This article is part of the Artnet Intelligence Report Mid-Year Review 2024. Our analysis of the first half of the year’s market trends provides a data-driven overview of the current state of the art world, highlighting auction results and trends, and spotlights the artists and artworks shaping the dialogue.

According to Artnet’s Mid-Year Intelligence Report, Christie’s came out ahead in the first half of the year, bringing in almost $1.6 billion in fine-art sales between January and July—beating out rival Sotheby’s by a margin of $116 million. The house’s winning total represents a dip of 28.2 percent from the same period last year.

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So far, a relatively small number of the significant single-owner and estate collections that buoyed auction houses’ bottom lines the past few years have come on the block. Christie’s won the high-profile holdings of the late Miami-based collector and philanthropist Rosa de la Cruz, which generated $34.4 million in the house’s May sales in New York and was led by Felix Gonzales-Torres’ Untitled (America #3) (1992).

Sotheby’s $1.4 billion total represented a 31.2 percent decline from mid-2023’s. Phillips, however, suffered the smallest sales drop of the Big Three houses—just 12.7 percent, to $252 million.

Selling for $13.6 million, Felix Gonzales-Torres’ Untitled (America #3) (1992) was the top lot of Christie’s Rosa de la Cruz collection auction in May 2024. Image courtesy Christie’s.

However, all three experienced a steep decline, in excess of 44 percent, from 2022, a banner year for big estates. Sales at Christie’s fell 47.5 percent, those at Sotheby’s 41.1 percent, and those at Phillips 43.9 percent.

These figures do not include private sales, and they indicate total revenue rather than profit, which means they don’t reveal any erosion in the auction houses’ margins caused by deals struck with consignors.