A painting of water lilies by Claude Monet fetched $65.5 million at Sotheby’s on Monday, a strong start to a week of bellwether auctions in New York.

The 1914–17 canvas was the top lot of an evening devoted to Impressionist and Modern art that totaled $308 million across two sales. One was a success, the other not so much. The difference between them sends a clear message about what buyers want (and don’t want) right now.

A year ago, the equivalent evening sale of Modern art at Sotheby’s generated $223.4 million with 33 lots on offer. Additionally, the evening sale of the Emily Fisher Landau collection earned $406 million, bringing the sum to $629 million, more than double tonight’s haul.

Nympheas by Claude Monet, from the collection of Sydell Miller, is on display at Sotheby’s New York Marquee Sales on November 08, 2024 in New York City. Photo: John Lamparski/Getty Images.

The stakes are high in Manhattan salesrooms this week. The art market has been in a downturn for two years, affecting collectors’ confidence. The auctions at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips feature about 1,200 works, estimated at $1.1 billion to $1.5 billion. That’s a staggering 77-percent drop from November 2022, when Paul Allen’s record-setting collection was offered at Christie’s.

The Monet was the jewel of the collection of beauty-industry mogul Sydell Miller, who died in March at 86. Sotheby’s marketed and toured the collection around the world, and that paid off.

“It’s one of those collections that has something for everyone,” art advisor Abigail Asher said. “There’s a range of prices and periods, from wonderful quirky objects to mega stars. You saw the collector’s eye. People responded to that.”

Every one of the 25 Miller lots in the evening sale found a buyer, and the resulting $215.6 million total exceeded its high presale estimate of $205 million. (Final prices include fees; estimates don’t). The room was packed, and it took more than 30 minutes to sell the first five lots.

The battle for the Monet, which had been estimated at $60 million, drew three bidders and lasted 17 minutes. Sotheby’s guaranteed the lot for the estate and backed it with an irrevocable bid, ensuring it would sell. The winner was a client of Jen Hua, deputy chairman of Sotheby’s Asia.

Francois-Xavier Lalanne’s Troupeau d’Eléphants dans les Arbres’ Table. Courtesy: Sotheby’s

A table featuring a herd of freestanding elephant sculptures by Francois-Xavier Lalanne fetched $11.6 million, well above its presale estimate of $4 million to $6 million.

A portrait of a woman by Henri Matisse sold for $9.7 million, obliterating its $5 million-to-$7 million estimate.

A blue sponge painting by Yves Klein, Relief Eponge lbue sans titre (1961), sold for $14.2 million, also exceeding its estimated range of $8 million to $12 million.

“We saw strong prices and deep bidding,” Pilar Ordovas, a London-based dealer, said. “The market is responding with strength after the uncertainty of the U.S. presidential election, whether you like the result or not.”

The Modern evening auction that followed the Miller sale was less successful. Two lots were withdrawn before it began, including paintings by Pablo Picasso (with a low estimate of $7 million) and Sam Francis ($3 million), presumably for lack of interest from bidders.

The 31 remaining lots generated $93.1 million (including fees), just clearing the sale’s (revised) low estimate. Seven lots went unsold, leading to a sell-through rate of about 77 percent by lot.

The top lot of that group was Alberto Giacometti’s Buste (1953, cast 1954), of the artist’s brother Diego. It went for $13.3 million, within its presale estimate of $10 million to $15 million.

The biggest casualty of the night was Matisse’s Torse de jeune fille (1921–23), which was guaranteed by the house and carried a presale estimate of $12 million to $18 million. There were no takers, and the lot passed after a painful stretch of chandelier bids.

“Mediocre pieces by big names will not sell,” said Hong Gyu Shin, a New York collector and gallery owner. “Collectors should go for really good examples by those artists.” (The Matisse, he said, had been on the market for years.) 

Leonora Carrington’s La Grande Dame (The Cat Woman), 1951. Courtesy: Sotheby’s

Surrealist women continued their triumphant rise, and those who have believed in them reaped rewards.

А haunting sculpture by Leonora Carrington, La Grande Dame (The Cat Woman), 1951, sold for $11.4 million, blowing past its presale range of $5 million to $7 million. The bidding war drew five hopefuls and lasted for five minutes. Its winner was Eduardo Costantini, a leading collector of Latin American art, bidding through Sotheby’s head of Latin American Art, Anna de Stasi. Six months ago, Costantini bought Carrington’s record-breaking painting Les Distractions de Dagobert (1945) for $28.5 million at Sotheby’s.

Another Carrington painting, Temple of the Word (1954), fetched $4.6 million tonight, within its presale range of $3 million to $5 million. The consignor bought the work for $365,500 in 1993 at Christie’s, just short of its low estimate of $400,000.

The consignor of Leonor Fini’s Les stylistes (1976) bought the work for about $130,000 in 2007 at Sotheby’s in London. On Monday, it hammered at $600,000, $720,000 with fees.

“There’s nothing chicer right now than these badass, witchy women,” said Julian Dawes, Sotheby’s head of Impressionist and Modern art.