kinsella, Dec 14, 2020
Crime A $1 Million Marsden Hartley That Was Stolen 30 Years Ago and Replaced With a Forgery Is Finally Returning to Its Original Owner The case took some wild twists and turns on its year-long journey through the courts. By Eileen Kinsella, Dec 11, 2020
People Convicted Fraudster Anna Delvey Conned Collector Michael Xufu Huang. That Didn’t Stop Him From Hanging Her Portrait in His New Museum Huang is now a character in a TV series about the notorious art-world scammer. By Eileen Kinsella, Dec 10, 2020
Art World The Riveting Stories Behind 5 Art Historical Masterpieces, From ‘American Gothic’ to Leonardo da Vinci’s Vision of Cecilia Gallerani A new book by Francesca Bonazzoli and Michele Robecchi explores these pictures and others. By Caroline Goldstein & Eileen Kinsella, Dec 9, 2020
Law & Politics Prosecutors Are Issuing Subpoenas to Sotheby’s and Christie’s as Part of an Investigation Into Jeffrey Epstein’s Financial Dealings Prosecutors in the US Virgin Islands issued the subpoenas. By Eileen Kinsella, Dec 8, 2020
Auctions Phillips’s Robust $135 Million New York Auction Sets Records for a Half-Dozen Black Artists, Rising Stars and Midcareer Figures Alike Records were shattered for Amy Sherald, Vaughn Spann, Mickalene Thomas, and others. By Eileen Kinsella, Dec 7, 2020
Art Fairs Art Basel Miami Beach’s Online Edition Sees Steady Sales as Dealers Seek Ways to Jazz Up the Staid Virtual Fair Format Here's how dealers are faring. By Eileen Kinsella, Dec 4, 2020
Auctions Going Once! 11 World-Class Auctioneers Tell Us the Stories and Strange Rituals Behind Their Luckiest Gavels Auctioneers are a superstitious bunch. By Eileen Kinsella, Dec 3, 2020
Auctions Phillips’s First Joint Sale With Poly Auction in Hong Kong Reaped a Solid $50 Million and Set a Flurry of Records for Up-and-Coming Artists New records were set for Lucas Arruda, Bernard Frize, Salman Toor, and Matthew Wong. By Eileen Kinsella, Dec 3, 2020
Auctions Buoyed by Demand for Young Stars, Christie’s Hybrid New York and Hong Kong Auction Fetched a Healthy $119 Million New records were set for Amoako Boafo, Shara Hughes, and Dana Schutz, among others. By Eileen Kinsella, Dec 2, 2020
Law & Politics The Developer Who Painted Over the 5Pointz Graffiti Mecca Must Pay an Additional $2 Million to Cover the Artists’ Legal Fees The stipulation brings the fines associated with the case to $8.75 million. By Eileen Kinsella, Nov 30, 2020
People What I Buy and Why: Dominique Mielle on Why She Loves Tiny European Auction Houses, and the Sculpture She Installed by Crane Top collectors share their strategies (and obsessions). By Eileen Kinsella, Nov 29, 2020