Auctions Phillips 20th Century and Contemporary Art Evening Sale Netted $70 Million, Driven Largely by Two Type-A Bidders on a Mission The sale was led by a Banksy piece, which has its original iteration at the Barbican and sold for $9.7 million. By Annie Armstrong, May 17, 2023
Auctions A Hero’s Rolex Wristwatch, Used in Rescue Missions, Soared at Auction After Appearing on Britain’s ‘Antiques Roadshow’ The watch served its owner, a diver with the Royal Navy, on dramatic undersea missions. By Artnet News, May 17, 2023
Auctions The Codex Sassoon, an Ancient Hebrew Bible, Raked in $33.5 Million at Sotheby’s, Making It One of the Most Valuable Manuscripts Ever Sold The result, though, lands in the lower end of the estimate. By Richard Whiddington, May 17, 2023
Auctions A Woman Bought Four Ceramic Plates at a Salvation Army for $8. They Turned Out to Be Original Picassos and Worth Over $40,000 Nancy Cavaliere, a New Yorker, discovered the plates on her way home from work in 2017. By Artnet News, May 17, 2023
Auctions Sotheby’s Faces a ‘More Sober’ Market With a Modern Art Marathon—and Comes Away With $427 Million The evening began with the cream of the Mo Ostin collection before moving to (mostly) modern works. By Katya Kazakina, May 16, 2023
Auctions Christie’s Small But Mighty 21st-Century Sale Reached $100 Million, Aided by Larry Gagosian’s Covert Bids and a Strong Showing of Women Artists An early Jean-Michel Basquiat painting was the top lot of the night. By Eileen Kinsella, May 15, 2023
Auctions Kenny Scharf’s Fantastical Art Car—Complete With a Working Turntable and Disco Ball—Rolls Into Auction The mobile party machine leads a sale of Modern and contemporary art on May 23. By Lee Carter, May 15, 2023
Auctions Two Rare Rembrandt Portraits Will Hit the Block at Christie’s in July—199 Years After They Were First Sold by the Auction House The rediscovered paintings are believed to be the last known portraits by the artist in private hands. By Taylor Dafoe, May 15, 2023
Auctions A Philadelphia Man Paid $6,000 for Cracked Church Windows He Saw on Facebook. Turns Out They’re Tiffany—and Worth a Half-Million The precious stained glass was set to be sledgehammered, but the antiques dealer intervened just in time. By Jo Lawson-Tancred, May 15, 2023
Auctions Christie’s S.I. Newhouse and 20th-Century Sale Jointly Net $507 Million, Signaling a Cautious Market That’s Still Willing to Shell Out for Rarities The sale was led by Henri Rousseau's jungle painting 'Les Flamants,' which sold for $43.6 million. By Annie Armstrong, May 11, 2023
Auctions The First Auction of Late Billionaire Heidi Horten’s Controversial Jewelry Proves Wildly Successful, Raking in $156 Million A late-breaking revelation that Horten's husband ‘profited from the situation’ of Jewish department store owners starting in 1936 did not hamper bidding. By Eileen Kinsella, May 11, 2023
Auctions Two Jars Bought for $25 at a Thrift Store Turn Out to Be Qing Dynasty Treasures That Could Fetch $63,000 at Auction The seller has pledged to donate a portion of the sale to the charity shop from which they bought the objects. By Richard Whiddington, May 10, 2023
Auctions Here’s Your Go-To Guide to the Biggest New York Art Auctions in May 2023 Four major auction houses host 20 sales from May 9 through May 19. By Artnet News, May 8, 2023
Auctions A British Couple Bought Two Vases for $10 at a Thrift Sale. They Turned Out to Be Art Nouveau Collectibles Worth 150 Times That The car boot sale finds turned out to be Art Nouveau treasures. By Sarah Cascone, May 3, 2023
Auctions Sneakerheads Smashed Expectations at an Auction of Designs by Virgil Abloh and Futura, With a Single Pair Netting Over $100,000 The shoes were intended to be one-offs for Off-White's 2020 runway show. By Lee Carter, May 3, 2023
